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adrug

Registered: 02/04/03
Posts: 15,800
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Up to 12 U.S. Marines Die in Worsening Iraq Violence
#2533842 - 04/07/04 02:36 AM (18 years, 11 months ago) |
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http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml...mp;section=news
Up to 12 U.S. Marines Die in Worsening Iraq Violence
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S.-led forces grappled with Sunni and Shi'ite Muslim rebels in Iraq on Wednesday after up to 12 U.S. Marines and dozens of Iraqis were killed in Sunni towns in violence coinciding with a radical Shi'ite uprising.
A U.S. defense official said the Marines died when they were attacked near the governor's palace in Ramadi, 70 miles west of Baghdad, in central Iraq's Sunni heartlands.
It was one of the costliest battles for U.S. forces in Iraq since the war that toppled Saddam Hussein began a year ago, and brought to around 30 the number of U.S. soldiers killed in action since Sunday. The White House said the losses would not weaken its determination.
"Our resolve is firm, our resolve is unshakeable and we will prevail," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said.
In Falluja, where Marines were pursuing a major crackdown after last week's killings of four American private security guards, doctors said 36 people were killed on Tuesday.
Among the dead were 25 civilians in a house destroyed by what locals said was a U.S. helicopter strike. A U.S. military spokeswoman in Baghdad said she had no word on the incident.
Intense fighting raged in Falluja on Wednesday. Heavy gunfire and blasts could be heard during a live report from the city by a correspondent for the Arabic news channel Al Jazeera.
The U.S. defense official also said "a significant number" of Iraqis died in the Ramadi battle. U.S. Marines in Falluja and Ramadi launched "Operation Vigilant Resolve" this week to hunt down those involved in the killing of the four U.S. guards.
After they were killed, a crowd of Iraqis set the bodies ablaze, mutilated them and hanged two of them from a bridge.
Elsewhere in Iraq, followers of Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr fought gun battles with foreign troops in the southern cities of Nassiriya, Amara and Kut on Tuesday and vowed to pursue a revolt that has claimed over 130 lives in three days.
FEARS OF QUAGMIRE
The uprising by Shi'ites raised fears in Washington that U.S. forces, already battling Sunni insurgency, faced a Vietnam-style quagmire. The clashes with Shi'ites are a new front for U.S.-led forces trying to pacify Iraq ahead of a June 30 handover of sovereignty to an Iraqi government.
Sadr appealed to all Iraqis, whatever their religion, to help expel the occupiers. "This insurrection shows that the Iraqi people are not satisfied with the occupation and they will not accept oppression," he said in a statement.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari, in London for talks with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, said thousands more foreign troops might be needed to maintain order.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said if commanders on the ground asked for more troops they would be sent.
President Bush vowed the campaign by Sadr's supporters would not derail Washington's plans. "We will pass sovereignty on June 30," he told a campaign rally in Arkansas. "We're not going to be intimidated by thugs and assassins."
A U.S. opinion poll showed support for Bush's handling of Iraq at a new low of 40 percent, with 44 percent wanting U.S. troops withdrawn.
U.S. Democratic Senator Edward Kennedy, a key backer of John Kerry's bid to unseat Bush in November's presidential election, said Iraq had become "George Bush's Vietnam" -- a comparison rejected by Iraq's U.S. governor Paul Bremer.
Since the U.S.-led invasion, 429 U.S. soldiers have been killed in action in Iraq, excluding Tuesday's deaths in Ramadi.
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adrug

Registered: 02/04/03
Posts: 15,800
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Re: Up to 12 U.S. Marines Die in Worsening Iraq Violence [Re: adrug]
#2535660 - 04/07/04 02:48 PM (18 years, 11 months ago) |
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Its funny how when people post opinions there are tons of people ready to jump in and argue, but when you post a significant news story without putting a spin on it, nothing is said.
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Azmodeus
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Re: Up to 12 U.S. Marines Die in Worsening Iraq Violence [Re: adrug]
#2535889 - 04/07/04 04:04 PM (18 years, 11 months ago) |
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Im curious as to what you'd say about it...it seems pretty self explanitory to me. Obviously this is a bad situation for america, it can only get worse unless something drastic changes.
-------------------- "Know your Body - Know your Mind - Know your Substance - Know your Source.
Lest we forget. "
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adrug

Registered: 02/04/03
Posts: 15,800
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Re: Up to 12 U.S. Marines Die in Worsening Iraq Violence [Re: Azmodeus]
#2535926 - 04/07/04 04:16 PM (18 years, 11 months ago) |
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To me this seems like proof that things are not going well, now we have both the sunnis and the shi'ites attacking troops. Its time to rethink this, while Bush and Cheney say they'll send more troops if necessary. I was just hoping to get some reaction from some of the war supporters on these new developments.
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Azmodeus
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Re: Up to 12 U.S. Marines Die in Worsening Iraq Violence [Re: adrug]
#2536877 - 04/07/04 08:35 PM (18 years, 11 months ago) |
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Its a solid point for a bad situation....if they argue against that they'll seem foolish, and they definately wont admit withdrawing is a good idea....the poor iraqis still need power and government.....etc.
-------------------- "Know your Body - Know your Mind - Know your Substance - Know your Source.
Lest we forget. "
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Swami
Eggshell Walker

Registered: 01/18/00
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Re: Up to 12 U.S. Marines Die in Worsening Iraq Violence [Re: adrug]
#2537104 - 04/07/04 09:29 PM (18 years, 11 months ago) |
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To me this seems like proof that things are not going well, now we have both the sunnis and the shi'ites attacking troops. No, no, no! Bush already stated that increased attacks are a sign that we are winning the war!
Its time to rethink this, while Bush and Cheney say they'll send more troops if necessary. More money and more men worked so well in the W.O.D. and in Viet Nam, why would it not work here as well?
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The proof is in the pudding.
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Le_Canard
The Duk Abides

Registered: 05/16/03
Posts: 94,392
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Re: Up to 12 U.S. Marines Die in Worsening Iraq Violence [Re: Swami]
#2537151 - 04/07/04 09:37 PM (18 years, 11 months ago) |
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Quote:
Swami said:
More money and more men worked so well in the W.O.D. and in Viet Nam, why would it not work here as well?
Indeed. If what's being done doesn't work, throw some more money at it! And people wonder where all that Gov't money is going.....yeesh!
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Learyfan
It's the psychedelic movement!


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Re: Up to 12 U.S. Marines Die in Worsening Iraq Violence [Re: adrug]
#2537353 - 04/07/04 10:18 PM (18 years, 11 months ago) |
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Twelve dead soldiers? We must be kicking ass.
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