http://www.military.com/NewsContent/0,13319,101679,00.html
Search Still on for Missing GI's
Associated Press | June 19, 2006
BAGHDAD, Iraq - An Iraqi farmer said Sunday that he saw seven heavily armed gunmen capture two American Soldiers during an attack on a road checkpoint south of Baghdad, while U.S. troops searched for their comrades for a second day.
Another Iraqi said the Americans were offering $100,000 for information leading to the abductors, but the U.S. command denied that.
The White House promised to do everything it could to find the Soldiers and said it had a message for anybody who may have taken the two men: "Give them back."
Gunmen, meanwhile, kidnapped 10 bakery workers in Baghdad, and a mortar attack killed four people in the capital. Police also found 17 bodies around the city, including four women and a teenager handcuffed and shot in the head - apparently the latest victims of sectarian death squads.
While suffering the new blows to his effort to restore security in Baghdad, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki pushed ahead with negotiations on a plan for reconciling the country's ethnic and religious communities.
But his proposal, which would include a limited pardon for insurgents according to a draft obtained by The Associated Press, has been snarled by stark differences on that issue among the various groups, legislators said Sunday.
U.S. troops, backed by helicopters and warplanes, fanned out across the "Triangle of Death" south of Baghdad searching for the two missing servicemen, but the military offered no new information after saying Saturday that at least four raids had been carried out.
The predominantly Sunni region is the scene of frequent ambushes of U.S. Soldiers and Iraqi troops.
Ahmed Khalaf Falah, a farmer who said he witnessed the abduction of the Americans on Friday, said three Humvees were manning a U.S. checkpoint near Youssifiyah, about 12 miles south of Baghdad, when they came under fire from many directions.
Two Humvees chased after the assailants, but the third was attacked before it could move, he told AP. Seven masked gunmen, including one carrying what appeared to be a heavy machine gun, killed the driver of the third vehicle, then took the other two Soldiers captive, Falah said.
Falah said tensions were high in the area as U.S. troops raided some houses and detained men in looking for the missing Soldiers. He said the Americans were setting up checkpoints on all roads leading into the area of the attack and helicopters were hovering at low altitudes.
A Youssifiyah resident, who said his house was searched by U.S. Soldiers Sunday afternoon, said the Americans were using translators to offer $100,000 for information leading to those who took the Soldiers.
The U.S. military denied a reward had been offered. It said only that coalition and Iraqi forces were continuing the search and "will continue to use every resource available."
The man in Youssifiyah said he would not cooperate.
"I will not do it even if they pay one million dollars," he said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he feared retribution. "They deserve all that they are facing ... we are living a hard life because of them."
White House spokesman Tony Snow said he could not confirm the two missing Soldiers were abducted, but he told "Fox News Sunday" that anybody who might be holding them should "give them back."
"Obviously, there is a vigorous effort to try to locate them and to bring them back safely," he said in an interview with CNN.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said the Soldiers appeared to have been taken prisoner. "Hopefully they will be found and released as soon as possible," he said on CNN's "Late Edition."
The U.S. military said Saturday that Soldiers at a nearby checkpoint heard small-arms fire and explosions during the attack at 7:15 p.m. Friday, and a quick-reaction force reached the scene within 15 minutes. The force found one Soldier dead but no signs of the other two.
Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, spokesman for U.S. forces in Iraq, said blocking positions were established throughout the area within an hour of the attack to keep suspects from fleeing. He also said divers would search a Euphrates River canal near the attacked outpost.
The two Soldiers were the first to go missing in the Iraq war since Sgt. Keith M. Maupin of Batavia, Ohio, was captured on April 9, 2004, when insurgents ambushed his fuel convoy west of Baghdad.
A week later, Al-Jazeera television aired a videotape showing the 20-year-old Maupin sitting on the floor surrounded by five masked men holding automatic rifles.
That June, Al-Jazeera aired another tape purporting to show a U.S. Soldier being shot. But the dark, grainy tape showed only the back of the victim's head and did not show the actual shooting. The Army ruled it was inconclusive whether the Soldier was Maupin.
Elsewhere in Iraq, U.S. and Iraqi troops met little resistance as they established new outposts in southern Ramadi in an operation aimed at denying supplies to insurgents in Iraq's biggest Sunni Arab city.
U.S. commanders said the move wasn't the precursor to a rumored assault to drive out insurgents along the lines of the 2004 attack in Fallujah, but rather an "isolation" tactic.
Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Full Version: Military News and Commentary Thread
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http://www.military.com/NewsContent/0,13319,101682,00.html
Families of Missing Soldiers Wait for Word
Associated Press | June 19, 2006
DALLAS - Christina Menchaca met her husband through her brother, who served with him in the Army. She married Kristian Menchaca in September and he deployed to Iraq in October. She was waiting Sunday with the rest of Menchaca's family for any word about the Houston 23-year-old, who was one of two servicemen reported missing in Iraq after an insurgent attack on a military checkpoint Friday. Army Pfc. Thomas Lowell Tucker, 25, of Madras, Ore., also was missing.
"We're basically just watching the news because no one else knows anything about it, no one has heard anything about it," Christina Menchaca, 18, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. "We're just going by what the news has to say."
The Defense Department said Spc. David J. Babineau, 25, of Springfield, Mass., was killed in the attack. All three Soldiers were assigned to Fort Campbell, Ky.
Witnesses said the missing Soldiers were led away by masked gunmen, but those reports have not been confirmed by the military, which has undertaken a massive search.
Kay Fristad, an Oregon National Guard spokeswoman, said she had a brief conservation with Tucker's parents and they said he joined the military "to do something positive for the country."
Fristad said Tucker's family had been camping this weekend and only recently learned the news. She said they have asked for privacy and would not comment until Monday.
Menchaca's brother, Julio Cesar Vasquez, of Houston, said Menchaca joined the military last year and deployed to Iraq within months.
Menchaca's mother, Maria Vasquez, of Brownsville, Texas, said she last heard from her son a few weeks ago. "I'm a little bit nervous, and I cannot sleep," she said. "I worry about him."
Former Madras Mayor Rick Allen, whom Tucker worked for at a gas station while he was a student at Madras High School, described Tucker as strong, street smart and mechanically inclined.
"He's a tough kid. Hopefully he's got the inner strength to make it through this ordeal."
Allen said he learned the news on television.
"It's just bizarre; it takes your breath away. Here's this kid who used to come and pump gas at your place and now he is clear across the world - held," Allen said. "And there's nothing anyone can do, except hope these people have compassion and let him go."
Families of Missing Soldiers Wait for Word
Associated Press | June 19, 2006
DALLAS - Christina Menchaca met her husband through her brother, who served with him in the Army. She married Kristian Menchaca in September and he deployed to Iraq in October. She was waiting Sunday with the rest of Menchaca's family for any word about the Houston 23-year-old, who was one of two servicemen reported missing in Iraq after an insurgent attack on a military checkpoint Friday. Army Pfc. Thomas Lowell Tucker, 25, of Madras, Ore., also was missing.
"We're basically just watching the news because no one else knows anything about it, no one has heard anything about it," Christina Menchaca, 18, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. "We're just going by what the news has to say."
The Defense Department said Spc. David J. Babineau, 25, of Springfield, Mass., was killed in the attack. All three Soldiers were assigned to Fort Campbell, Ky.
Witnesses said the missing Soldiers were led away by masked gunmen, but those reports have not been confirmed by the military, which has undertaken a massive search.
Kay Fristad, an Oregon National Guard spokeswoman, said she had a brief conservation with Tucker's parents and they said he joined the military "to do something positive for the country."
Fristad said Tucker's family had been camping this weekend and only recently learned the news. She said they have asked for privacy and would not comment until Monday.
Menchaca's brother, Julio Cesar Vasquez, of Houston, said Menchaca joined the military last year and deployed to Iraq within months.
Menchaca's mother, Maria Vasquez, of Brownsville, Texas, said she last heard from her son a few weeks ago. "I'm a little bit nervous, and I cannot sleep," she said. "I worry about him."
Former Madras Mayor Rick Allen, whom Tucker worked for at a gas station while he was a student at Madras High School, described Tucker as strong, street smart and mechanically inclined.
"He's a tough kid. Hopefully he's got the inner strength to make it through this ordeal."
Allen said he learned the news on television.
"It's just bizarre; it takes your breath away. Here's this kid who used to come and pump gas at your place and now he is clear across the world - held," Allen said. "And there's nothing anyone can do, except hope these people have compassion and let him go."
PRAY FOR THE 2 MIA'S
THE UNWITTING VICTIMS
By: John LeBoutillier
It is going to be a rough road for the two missing US soldiers who were abducted Friday night from a roadblock when insurgents cleverly split the American contingent apart. The two soldiers were apparently last seen being marched off and loaded into a car by up to nine masked insurgents.
So much for the predicted “fall-off of violence” now that Zarquawi has been killed. Indeed, things have continued unabated in the nine days since his death. At least 36 people were killed in bombings today - and numerous kidnappings were reported, as well.
