soc.veterans

On Mar 24, 12:10=EF=BF=BDam, "Sid9" wrote:
> There is NO good news.
> There is no Iraqi reconciliation.
> The news is grim.
> The news is bad.
> The "plan" sucks
> The "surge" is a failure
>
> March 23, 2008
>
> A.P.'s Death Toll for Iraq War Reaches 4,000
>
> By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
>
> Filed at 11:45 p.m. ET
>
> BAGHDAD (AP) -- A roadside bomb killed four U.S. soldiers in Baghdad on
> Sunday, the military said, pushing the overall American death toll in the
> five-year war to at least 4,000.
>
> The grim milestone came on the same day that rockets and mortars pounded t=
he
> U.S.-protected Green Zone, underscoring the fragile security situation and=

> the resilience of both Sunni and Shiite extremist groups despite an overal=
l
> lull in violence.
>
> A Multi-National Division -- Baghdad soldier also was wounded in the
> roadside bombing, which struck the soldiers' patrol vehicle about 10 p.m. =
in
> southern Baghdad, according to a statement.
>
> Identities of those killed were withheld pending notification of relatives=
.
>
> The 4,000 figure is according to an Associated Press count that includes
> eight civilians who worked for the Department of Defense.
>
> Last year, the U.S. military deaths spiked along with the Pentagon's
> ''surge'' -- the arrival of more than 30,000 extra troops trying to regain=

> control of Baghdad and surrounding areas. The mission was generally
> considered a success, but the cost was evident as soldiers pushed into Sun=
ni
> insurgent strongholds and challenged Shiite militias.
>
> Military deaths rose above 100 for three consecutive months for the first
> time during the war: April 2007, 104; May, 126 and June at 101.
>
> The death toll has seesawed since, with 2007 ending as the deadliest year
> for American troops at 901 deaths. That was 51 more deaths than 2004, the
> second deadliest year for U.S. soldiers.
>
> The milestones for each 1,000 deaths -- while an arbitrary marker -- serve=

> to rivet attention on the war and have come during a range of pivotal
> moments.
>
> When the 1,000th American died in September 2004, the insurgency was gaini=
ng
> steam. The 2,000-death mark came in October 2005 as Iraq voted on a new
> constitution. The Pentagon announced its 3,000th loss on the last day of
> 2006 -- a day after Saddam Hussein was hanged and closing a year marked by=

> rampant sectarian violence.
>
> The deaths taken by U.S. soldiers in Iraq, however, are far less than in
> other modern American wars. In Vietnam, the U.S. lost on average about 4,8=
50
> soldiers a year from 1963-75. In the Korean war, from 1950-53, the U.S. lo=
st
> about 12,300 soldiers a year.
>
> But a hallmark of the Iraq war is the high wounded-to-killed ratio, partly=

> because of advances in battlefield medicine, enhanced protective gear worn=

> by soldiers and reinforced armored vehicles.
>
> There have been about 15 soldiers wounded for every fatality in Iraq,
> compared with 2.6 per death in Vietnam and 2.8 in Korea.
>
> The deadliest month for American troops was November 2004, with 137 deaths=
.
> April 2004 was the next with 135 U.S. military deaths. May 2007 saw the
> third-highest toll.
>
> Last December was the lowest monthly death toll, when 23 soldiers were
> killed -- one less than February 2004.
>
> Two factors have helped bring down violence in recent months: a self-impos=
ed
> cease-fire by a main Shiite militia and a grass-roots Sunni revolt against=

> extremists.
>
> But commanders often say there is no guarantee the trends will continue.
> Among the concerns: the strength of breakaway Shiite factions believed arm=
ed
> by Iran and whether Sunni fighters will remain U.S. allies or again turn
> their guns on American troops instead of al-Qaida.
>
> Civil strife also could flare again.
>
> Shiite militias are vying for control of Iraq's oil-rich south. In the
> north, the contest for the oil-rich city of Kirkuk could spark new bloodsh=
ed
> and should be the focus of intense ''U.S. diplomatic and economic leverage=

> to make sure it doesn't happen,'' said retired Gen. Barry McCaffrey at a
> speech in New York in March to mark the fifth anniversary of the U.S.-led
> invasion.
>
> There is also the question of Iraq's security forces and the slow pace of
> their training.
>
> American commanders would like to see the Iraqis take more of a front-line=

> role in the fighting, but their ability to operate without American suppor=
t
> could still be years away.
>
> ''We are always quick to note that the progress is tenuous and that it is
> reversible,'' said the top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus,
> ''and that there are innumerable challenges out there.''

"The Surge did not fail."

Hello Suckers:::::::

--- Crazy "Jingo" John McCain

See Proof

http://www.robert-fisk.com/bloodied_child_2.jpg
http://www.robert-fisk.com/burnedchild.jpg
http://www.robert-fisk.com/1_146318_1_6.jpg
http://www.robert-fisk.com/1_146933_1_6.jpg
http://www.robert-fisk.com/injured3.jpg
http://www.robert-fisk.com/iraq23.jpg

http://www.hymnsite.com/lyrics/umh575.sht

"The surge is working and if it takes one-hundred years....This Bud's
For You. Thanks to Cindy's dad. Otherwise, where the fuck would I have
been?"

Two Tongued John McCain
"Where can I get a yammuka wholesale?"

Religious men wear a black kippah (or yammuka, the smaller head-
covering that many Jewish men wear), and on top of that they wear a
big black hat that has a wide brim.

"So, where do I get me a big black hat to wear to lunch with my
closest Yid friend, Mossad Agent, "Likud " Lieberman" ????

What a country calls its vital... interests are not things that help
its people live, but things that help it make war. Petroleum is a
more likely cause of international conflict than wheat.

