Iraq war "surge" claims lives of 12 more US soldiers
By Jerry White
8 May 2007
The Pentagon has confirmed the deaths of another dozen US soldiers in
Iraq, including six who were killed Sunday in Diyala province,
northeast of Baghdad, when their Stryker armored vehicle was hit by a
massive roadside bomb. On the same day a US commander warned that
American casualties would increase over the next several months,
cautioning that it could take years to subdue Iraqi resistance to the
US occupation.
Roadside bombs killed two other soldiers Sunday-one in southern
Baghdad, the other in north of the capital. A soldier was killed in a
"non-combat incident" in Tikrit the same day, while two Marines were
killed in combat operations Saturday and another in a bomb attack
Friday in western Baghdad.
The death toll of US soldiers in Iraq has now reached 3,377, with
nearly 25,000 wounded. Another 388 US troops have been killed in
Afghanistan, including two on Sunday who were shot by a soldier in the
US-backed Afghan government army outside of a top security prison
being expanded to house detainees presently being held in Guant=E1namo
Bay.
http://wsws.org/articles/2007/may2007/iraq-m08.shtml
The Bush administration's "surge," which is sending nearly 30,000 more
US troops into Iraq, is now entering its fourth month. The escalation
has placed US soldiers in a far more vulnerable position. Soldiers
have left heavily fortified areas, set up neighborhood outposts and
engaged in street battles and door-to-door raids. Casualties in May
are growing at a faster pace than last month, when 104 US soldiers
were killed, one of the deadliest months since the war began in March
2003.
Speaking to reporters Sunday, Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, commander of the
3rd Infantry Division, said, "All of us believe that in the next 90
days, you'll probably see an increase in American casualties because
we are taking the fight to the enemy. This is the only way we can win
the fight."
Lynch presented a grim picture of the military and political
situation, saying Iraqi fighters had adjusted to US military tactics,
were winning support and protection from civilians and intensifying
their attacks on US forces.
"The enemy dominates the terrain," he said. "He has the opportunities
to set ambushes. He has the opportunity to set traps." Lynch noted
that more sophisticated roadside bombs were being used by both Shiite
and Sunni insurgents, and added, "You got a thinking enemy out there.
As soon as we do something to prove our capability, he does something
to defeat our capability."
Although the US commander claimed that the surge would have a
"decisive effect on enemy formations" by August or September, he
suggested that it could take years to suppress Iraqi popular
opposition.
Describing himself as a student of history-and clearly basing himself
on the bloody experiences in Algeria, Malaysia, Vietnam and Central
America-Lynch said, "Counter-insurgency operations that have been
successful in the past took a minimum of nine years. Others took a lot
longer but never were that successful. There is not an instantaneous
solution to this problem."
The Pentagon and the news media have been silent on what are
undoubtedly thousands of Iraqi casualties resulting from the surge,
which has included the isolation and barricading of neighborhoods
where insurgents enjoy popular support, joint raids by US, Iraqi and
Kurdish forces, mass detentions and the use artillery bombardment in
civilian areas.
Following an assault Sunday by US forces in the sprawling slums of the
Sadr City neighborhood of Baghdad, a local hospital reported that it
received at least 20 casualties. According to the Pentagon at least
eight "militants" were killed in the pre-dawn raid and five-hour gun
battle.
While the names of the latest US fatalities have yet to be released by
the Defense Department, the last dead soldier identified by the
Pentagon was typical of thousands of working class youth-along with
hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqis-who have died.
Twenty-four-year-old Pfc. Jerome Potter from Tacoma, Washington, was
killed May 3 while on patrol in Baghdad. Potter left high school to
join the Jobs Corps and then joined the military, which sent him to
Iraq last October. According to the Seattle Times, Potter hoped to use
money he earned in the military to become a park ranger.
The growing number of US casualties has become a major factor in the
mass opposition to the war within the US and the deep hatred of
President Bush whose approval ratings have fallen to an all-time low
of 28 percent. Nevertheless, the Democratic Party, while attempting to
corral antiwar sentiment with its impotent proposals for non-binding
troop withdrawal resolutions, is committed to the continued occupation
of the oil-rich Middle Eastern country and is about to vote to
continue funding this criminal war.
Each of the leading Democratic presidential contenders-Hillary
Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards-is seeking to craft their own
position that will allow them to posture as opponents of the war,
while committing themselves to defending US geo-political interests in
the region.
Clinton is calling for a vote to end Congressional authority for the
war as of October 11, the fifth anniversary of the original vote,
which sanctioned the US invasion and occupation-a vote that she and
Edwards both supported. According to the New York Times, "Clinton said
her push for a new vote on the war authority did not mean she would
oppose whatever spending measure might emerge from negotiations
between Congress and the White House."
While Clinton claims that rescinding the original vote would mean
troops would be out by October, the Times noted that her aides later
said, "Mrs. Clinton was not seeking a total withdrawal of troops from
Iraq, or a quick pullout that could put troops at risk. They said she
had called for a phased pullout that would leave a reduced American
force to pursue terrorist cells in Iraq, support the Kurds and conduct
other missions-a position she continued to support, her aides said."
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