Clearly there is an ‘intelligent’ force directing this widespread, systematic, well-planned insurgency. And there is also huge support among the Iraqi people for attacks on American soldiers: in a new poll, 47% of the Iraqi people support attacks on US soldiers.
If that is true, then our continued presence in Iraq is a futile exercise. An ‘occupation’ cannot work well if there is widespread resistence.
If the Iraqi insurgency is now targeting US soldiers - as has been reported over the past several weeks - then the tone of this war will change. Capturing Americans is a sure-fire way to enflame the American people and, in effect, to escalate the war itself.
What we don’t yet know about these two missing soldiers is: will they be videotaped and that tape used for propaganda purposes? Will they be ransomed? Will they be taunted and beheaded like other hostages? Will they just fade from view like Sgt. Keith Maupin? Will they be ‘punished’ as payback for Abu Garaib? Or will they be used to try to break the will of the American people to keep fighting this seemingly-never-ending war?
Most worrisome is that, under GW Bush’s administration, we have purposely dissed international agreements, especially the Geneva Conventions on the holding and treatment of captured military personnel. Because of this, these Iraqi insurgents may feel free to abuse and torture and humiliate these 2 GI’s - as a vindictive form of ‘payback.’
All the domestic debate here about the efficacy and morality of torture may come back to hurt us now - or to hurt these two soldiers. We have no leg to stand on as we long ago abandoned the moral high ground when we began invoking torture in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanimo.
These 2 soldiers - and others yet to be captured in this and future conflicts - will be the unwitting victims of a stupid policy that has done nothing but hurt America’s image worldwide. Even Mr. Bush himself now acknowledges that those photographs from Abu Garaib have severely damaged the USA.
All our previous enemies have discovered the value in holding American soldiers as prisoners. They are useful for both ransom and for propaganda. Also, under torture, sometimes combat secrets can be extracted - although in this case it is less likely than with captured officers or airmen.
Because we care about the lives of each and every soldier, we are paying attention to the fate of these 2 men. Our news media is leading the news each cycle with updates about the search. (Is it only 9 days ago that we were celebrating the death of Zarquawi? Oh how things can change.)
If we can rescue these men alive, it will be a huge victory; if we don’t, it will be seen as yet another sign of a war gone bad with no end in sight.
Our Congress voted on Friday against a “date certain” withdrawal of our troops. But no one is considering a more simple idea: telling the new Iraqi government that it is now up to them to run their own country. We’ve ‘birthed’ their democracy and poored billions of dollars and 2,500 lives into their freedom. It is time that we took the training wheels off and they learn to defend themselves.
There is no useful reason American soldiers are now dying in a decades-long fight between Sunni and Sh’ia - a fight that has nothing at all to do with 9/11, or Osama or a threat to America.
Iraq is a nation that never should have been.
It is 3 peoples crammed together by the British decades ago - and then kept under the jackboot of a Ba’ath Party dictatorship.
Now, thanks to our liberation, these three peoples are free - but some of them are using this newfound freedom to settle old scores and perform ethnic cleansing, just like in the former Yugoslavia.
This mess will not be tolerated much longer by the American people. The upcoming November elections will go a long way to determining whether the ‘stay the course’ plan can continue - or instead we begin to disengage.
The capture of these 2 soldiers in a microcosm of the war itself: how long will America be held hostage by a war with no end game?
"Published originally at EtherZone.com : republication allowed with this notice and hyperlink intact."
http://www.etherzone.com/2006/lebo061906.shtml
THE UNWITTING VICTIMS
By: John LeBoutillier
It is going to be a rough road for the two missing US soldiers who were abducted Friday night from a roadblock when insurgents cleverly split the American contingent apart. The two soldiers were apparently last seen being marched off and loaded into a car by up to nine masked insurgents.
So much for the predicted “fall-off of violence” now that Zarquawi has been killed. Indeed, things have continued unabated in the nine days since his death. At least 36 people were killed in bombings today - and numerous kidnappings were reported, as well.
Clearly there is an ‘intelligent’ force directing this widespread, systematic, well-planned insurgency. And there is also huge support among the Iraqi people for attacks on American soldiers: in a new poll, 47% of the Iraqi people support attacks on US soldiers.
If that is true, then our continued presence in Iraq is a futile exercise. An ‘occupation’ cannot work well if there is widespread resistence.
If the Iraqi insurgency is now targeting US soldiers - as has been reported over the past several weeks - then the tone of this war will change. Capturing Americans is a sure-fire way to enflame the American people and, in effect, to escalate the war itself.
