The Bush Butcher’s Bill: 20 US Military Deaths in Iraq from 1 through 11 March 2005 – Official Total of 1,584 US Dead to date (and rising)

U.S. Military Personnel who died in German hospitals or en route to German hospitals have not previously been counted. They total about 6,210 as of 1 January, 2005.

by Brian Harring, Domestic Intelligence Reporter

Note: There is excellent reason to believe that the Department of Defense is deliberately not reporting a significant number of the dead in Iraq. We have received copies of  manifests from the MATS that show far more bodies shipped into Dover AFP than are reported officially. The educated rumor is that the actual death toll is in excess of 7,000. Given the officially acknowledged number of over 15,000 seriously wounded, this elevated death toll is far more realistic than the current 1,400+ now being officially published. When our research is complete, and watertight, we will publish the results along with the sources In addition to the evident falsification of the death rolls, at least 5,500 American military personnel have deserted, most in Ireland but more have escaped to Canada and other European countries, none of whom are inclined to cooperate with vengeful American authorities. (See TBR News of 18 February for full coverage on the mass desertions) This means that of the 158,000 U.S. military shipped to Iraq, 26,000  either deserted, were killed or seriously wounded. Ed

Haven’t we had enough of this?

1

The Department of Defense announced today the death of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.  They died Feb. 26 in Abertha, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated while they were on patrol.   Both Soldiers were assigned to the Army's 6th Squadron, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga. The Soldiers are: Pfc. Min S. Choi, 21, of River Vale, N.J. Pvt. Landon S. Giles, 19, of Indiana, Penn.

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Staff Sgt. Alexander B. Crackel, 31, of Wilstead Bedford, United Kingdom, died Feb. 24 in Al Anbar Province, Iraq, from injuries sustained from enemy small arms fire.  Crackel was assigned to the Army's 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, Camp Hovey, Korea.

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Pfc. Chassan S. Henry, 20, of West Palm Beach, Fla., died Feb. 25 in Ramadi, Iraq, from injuries sustained from an explosion while he was conducting combat operations.  Henry was assigned to the Army's 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2d Infantry Division, Camp Hovey, Korea.

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Spc. Michael S. Deem, 35, of Rockledge, Fla., died Feb. 24 in Baghdad, Iraq, from non-combat related injuries.  Deem was assigned to the Army's Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. 2nd Lt. Richard B. Gienau, 29, of Longview, Iowa, died Feb. 27 in Ar Ramadi, Iraq, from injuries sustained when an improvised explosive device hit his military vehicle.  Gienau was assigned to the Army National Guard's 224th Engineer Battalion, Burlington, Iowa.

2

The Department of Defense announced today the death of two Soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.  They died from injuries sustained in a military vehicle accident that occurred Feb. 28 in Bayji, Iraq.  Both Soldiers were assigned to the Army's 360th Transportation Company, 68th Corps Support Battalion, 43rd Area Support Group, Fort Carson, Colo. Sgt. Julio E. Negron, 28, of Pompano Beach, Fla., died in Bayji on Feb. 28. Spc. Lizbeth Robles, 31, of Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, died at the 228th Command Support Hospital in Tikirt, Iraq, on March 1.

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Pfc. Danny L. Anderson, 29, of Corpus Christi, Texas, died Feb. 27 in Baghdad, Iraq, from injuries sustained from small arms fire. Anderson was assigned to the Army's 26th Forward Support Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.

4

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Spc. Robert S. Pugh, 25, of Meridian, Miss., died Mar. 2 in Iskandariyah, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his military vehicle.  Pugh was assigned to the Army National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 155th Infantry, McComb, Miss.

8

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Spc. Adriana N. Salem, 21, of Elk Grove Village, Ill., died Mar. 4 in Remagen, Iraq when her military vehicle rolled over. Salem was assigned to the 3rd Forward Support Battalion, Division Support Command, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.

The Department of Defense announced today the death of four soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.  They died on Mar. 4 in Ar Ramadi, Iraq when an improvised explosive device detonated near their patrol.  The four soldiers were assigned to the 1st Infantry Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, Fort Carson, Colo. The soldiers are: Capt. Sean Grimes, 31, of Southfield, Mich. Sgt. 1st Class Donald W. Eacho, 38, of Black  Creek, Wis. Cpl. Stephen M. McGowan, 26, of Newark, Del. Spc. Wade Michael Twyman, 27, of Vista, Calif.

9

The Department of Defense announced today the death of two soldiers supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.  They died March 7, in Ramadi, Iraq, when a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device detonated near their screening area.  The two men were assigned to the Army’s 44th Engineer Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Camp Howze, Korea. Killed were: Sgt. Andrew L. Bossert, 24, of Fountain City, Wis., Pfc. Michael W. Franklin, 22, of Coudersport, Pa.

10

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Sgt. Seth K. Garceau, 27, of Oelwein, Iowa, died March 4 at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Landstuhl, Germany, of injuries sustained in Ar Ramadi, Iraq, on Feb. 27 when an improvised explosive device detonated near his military vehicle.  Garceau was assigned to the Army National Guard’s 224th Engineer Battalion, 155th Brigade Combat Team, Fairfield, Iowa.

