Mine kills two U.S. Marines in Iraq (# 1611 & 1612) and 14 wounded

[leftchick]

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/MAR224006.htm

BAGHDAD, May 12 (Reuters) - Two U.S. Marines were killed on Wednesday when their armoured vehicle drove over a mine in northwest Iraq during an offensive against insurgents, the U.S. military said on Thursday.

The military said 14 Marines were wounded in the blast.

The Marines were taking part in Operation Matador, an offensive against insurgents and foreign fighters in northwestern Iraq near the Syrian border.

Since the invasion of Iraq in March 2003, at least 1,231 U.S. military and Pentagon personnel have been killed in action in Iraq. Including non-combat deaths the toll is 1,609.


...Reuters is behind in the death count. 25 DEAD in 12 days.

Military Fatalities: By Time Period

Period US UK Other* Total Avg Days
4 175 2 7 184 1.8 102
3 579 26 27 632 2.93 216
2 718 27 58 803 1.89 424
1 140 33 0 173 4.02 43
Total 1612 88 92 1792 2.28 785

To View Period Details Click The Period Number
Time Periods Defined
Latest Fatality: May 11, 2005
2005: Iraqi Police and Guardsmen Deaths


Military Fatalities: By Month
Period US UK Other* Total Avg Days
5-2005 25 1 2 28 2.33 12


http://icasualties.org/oif/

[0007]

1. RIP

Bring the troops home alive not in boxes

[DrDebug]

2. That statement about Reuters says it all doesn't it...

A report like this seems to be happening 2,3,4 times a day.

When will the suffering end?

[Skittles]

3. but DrDebug!

"MAJOR COMBAT OPERATIONS ARE OVER!" NOW GET WITH THE PROGRAM AND STOP ASKING QUESTIONS! :o

[TomClash]

4. That's too bad

but, hey, Memorial Day is coming up. Maybe I'll hoist a beer to them while I shove the barbequed burgers and bratwurst in my pie hole at the family splurgefest. I'll be driving there in my SUV, the third family car, which gets 1/2 mpg.

I'll put up the old flag at the house to show my support for hte troops. After all, those oil and gas and defense stocks recommended by Uncle Dan's friend at the office who knows an investor guy who knows a woman in the know sure worked out fine in my 401(k). I believe in America!

And it could be a hot summer. I'm sure glad I got those new air conditioners that I can crank up so the house is 58 degrees. Freon is on the march!

[llmart]

5. Yep, you nailed it.

That's about how much the average American cares about someone else's child being used for cannon fodder so they can indulge themselves. Just don't ask them or their loved ones to die for Bush/Cheney's portfolio - they aren't about to. But the least they can do is slap a magnet on the back of their vehicle. That takes real courage.

[TomClash]

6. The least they can do is sacrifice while others are in the line of fire

so these wars need not be fought.

After all, one of their professed heroes sacrificed plenty for the benefit of others.

His name was Jesus Christ.

[teryang]

7. Meanwhile washingtonians are recovering from their panic

...induced by an off course bug smasher.

Sure glad they didn't cover the real news.

[alcibiades_mystery]

8. Except the WP said 4 died and 10 wounded in this incident

To wit:

"Among the four Marines killed and 10 wounded when an explosive device erupted under their Amtrac on Wednesday were the last battle-ready members of a squad that four days earlier had battled foreign fighters holed up in a house in the town of Ubaydi. In that fight, two squad members were killed and five were wounded."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/11/AR2005051101737.html

-------snip-------

And their sources seem to be on the ground with the unit! To wit:

"Marines initially said they believed the blast was caused by two mines stacked on top of each other. But reports from Marines that they had seen an artillery round and two hand-held radios near the blast site raised suspicions that the explosion was caused by a bomb that had been activated remotely, Lawson said.

Hurley and others pulled their comrades out of the Amtrac as flames detonated -- or "cooked off," in military jargon -- its ammunition. As Marines carrying stretchers ran to the Amtrac, bullets snapped out of the burning hulk and traveled hundreds of feet. The Marines ran back through the fusillade, carrying out the wounded. "C'mon, c'mon, c'mon," some shouted, desperate to get the wounded out.

The four dead were trapped inside the vehicle, Lawson said."

----------snip---------------

How did two Marines burned to death inside an AMTRAC suddenly get up and come back to life. Shocking, really.

[Warren Stupidity]

9. It is possible that the count was wrong

What I find more interesting is that our 'western offensive' does not seem to be having a whole lot of success pacifying the area. It is almost as if the insurgency has widespread popular support and is manned not by nefarious and reviled terrorists, fanatics, and furrinfighters, but by the sons and daughters of the people of Iraq.

Also it seems that IEDs have gotten much more effective over the last year.

[makhno]

13. Yep

The WaPo reporter was actually there. It could be a mistake, or it could be the military trying to spread casualties over several days so as not to get more media coverage than usual.

We'll never know. The beauty of living in a country where we can trust our military and press to be truthful with citizens.

[bushisanidiot]

10. My God. May the Lord have mercy on George W. Bush's soul.

he sure as hell is gonna need it..

[Roland99]

11. Screw him. He gets what he deserves.

[no_to_war_economy]

12. * has alot of work to do to rewrite his legacy

the next three years will be nothing but spin to make * look like a genius world leader who outsmarted us all

up to us to set this record straight