What we don’t yet know about these two missing soldiers is: will they be videotaped and that tape used for propaganda purposes? Will they be ransomed? Will they be taunted and beheaded like other hostages? Will they just fade from view like Sgt. Keith Maupin? Will they be ‘punished’ as payback for Abu Garaib? Or will they be used to try to break the will of the American people to keep fighting this seemingly-never-ending war?
Most worrisome is that, under GW Bush’s administration, we have purposely dissed international agreements, especially the Geneva Conventions on the holding and treatment of captured military personnel. Because of this, these Iraqi insurgents may feel free to abuse and torture and humiliate these 2 GI’s - as a vindictive form of ‘payback.’
All the domestic debate here about the efficacy and morality of torture may come back to hurt us now - or to hurt these two soldiers. We have no leg to stand on as we long ago abandoned the moral high ground when we began invoking torture in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanimo.
These 2 soldiers - and others yet to be captured in this and future conflicts - will be the unwitting victims of a stupid policy that has done nothing but hurt America’s image worldwide. Even Mr. Bush himself now acknowledges that those photographs from Abu Garaib have severely damaged the USA.
All our previous enemies have discovered the value in holding American soldiers as prisoners. They are useful for both ransom and for propaganda. Also, under torture, sometimes combat secrets can be extracted - although in this case it is less likely than with captured officers or airmen.
Because we care about the lives of each and every soldier, we are paying attention to the fate of these 2 men. Our news media is leading the news each cycle with updates about the search. (Is it only 9 days ago that we were celebrating the death of Zarquawi? Oh how things can change.)
If we can rescue these men alive, it will be a huge victory; if we don’t, it will be seen as yet another sign of a war gone bad with no end in sight.
Our Congress voted on Friday against a “date certain” withdrawal of our troops. But no one is considering a more simple idea: telling the new Iraqi government that it is now up to them to run their own country. We’ve ‘birthed’ their democracy and poored billions of dollars and 2,500 lives into their freedom. It is time that we took the training wheels off and they learn to defend themselves.
There is no useful reason American soldiers are now dying in a decades-long fight between Sunni and Sh’ia - a fight that has nothing at all to do with 9/11, or Osama or a threat to America.
Iraq is a nation that never should have been.
It is 3 peoples crammed together by the British decades ago - and then kept under the jackboot of a Ba’ath Party dictatorship.
Now, thanks to our liberation, these three peoples are free - but some of them are using this newfound freedom to settle old scores and perform ethnic cleansing, just like in the former Yugoslavia.
This mess will not be tolerated much longer by the American people. The upcoming November elections will go a long way to determining whether the ‘stay the course’ plan can continue - or instead we begin to disengage.
The capture of these 2 soldiers in a microcosm of the war itself: how long will America be held hostage by a war with no end game?
"Published originally at EtherZone.com : republication allowed with this notice and hyperlink intact."
http://www.etherzone.com/2006/lebo061906.shtml
Missing troops from 101st
101st soldier killed, two kidnapped during attack on checkpoint in Iraq
By Chantal Escoto
The (Clarksville, Tenn.) Leaf-Chronicle
One soldier who was killed and two others kidnapped at a checkpoint in Yusufiyah, Iraq, Friday belonged to the 101st Airborne Division’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team.
Spc. David J. Babineau, 25, of Springfield, Mass., was killed after the soldiers’ traffic control checkpoint came under enemy attack, said Fort Campbell Public Affairs spokesman John Minton.
The two missing soldiers are Pfc. Kristian Menchaca, 23, of Houston, Texas, and Pfc. Thomas L. Tucker, 25, of Madras, Ore. All infantrymen were assigned to Company B, 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment.
Ahmed Khalaf Falah, a farmer who said he witnessed the attack Friday, said three Humvees were manning a checkpoint when they came under fire from many directions. Two Humvees went after the assailants, but the third was ambushed before it could move, he told The Associated Press.
Seven masked gunmen, including one carrying what Falah described as a heavy machine gun, killed the driver of the third vehicle, then took the two other U.S. soldiers captive, the witness said. His account could not be verified independently.
Another Iraqi said the Americans were offering $100,000 for information leading to the abductors, but the U.S. command denied that.
An umbrella group that includes al-Qaida in Iraq claimed in a Web statement Monday that it had kidnapped two soldiers reported missing south of Baghdad.
There was no immediate confirmation that the statement was credible, although it appeared on a Web site often used by al-Qaida-linked groups. U.S. officials have said they were trying to confirm whether the missing soldiers were kidnapped.
“Your brothers in the military wing of the Mujahedeen Shura Council kidnapped the two American soldiers near Youssifiya,” the group said in a statement posted on an Islamic Web site.