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Spc. Matthew A. Koch, 23, of West Henrietta, N.Y. died Mar. 9 in Taji, Iraq, from injuries sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle.  Koch was assigned to the 70th Engineer Battalion, Fort Riley, Kan.

11

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a sailor who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. Petty Officer First Class Alec Mazur, 35, of Vernon, N.Y., died Mar. 9, in a non-combat related incident.  Mazur was assigned to Underwater Construction Team One (UCT-1), under operational control of Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command.

IRAQ: US used chemical weapons in Fallujah assault

March 14, 2005
by Doug Lorimer,
Green Left Weekly

The US military used internationally banned chemical weapons, including nerve gas, during their assault on the Iraqi city of Fallujah last November, Dr Khalid ash Shaykhli, an Iraqi health ministry official, told a March 3 Baghdad press conference.

According to the Aljazeera satellite news network, Dr Shaykhli “said that researches, prepared by his medical team, prove that US occupation forces used internationally prohibited substances, including mustard gas, nerve gas and other burning chemicals in their attacks in the war-torn city”.

Chemical weapons such as mustard gas, nerve gas and napalm have been banned by international convention since the 1980s. The main justification made by the US, British and Australian governments in March 2003 for their invasion of Iraq was the claim — since proven to have been a complete fabrication — that Saddam Hussein's regime possessed stockpiles of these banned weapons and was preparing to use them, via the al Qaeda terrorist network, to attack the United States.

Fallujah's armed residents drove the US Army out of their city, located 55 kilometres west of Baghdad, in February 2004, and had defeated a three-week long attempt to reoccupy it by 4500 US marines in April. After three-month campaign of daily aerial attacks by US warplanes, on November 8 some 10,000 US Army and Marine Corps troops — backed by a massive artillery bombardment — attacked the city.

Shaykhli said that during the US assault, fleeing residents described “seeing corpses that had melted, which suggests that US troops used napalm gas, a poisonous compound of polystyrene and aircraft fuel which melts bodies”. He also said that his researchers had found evidence of the use of mustard gas and nerve gas. “We found dozens, not to say hundreds, of stray dogs, cats, and birds that had perished as a result of those gasses”, he told the press conference, which was held in the health ministry's Baghdad building.

Aljazeera reported that the press conference “was attended by more than 20 Iraqi and foreign media networks, including the Iraqi ash-Sharqiyah TV network, the Iraqi as Sabah newspaper, the US Washington Post and the Knight-Ridder service”.

However, the only US news outlet to carry even a mention of the press conference was the Christian Science Monitor's website. In an March 7 article on the US State Department's annual report on other countries' human rights record, the Boston-based daily reported that “Aljazeera also reported that Dr Khalid ash-Shaykhli, an official at Iraq’s health ministry, told a press conference in Baghdad that his department's investigation in the conflict in Fallujah show that US forces used ‘internationally banned weapons' during its offensive last November, including napalm and jet fuel. The United States has never signed the treaty that banned the use of napalm against civilians.”

U.S. Gaining World's Respect From Wars, Rumsfeld Asserts

by Ann Scott Tyson
Washington Post
March 11, 2005

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld upheld the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan yesterday as powerful demonstrations of U.S. military prowess that will make other countries think twice about making "mischief" around the world.

Pressed by lawmakers on whether wear and tear on U.S. troops and equipment has impaired the Pentagon's ability to meet unforeseen global contingencies, Rumsfeld said U.S. commanders have assured him that "our military is capable of performing."

Rumsfeld acknowledged concern about stress on the force -- particularly the Army Reserve and National Guard. He said U.S. military equipment such as tanks, helicopters and Bradley Fighting Vehicles are wearing out at from two to six times the peacetime rate, leading the Pentagon to request $12 billion for equipment repairs in the fiscal 2005 emergency supplemental budget.

He also pointed to positive outcomes from the sustained combat. The fighting has created a force of "battle-hardened veterans" whose overthrow of the Taliban government in Afghanistan and Saddam Hussein's government in Iraq erased doubts in the minds of the nation's friends and foes over U.S. willingness to use force and stay the course of conflicts, Rumsfeld said.

"The world has seen, in the last 3 1/2 years, the capability of the United States of America to go into Afghanistan . . . and with 20,000, 15,000 troops working with the Afghans do what 200,000 Soviets couldn't do in a decade. They've seen the United States and the coalition forces go into Iraq. . . . That has to have a deterrent effect on people," he testified before the House Armed Services Committee.

"If you put yourself in the shoes of a country that might decide they'd like to make mischief, they have a very recent, vivid example of the fact that the United States has the ability to deal with this," he said.

Rumsfeld was asked about a potential military threat from China. He said this year's Quadrennial Defense Review -- a major rethinking of U.S. military strategy -- would plan long-range weapons systems "with respect to China and other circumstances that can change dramatically."

The defense review must "recognize the changes that are taking place in Asia and the kinds of capabilities that the United States could be facing in 10, 15, 20 years" in addition to today's threats, he said.

Lawmakers asked Rumsfeld to solve a shortage of jammers to counteract road bombs that have killed many U.S. troops in Iraq. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Richard B. Myers said no "silver bullet" exists to thwart the bombs, which the military is working to defeat as quickly as Iraqi insurgents reinvent them.