IRAQ CASUALTY COUNT: NAMES, CAUSE OF DEATH, WHERE, HOMETOWNS

The following is a list of U.S. casualties from the Iraq war through July 17.
Source: http://icasualties.org/oif/prdDetails.aspx?hndRef=4-2008

US
Technical Sergeant Jackie L. Larsen
Balad (Balad Air Base) - Salah ad Din
Non-hostile
15-Jul-2008
2
US: 2 UK: 0 Other: 0



US
Staff Sergeant David W. Textor
Mosul - Ninawa
Hostile - hostile fire

US
Staff Sergeant Jeremy D. Vrooman
Knan (died in Baghdad) - Diyala
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
14-Jul-2008
2
US: 2 UK: 0 Other: 0



US
Aviation Boatswain Mate 3rd Class Daniel R. Verbeke
Paoli, Pennsylvania - NA
Non-hostile - accident (on flight deck)

US
Staff Sergeant Danny Dupre
Ramadi - Anbar
Hostile - hostile fire - small arms fire
13-Jul-2008
1
US: 1 UK: 0 Other: 0



US
Lance Corporal Jeffery S. Stevenson
Falluja - Anbar
Non-hostile
10-Jul-2008
0
US: 0 UK: 0 Other: 0


09-Jul-2008
3
US: 3 UK: 0 Other: 0



US
Sergeant Alex R. Jimenez
Jurf al-Sakhar - Baghdad
Hostile - hostile fire - body found

US
Private Byron J. Fouty
Jurf al-Sakhar - Baghdad
Hostile - hostile fire - body found

US
Sergeant 1st Class Steven J. Chevalier
Samarra (died in Balad) - Salah Ad Din
Hostile - hostile fire - grenade
08-Jul-2008
1
US: 1 UK: 0 Other: 0



US
Specialist William L. McMillan III
Baghdad (west of)
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
05-Jul-2008
1
US: 1 UK: 0 Other: 0



US
Sergeant 1st Class Anthony Lynn Woodham
Tallil (Camp Adder) - Dhi Qar
Non-hostile - electrocution
02-Jul-2008
1
US: 1 UK: 0 Other: 0



US
Staff Sergeant Faoa L. Apineru
Al Anbar Province
Hostile - hostile fire
Total
12
US: 12 UK: 0 Other: 0

IRAQ STANDS ON THE BRINK OF ALL OUT WAR

From Fallujah To Diyala, The Target Has Shifted

Posted: 29 Jul 2008 02:36 PM CDT
http://www.vetvoice.com/

I have previously written here concerning the Diyala province heating up.

More recently, it has gotten even worse.

There has been escalating violence and corruption at various levels of the Iraqi government.

There have been reports that the Diyala Operations Commander, Staff General Abdul-Kareem al-Rubaee, has been dismissed, and the MNF arrested the Diyala Deputy Governor. Now, the US military is planning a full assault on the Diyala province.

U.S. military commanders are liaising with top Iraqi brass on a fresh large-scale offensive to subdue the restive Province of Diyala to be launched early in August. The attack will be the second major military operation in less than six months targeting Diyala. The province of which the city of Baaquba is the capital has hardly recovered from the devastation the troops incurred in the previous offensive.

As I have recently mentioned, many of the Sunni Awakening groups are holding out for more money, and threatening to rejoin the ranks of their previous insurgent groups, including AQI and the 1920's Revolutionary Brigade. Our own Alex Horton wrote an insightful post about this here. It seems now that this unrest may be a sign of more to come in Diyala.

The province is predominantly Arab Sunni but sizeable communities of Sunni Kurds and Arab and Kurdish Shiites live there.

So how big of an offensive are we talking about?

Thousands of U.S. troops as well as armored vehicles and helicopter gun ships are reportedly deployed to take part in the operation. Tens of thousands of residents are said to have fled the province in anticipation of the attack. The multi-ethnic and sectarian nature of the province is mirrored in the composition of Iraqi troops and security forces. Units with Shiite majority are feared more than U.S. troops in mainly Sunni areas and there have stories of oppression and massive human rights abuses.

In protest, the U.S.-sponsored Sunni militia in the province known as Sahwa or awakening has been disintegrating with tribal leaders resigning or simply refusing to press ahead with fighting al-Qaeda.

If the Awakening groups fall apart, violence will escalate. Sunni groups are appealing to the IIP and the Sunni Accordance Front in an effort to promote some stability.