The White House promised to do everything it could to find the soldiers and said it had a message for anybody who may have taken the two men: “Give them back.”
More about the soldiers Babineau joined the Army in August 1998 and came to Fort Campbell the following December. He is survived by his wife, Rondi, and sons, Dominic and Donovan Babineau and stepdaughter Samantha Hensley, all of Oak Grove, Ky. His parents Paul and Dawn Babineau live in Springfield, Mass.
Menchaca entered the Army in March 2005 and arrived to Fort Campbell four months later. His wife is Christine Alvarez of Big Springs, Texas, and his mother and stepfather Maria and Sergio Vasquez of Houston, Texas.
Tucker arrived at Fort Campbell in Dec. 2005. His parents are Wesley and Margret Tucker of Burns, Ore.
Multinational Force Iraq spokesman Army Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said the missing soldiers are listed as “duty status and whereabouts unknown.” The category changes to “missing in action” if they are not found after 10 days.
Caldwell said a squad of on-call armed U.S. soldiers, called a quick-reaction force, responded within 15 minutes to the attack site.
Coalition forces continue to search for the two missing soldiers who were manning the checkpoint at a canal crossing near the Euphrates River.
The search U.S. troops, backed by helicopters and warplanes, fanned out across the “Triangle of Death” south of Baghdad searching for the missing servicemen. At least four raids had been carried out, but the captives were not found, the military said.
White House spokesman Tony Snow said he had no new information about the search and could not confirm reports the two men were abducted.
“We’re still trying to ascertain their whereabouts,” he told CNN’s “Late Edition.” “Obviously, there is a vigorous effort to try to locate them and to bring them back safely.”
A U.S. military spokesman, Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, said Saturday a dive team also was searching for the men, whose checkpoint was near a Euphrates River canal not far from Youssifiyah, 12 miles south of Baghdad. The Sunni region is the site of frequent ambushes of U.S. soldiers and Iraqi troops.
The U.S. military said Sunday it was continuing the search.
“Coalition and Iraqi forces will continue to search everywhere possible, uncovering every stone, until our soldiers are found, and we will continue to use every resource available in our search,” it said.
Falah also said tensions were high in the area as U.S. soldiers raided some houses and arrested men. He also said the Americans were setting up checkpoints on all roads leading to the area of the attack and helicopters were hovering at low altitudes.
A Youssifiyah resident, who claimed his house was searched by U.S. soldiers Sunday afternoon, also said the Americans used translators to offer $100,000 for information leading to those who took the soldiers.
He said he would not cooperate because he was angry with the Americans.
“I will not do it even if they pay $1 million,” the resident said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he feared retribution. “They deserve all that they are facing ... We are living a hard life because of them.”
Caldwell said, “We are currently using every means at our disposal on the ground, in the air and in the water to find them,” said Caldwell, the spokesman for U.S. forces in Baghdad.
He said blocking positions were established throughout the area within an hour of the attack to keep suspects from fleeing.
Caldwell also said the military was still searching for Sgt. Keith M. Maupin, of Batavia, Ohio, who went missing April 9, 2004.
“We continue to search using every means available and will not stop looking until we find the missing soldiers,” he said.
Maupin was captured when insurgents ambushed his fuel convoy with the 724th Transportation Co. west of Baghdad. A week later, Arab television network Al-Jazeera aired a videotape showing Maupin sitting on the floor surrounded by five masked men holding automatic rifles.
That June, Al-Jazeera aired another tape purporting to show a U.S. soldier being shot. But the dark, grainy tape showed only the back of the victim’s head and did not show the actual shooting. The Army ruled it was inconclusive whether the soldier was Maupin.
“There have been ongoing efforts,” Snow said. “Unfortunately, again, no word on Keith Maupin, either.”
Maupin, a 20-year-old private first class at the time of his capture, has been promoted twice since then.
http://www.airforcetimes.com/story.php?f=1...925-1879260.php
101st soldier killed, two kidnapped during attack on checkpoint in Iraq
By Chantal Escoto
The (Clarksville, Tenn.) Leaf-Chronicle
One soldier who was killed and two others kidnapped at a checkpoint in Yusufiyah, Iraq, Friday belonged to the 101st Airborne Division’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team.
Spc. David J. Babineau, 25, of Springfield, Mass., was killed after the soldiers’ traffic control checkpoint came under enemy attack, said Fort Campbell Public Affairs spokesman John Minton.
The two missing soldiers are Pfc. Kristian Menchaca, 23, of Houston, Texas, and Pfc. Thomas L. Tucker, 25, of Madras, Ore. All infantrymen were assigned to Company B, 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment.
