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Politics : Stockman Scott's Political Debate Porch -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mannie who wrote (30222)	10/17/2003 3:09:08 PM
From: Rick Faurot	Respond to of 89467

U.S. 'Peace Toll' in Iraq Passes 100 Combat Deaths Fri October 17, 2003 02:39 PM ET By Brian Williams BAGHDAD (Reuters) - When the 100th U.S. soldier died in combat since President Bush declared victory in Iraq nearly six months ago, the grim statistic laid bare how deadly Iraq has become even after the war. It also marked the biggest U.S. combat loss in a peacekeeping operation since an ill-fated intervention in the Lebanon conflict 20 years ago. That involvement ended in 1983 after an explosive-laden truck rammed into a U.S. Marines Corps barracks in Beirut, killing 241 servicemen. Somalia, Kosovo, Panama, Grenada, Afghanistan and the first Gulf war, in which 147 Americans died, have not taken the overall toll on American lives that the present Iraq conflict has exacted. As well as the 101 soldiers who have died in combat since the war was formally declared over by Bush on May 1, another 97 have died in so-called non-hostile action -- accidents, friendly fire, illness and suicides. In the war itself, 115 U.S. troops died in combat and 23 in non-hostile actions, making a total of 336 dead for U.S. forces since they invaded March 20. "It's just frustrating. It's not traditional warfare, You've got no known enemy. No military target," said Specialist Joshuah Thompson, 23, with the 720th Military Police Battalion in Saddam Hussein's home town of Tikrit. "I think the people are ungrateful. They still attack us. We bring them freedom and they're still trying to kill us." WAYS OF DEATH SIMPLE AND DIRECT The ways of death are brutally simple and direct, a far cry from the high-tech warfare favored by the United States. A mortar bomb here, a rocket propelled grenade there, a burst of AK-47 fire -- and most deadly of all -- the dreaded IED or "Improvised Explosive Device," military jargon for a home-made bomb. Hung from a tree, buried by a roadside, detonated by a toy car remote control or a timer, the IED is the most feared of the weapons used by the collection of Saddam loyalists and al Qaeda followers blamed by the U.S. military for the death toll. "There is not much you can do about them," said Pfc. William Jelks, 19, of Houston, who mans a 50-caliber machine gun on top of a Humvee, a favored vehicle for patrols. "About all you can do is look for them." U.S. troops have taken to reinforcing their Humvees with more armor plating but even this is little protection in an IED attack where plastic explosives and mortar bombs are linked in a "daisy chain." Troops say attackers rarely worry them with gunfire. "I haven't seen any gunshot wounds in a long time, maybe two months. The wounds are all these RPGs and shrapnel from IEDs," said Maj. William Marzullo, of El Paso, Texas, senior medical officer for the First Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment. "I wasn't expecting all these home-made bombs." Lt. Col. James Cassella, a Pentagon spokesman, said U.S. troops in Iraq face "a low-intensity conflict" that will last "for some time." Lt. Gen. Thomas Metz, commander of the 3rd Corps, said U.S. troops may have to stay in Iraq until 2006. Staff Sgt. Ronnie Stewart, 35, of Shreveport, Louisiana, said the mounting casualty toll and particularly the figure of 100 dead was at last bringing home to some troops that the United States was in Iraq for the long haul. "I can say that the younger soldiers had their minds geared to the end of their tours in Iraq," he said. "I think they didn't understand that this is an ongoing process. I think for a lot of soldiers it has come as a shock. Reality has just now set in for them." (Additional reporting by Ian Simpson in Iraq, and Will Dunham in Washington)