TIME FOR A DRAFT? DOD SAYS THEY HAVEN'T ENOUGH TROOPS FOR AFGHANISTAN

DoD Can't Find Troops for Afghanistan; Institutes Catch-22 as Official TACSOP

Posted: 29 Jul 2008 10:07 PM CDT
http://www.vetvoice.com/

It seems as though the situation in Afghanistan might be a little hairy:

BAGHDAD - Nearly twice as many U.S. troops have been killed in Afghanistan than in Iraq so far this month, marking the lowest death toll of any month since the U.S. invaded Iraq and putting July on course to be the first month in which the American military suffered more casualties in Afghanistan than in Iraq.

Who knew?

It'd be nice if we could send a few boots towards Afghanistan. You know, maybe keep more American soldiers from dying and secure a country from a third-world shadow government that gave sanctuary to terrorists who killed a few thousand people on American soil. Unfortunately, America officially has no troops left:

WASHINGTON, July 29, 2008 - Defense Department planners continue to look for capabilities to send to Afghanistan, a senior Pentagon spokesman said today. ... ?Efforts to identify additional assets for Afghanistan continue, Morrell said. "Progress is being made toward that end, but I don't have anything definitive to stand here before you today and relay," he said.

First of all, I have an idea where they could find a few thousand troops to commit to a fight that, you know... actually matters.

Second, the DoD press release linked above mentioned a specific unit that is available for just this kind of mission (that is, handling shit going wrong because our national security priorities make no fucking sense). The 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit is CENTCOM's strategic reserve and stands ready in Kuwait to deploy within the Area of Responsibility when extra forces are needed. However, DoD has other plans for the 15th MEU:

[The Pentagon Press Secretary] did say that for the time being, U.S. Central Command's strategic reserve -- 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit -- will not deploy to Afghanistan. The 2,200 Marines of the unit now are training in Kuwait. ??Military commanders said that as much as troops are needed in Afghanistan, the strategic reserve is an insurance policy in a dangerous part of the world. Morrell wouldn't discuss possible scenarios. ??

"If we were to commit these resources to Afghanistan now, we would be hamstrung in responding to future threats," he said.

So in short, CENTCOM has a brigade-sized unit of ground troops ready to deploy in response to escalated threats. That unit, however, can not respond to an escalated threat in Afghanistan, as it would hamper its ability to respond to escalated threats.

Didn't someone write a book about this once?

IS THIS WHAT THE U.S. SHOULD BE DOING?

US may deploy missile radar in Israel

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 04:29:49

http://tinyurl.com/6gcnzf

The US officials agreed to upgrade Israel's missile capability with new ballistic missile systems that include early warning launch data, a forward based X-Band radar system, and advanced versions of Phalanx automated cannons, AFP quoted a senior US defense official as saying on Tuesday.

The source added that the US also agreed to give Israel a permanent access to its Defense Support Program (DSP) satellites for reconnaissance purposes. "The agreements aim at helping Israel to create a missile capability to protect it from all sorts of threats in the region," Gates told reporters after holding talks with the visiting Israeli war minister Ehud Barak on Tuesday.

Barak arrived in Washington on Monday as part of an attempt to improve the regime's military capability and to oblige the US officials not to drop the option of a military strike on Iran for its nuclear program.

37,000 GUARDSMEN AND RESERVISTS BACK FROM IRAQ FAIL TO GET BENEFITS FROM VETERANS ADMINISTRATION

WASHINGTON — The Department of Veterans Affairs failed to send benefit packages to nearly 37,000 National Guard and Reserve members who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan because it mistakenly thought they were ineligible.

By Les Blumenthal McClatchy Newspapers
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/iraq/story/45262.html

Several senators raised the discovery Wednesday, detailed in a report by the VA's Office of Inspector General, as the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee held a hearing on whether Guard and Reserve members are being adequately informed of the benefits that are available to them.

"While the VA has targeted outreach programs in place to help service members, we still miss far too many veterans who need help and aren't aware of the services and benefits they have earned," said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., a senior member of the committee.

Murray and others have long criticized the VA and the Defense Department as not doing enough to ensure that the more than 488,000 members of the National Guard and Reserves who've been mobilized and deployed are notified of and receive the benefits they're entitled to.

Continue reading here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/iraq/story/45262.html