Ahmed Khalaf Falah, a farmer who said he witnessed the attack Friday, said three Humvees were manning a checkpoint when they came under fire from many directions. Two Humvees went after the assailants, but the third was ambushed before it could move, he told The Associated Press.
Seven masked gunmen, including one carrying what Falah described as a heavy machine gun, killed the driver of the third vehicle, then took the two other U.S. soldiers captive, the witness said. His account could not be verified independently.
Another Iraqi said the Americans were offering $100,000 for information leading to the abductors, but the U.S. command denied that.
An umbrella group that includes al-Qaida in Iraq claimed in a Web statement Monday that it had kidnapped two soldiers reported missing south of Baghdad.
There was no immediate confirmation that the statement was credible, although it appeared on a Web site often used by al-Qaida-linked groups. U.S. officials have said they were trying to confirm whether the missing soldiers were kidnapped.
“Your brothers in the military wing of the Mujahedeen Shura Council kidnapped the two American soldiers near Youssifiya,” the group said in a statement posted on an Islamic Web site.
The White House promised to do everything it could to find the soldiers and said it had a message for anybody who may have taken the two men: “Give them back.”
More about the soldiers Babineau joined the Army in August 1998 and came to Fort Campbell the following December. He is survived by his wife, Rondi, and sons, Dominic and Donovan Babineau and stepdaughter Samantha Hensley, all of Oak Grove, Ky. His parents Paul and Dawn Babineau live in Springfield, Mass.
Menchaca entered the Army in March 2005 and arrived to Fort Campbell four months later. His wife is Christine Alvarez of Big Springs, Texas, and his mother and stepfather Maria and Sergio Vasquez of Houston, Texas.
Tucker arrived at Fort Campbell in Dec. 2005. His parents are Wesley and Margret Tucker of Burns, Ore.
Multinational Force Iraq spokesman Army Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said the missing soldiers are listed as “duty status and whereabouts unknown.” The category changes to “missing in action” if they are not found after 10 days.
Caldwell said a squad of on-call armed U.S. soldiers, called a quick-reaction force, responded within 15 minutes to the attack site.
Coalition forces continue to search for the two missing soldiers who were manning the checkpoint at a canal crossing near the Euphrates River.
The search U.S. troops, backed by helicopters and warplanes, fanned out across the “Triangle of Death” south of Baghdad searching for the missing servicemen. At least four raids had been carried out, but the captives were not found, the military said.
White House spokesman Tony Snow said he had no new information about the search and could not confirm reports the two men were abducted.
“We’re still trying to ascertain their whereabouts,” he told CNN’s “Late Edition.” “Obviously, there is a vigorous effort to try to locate them and to bring them back safely.”
A U.S. military spokesman, Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, said Saturday a dive team also was searching for the men, whose checkpoint was near a Euphrates River canal not far from Youssifiyah, 12 miles south of Baghdad. The Sunni region is the site of frequent ambushes of U.S. soldiers and Iraqi troops.
The U.S. military said Sunday it was continuing the search.
“Coalition and Iraqi forces will continue to search everywhere possible, uncovering every stone, until our soldiers are found, and we will continue to use every resource available in our search,” it said.
Falah also said tensions were high in the area as U.S. soldiers raided some houses and arrested men. He also said the Americans were setting up checkpoints on all roads leading to the area of the attack and helicopters were hovering at low altitudes.
A Youssifiyah resident, who claimed his house was searched by U.S. soldiers Sunday afternoon, also said the Americans used translators to offer $100,000 for information leading to those who took the soldiers.
He said he would not cooperate because he was angry with the Americans.
“I will not do it even if they pay $1 million,” the resident said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he feared retribution. “They deserve all that they are facing ... We are living a hard life because of them.”
Caldwell said, “We are currently using every means at our disposal on the ground, in the air and in the water to find them,” said Caldwell, the spokesman for U.S. forces in Baghdad.
He said blocking positions were established throughout the area within an hour of the attack to keep suspects from fleeing.
Caldwell also said the military was still searching for Sgt. Keith M. Maupin, of Batavia, Ohio, who went missing April 9, 2004.
“We continue to search using every means available and will not stop looking until we find the missing soldiers,” he said.
Maupin was captured when insurgents ambushed his fuel convoy with the 724th Transportation Co. west of Baghdad. A week later, Arab television network Al-Jazeera aired a videotape showing Maupin sitting on the floor surrounded by five masked men holding automatic rifles.