~Simone Weil, Ecrits historiques et politiques, 1960

Shalom:

Kirkuk to Haifa Pipeline: Reason for the War?
In 2003, Bush invaded Iraq, partly to topple Saddam Hussein, partly to
revive the pipeline to Haifa

http://zionofascism.wordpress.com/category/netanyahu-watch/

US discusses plan to pump fuel to its regional ally and solve energy
headache at a stroke Ed Vuillamy in Washington Sunday April 20, 2003

The Observer
By Steven Scheer

LONDON (Reuters) - Israeli Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he
expected an oil pipeline from Iraq to Israel to be reopened in the
near future after being closed when Israel became a state in 1948.

"It won't be long when you will see Iraqi oil flowing to Haifa," the
port city in northern Israel, Netanyahu told a group of British
investors, declining to give a timetable.

"It is just a matter of time until the pipeline is reconstituted and
Iraqi oil will flow to the Mediterranean."

Netanyahu later told Reuters the government was in the early stages of
looking into the possibility of reopening the pipeline, which during
the British Mandate sent oil from Mosul to Haifa via Jordan.

Shalom:
"It's not a pipe-dream," Netanyahu said.

Plans to build a pipeline to siphon oil from newly conquered Iraq to
Israel are being discussed between Washington, Tel Aviv and potential
future government figures in Baghdad.The plan envisages the
reconstruction of an old pipeline, inactive since the end of the
British mandate in Palestine in 1948, when the flow from Iraq's
northern oilfields to Palestine was re-directed to Syria.

Sunday, November 4, 2007
Iraqi invasion: oil perspective

The British built the Kirkuk-to-Haifa pipeline in 1927. In 1934, they
completed a 12-inch pipeline from the Kirkuk fields to Al-Haditha on
the Euphrates River. At that point the pipeline forked. One branch
went through Syria to Tripoli (Lebanon). The other went across Jordan
to Haifa. The British built refineries at both Tripoli and Haifa to
handle this Iraq oil. (In World War II, Germany wanted to get control
of this oil.)

In 1945 the British added a parallel 16-inch pipeline in Syria.

When Jews started to invade Palestine in 1945, Syria shut down its
branch to Tripoli. Iraq shut down all oil from from Kirkuk to Haifa.
At that point, most of northern Iraq's oil went to the Turkish port
city of Gihan, which was OK with the US, since Turkey was a US ally
against the USSR. Turkey collect transit fees for this oil.

In 1947 the British oil refinery at Haifa still handled trickle of oil
from miscellaneous areas, and still employed some 1,700 Arab workers,
plus 360 Jewish employees. The Arab and Jewish workers formed a union
to oppose British tyranny. Then Israel was created. Immediately Irgun
(commanded by Menachem Begin), the Hagana and other terrorist groups
moved in. Irgun had bombed the King David Hotel the year before, and
they started massacring Arabs in Haifa and elsewhere.

In 1952, western oil companies built two new lines through Syria to
Tripoli. The pipeline to Haifa was allowed to decay. Pieces of it were
dismantled. Various interests used the pieces to build water
pipelines.

In 2003, Bush invaded Iraq, partly to topple Saddam Hussein, partly to
revive the pipeline to Haifa (Kirkuk oil fields were said to contain
perhaps 40% of Iraq's oil), and partly to bring oil deals to his
personal friends, such as Ray L. Hunt. Small American oil companies
like Hunt Oil will extract Kurdish oil as soon as and if Mosul and
Kirkuk are broken off from Iraq (17 November 2007). Mosul is the first
stop for Kirkuk oil.

When the Haifa pipeline opens back up, only Jordan (not Israel) will
collect hefty transit fees. Kurdish oil will go to Europe via Israel,
not Turkey. This might be a reason why Turkey is threatening to
invade. The minute Bush invaded Iraq, the Turkish realized that the
pipeline to Haifa would be opened back up. Therefore Turkey tried to
make deals with Central Asian states (such as Azerbaijan) to get new
pipelines to Turkey, but now Iran and Russia have foiled Turkish plans
by forming the new alliance of Caspian Sea states. Turkey feels
squeezed. This is yet another reason why they are threatening to
invade northern Iraq.

Shortly after the 2003 invasion, Benyamin Netanyahu (the then Israeli
finance minister) boasted, "Soon you will see Iraqi oil flowing to
Haifa. It is just a matter of time until the pipeline is
reconstituted, and Iraqi oil will flow to the Mediterranean. It's not
a pipe dream."

Under a 1975 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) the US guaranteed all
Israel's oil needs in the event of a crisis. This MoU is quietly
renewed every five years. It commits US taxpayers to maintain a
strategic US reserve for Israel, equivalent to $3 billion in 2002
dollars. Special legislation was enacted to exempt Israel from
restrictions on oil exports from the US. Moreover, the US government
agreed to divert oil from the US, even in case of oil shortages in the
US. The US government also guaranteed delivery of oil in US tankers if
commercial shippers become unable or unwilling to carry oil from the
US to Israel.

SEE
Israel-United States Memorandum of Understanding
(September 1, 1975)

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Peace/mou1975.html

Israel can wrench lot of oil from the region if the pipeline were used
again and Kurds were willing to sell the oil. It would also make Kurds
dependent on Israelis for oil revenues and thus give a greater
leverage to Israelis over Kurds of the region...

We are All Jews Now
Aidel gepotchket - Delicately brought up

Consider the present crisis in America and the rise of anti-
Americanism worldwide. "The US has become a Jewish state in more ways
than one. It has the same security checks, the same holocaust museums,
the same poverty for many and riches for a few as Israel

http://www.dissidentvoice.org/Articles4/Jones_Palestine.htm

Azoy gait es! - That's how it goes!
L'Shalom