Wednesday, January 26, 2005

Deadliest Day in Iraq Yet part II

Miles, below, didn't link to any article about the 37 US soldiers killed in Iraq earlier today so I figured I'd post one myself. From the AP via the Houston Chronicle:

A U.S. helicopter crashed in a desert sandstorm in the early morning darkness today, killing the 30 Marines and one Navy sailor aboard. Six other troops died in insurgent ambushes in the deadliest day for Americans since the Iraq war began nearly two years ago.

Only days before Iraq's crucial elections Sunday, militants set off at least eight car bombings that killed 13 people and injured 40 others, including 11 Americans. The guerrillas also carried out a string of attacks nationwide against schools that will serve as polling centers.

In Washington, President Bush called on Iraqis to defy terrorism and go to the polls despite relentless insurgent attacks. He said it was a "very discouraging" day when the U.S. death toll for the war rose above 1,400.

Click here for the rest.

I'm sure that when our fearless leader says "very discouraging," he doesn't actually mean that he's getting discouraged. Stay the course and all that. There are absolutely no signs of an imminent US pullout despite the ever increasing gore over there.

If you follow the above link and read the story, it starts talking about the overall general level of violence in Iraq: there are car bombs and suicide bombers all over the place. As longtime British Middle East correspondent Robert Fisk has observed, it's already over; the US just hasn't admitted it yet. The longer the White House waits to admit the obvious, however, the more people will die.

How can such criminals be our leaders?

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