That June, Al-Jazeera aired another tape purporting to show a U.S. soldier being shot. But the dark, grainy tape showed only the back of the victim’s head and did not show the actual shooting. The Army ruled it was inconclusive whether the soldier was Maupin.
“There have been ongoing efforts,” Snow said. “Unfortunately, again, no word on Keith Maupin, either.”
Maupin, a 20-year-old private first class at the time of his capture, has been promoted twice since then.
http://www.airforcetimes.com/story.php?f=1...925-1879260.php
Hey- how do we know that bushforces didn't do this to get some sympathy going?
And no disrespect, but---if this did happen, AREN'T WE AT WAR?
Doesn't that mean the other side does things back to our side, being that we started the war, and being that we just plum assassinated in cold blood one of their top leaders by sending two 500 pound bombs on his head(although he sure didn't look blown up to me).
So if the other side does something in retaliation, that makes them bad?
What's wrong with this picture?
Everything is a lie.
The timing of this is all wrong again...it is TOO convienient for Bush, but then it always is. Just smells wrong to me, again.
And no disrespect, but---if this did happen, AREN'T WE AT WAR?
Doesn't that mean the other side does things back to our side, being that we started the war, and being that we just plum assassinated in cold blood one of their top leaders by sending two 500 pound bombs on his head(although he sure didn't look blown up to me).
So if the other side does something in retaliation, that makes them bad?
What's wrong with this picture?
Everything is a lie.
The timing of this is all wrong again...it is TOO convienient for Bush, but then it always is. Just smells wrong to me, again.
New York Times
June 18, 2006
U.S. Widens Search for 2 Soldiers Missing in Iraq
By RICHARD A. OPPEL Jr.
BAGHDAD, Iraq, June 18 — American forces have intensified their search for two soldiers missing and reportedly held captive by insurgents, widening their pursuit to areas beyond the restive town of Yusifiya, where the missing servicemen were attacked Friday night, and drawing troops from at least three brigade combat teams.
The expanded search effort came as American troops ringed the insurgent stronghold of Ramadi with new checkpoints and outposts over the weekend in an effort to break the grip that insurgents now hold on that city. Ramadi, the capital of Anbar Province, has been the scene of some of the fiercest regular battles between United States troops and insurgent fighters.
Some Sunni Arab leaders have said they fear American forces are preparing to begin an offensive in Ramadi in an effort to wipe out insurgent groups that have taken control of much of the city, similar to the Marines' November 2004 assault on Falluja.
An American military official in Baghdad said today that no such offensive is planned. "We're trying to separate the insurgents from the rest of the people," the official said. "There are a lot of rumors flying around that people think it's another Falluja. It's not."
A spokesman for the Marines, Lt. Col. Bryan F. Salas, described the activity as "part of a long-term plan to restore stability to Ramadi" and said it involved Marines and soldiers from one American brigade and soldiers from two Iraqi brigades.
"We are focusing on multiple sites used by the insurgents to plan and conduct terrorist attacks and store weapons," Colonel Salas said in an e-mail. "We have also set up additional checkpoints to restrict the flow of insurgents, but citizens will still be able to enter and leave the city."
Nearly 10,000 Ramadi residents, or about 1,500 families, have fled the city, according to a report today by Integrated Regional Information Networks, a news service that is part of the United Nations office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs but is editorially independent of the organization.
An Associated Press report from a correspondent with the military in Ramadi quoted an American commander as saying the number of Iraqis who had fled was "not anywhere approaching a thousand." The Associated Press report said the military operation involved thousands of Iraqi and American troops who used armored vehicles to surround southern Ramadi in an effort to block supplies from reaching insurgents within the city.
On the CNN program "Late Edition," the Iraqi foreign minister, Hoshyar Zebari, said today that the two soldiers reported missing in Yusifiya had been "taken prisoner by a group of insurgents." The American military command said that the soldiers' status had not changed and that they remained classified as "whereabouts unknown."
Residents in Yusifiya, south of the capital, said they saw the two soldiers snatched by insurgents after the soldiers were attacked Friday evening at a checkpoint south of town. One soldier was also killed in the attack at 7:55 p.m. local time, according to the American military.
The military said the search effort "has expanded out from the immediate Yusifiya area" and includes unmanned drone aircraft, helicopters, and boats and divers searching canals and the Euphrates River.
In Baghdad, gunmen abducted 10 employees from a bakery in the Shiite neighborhood of Khadamiya this morning, the Interior Ministry said. A witness said gunmen drove up in cars and marched the bakers out, including the owner, as customers watched. The witness, who lives nearby, said the bakers were Shiite, but ethnically Kurdish.
The Iraqi police found nine bodies strewn about Baghdad, the latest victims in the continuing sectarian violence that has racked the capital. All of the victims were handcuffed, shot in the head and showed signs of torture, according to an Interior Ministry official.
Reporting for this article was contributed by Sabrina Tavernise, Hosham Hussein and Khalid al-Ansary.
Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company
June 18, 2006
U.S. Widens Search for 2 Soldiers Missing in Iraq
By RICHARD A. OPPEL Jr.
BAGHDAD, Iraq, June 18 — American forces have intensified their search for two soldiers missing and reportedly held captive by insurgents, widening their pursuit to areas beyond the restive town of Yusifiya, where the missing servicemen were attacked Friday night, and drawing troops from at least three brigade combat teams.
The expanded search effort came as American troops ringed the insurgent stronghold of Ramadi with new checkpoints and outposts over the weekend in an effort to break the grip that insurgents now hold on that city. Ramadi, the capital of Anbar Province, has been the scene of some of the fiercest regular battles between United States troops and insurgent fighters.
Some Sunni Arab leaders have said they fear American forces are preparing to begin an offensive in Ramadi in an effort to wipe out insurgent groups that have taken control of much of the city, similar to the Marines' November 2004 assault on Falluja.
An American military official in Baghdad said today that no such offensive is planned. "We're trying to separate the insurgents from the rest of the people," the official said. "There are a lot of rumors flying around that people think it's another Falluja. It's not."
A spokesman for the Marines, Lt. Col. Bryan F. Salas, described the activity as "part of a long-term plan to restore stability to Ramadi" and said it involved Marines and soldiers from one American brigade and soldiers from two Iraqi brigades.
"We are focusing on multiple sites used by the insurgents to plan and conduct terrorist attacks and store weapons," Colonel Salas said in an e-mail. "We have also set up additional checkpoints to restrict the flow of insurgents, but citizens will still be able to enter and leave the city."
Nearly 10,000 Ramadi residents, or about 1,500 families, have fled the city, according to a report today by Integrated Regional Information Networks, a news service that is part of the United Nations office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs but is editorially independent of the organization.
An Associated Press report from a correspondent with the military in Ramadi quoted an American commander as saying the number of Iraqis who had fled was "not anywhere approaching a thousand." The Associated Press report said the military operation involved thousands of Iraqi and American troops who used armored vehicles to surround southern Ramadi in an effort to block supplies from reaching insurgents within the city.
On the CNN program "Late Edition," the Iraqi foreign minister, Hoshyar Zebari, said today that the two soldiers reported missing in Yusifiya had been "taken prisoner by a group of insurgents." The American military command said that the soldiers' status had not changed and that they remained classified as "whereabouts unknown."
Residents in Yusifiya, south of the capital, said they saw the two soldiers snatched by insurgents after the soldiers were attacked Friday evening at a checkpoint south of town. One soldier was also killed in the attack at 7:55 p.m. local time, according to the American military.
The military said the search effort "has expanded out from the immediate Yusifiya area" and includes unmanned drone aircraft, helicopters, and boats and divers searching canals and the Euphrates River.
In Baghdad, gunmen abducted 10 employees from a bakery in the Shiite neighborhood of Khadamiya this morning, the Interior Ministry said. A witness said gunmen drove up in cars and marched the bakers out, including the owner, as customers watched. The witness, who lives nearby, said the bakers were Shiite, but ethnically Kurdish.
The Iraqi police found nine bodies strewn about Baghdad, the latest victims in the continuing sectarian violence that has racked the capital. All of the victims were handcuffed, shot in the head and showed signs of torture, according to an Interior Ministry official.
Reporting for this article was contributed by Sabrina Tavernise, Hosham Hussein and Khalid al-Ansary.
Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company
Missing US troops in area where many live in fear
By Michael Georgy
Two U.S. soldiers missing in Iraq since Friday disappeared into a lawless al Qaeda stronghold where residents describe being terrorised by unknown militants.
Military helicopters and divers are combing the rural Euphrates river area south of Baghdad for the troops who went missing after an attack on their checkpoint near the town of Yusufiya killed another U.S. soldier.
Most people in the Sunni Arab region resent the presence of the U.S. troops. But even if they wanted to help the two soldiers, doing so could be fatal.
"We live in fear. Gunmen always go to people's houses asking about who works for the Iraqi army or police or the Americans," taxi driver Abdullah Jassim told Reuters by telephone.
"If they find out you have any ties with the Americans or the Iraqi government they will certainly kill you."
Yusufiya is in an area some Iraqis call the "Triangle of Death" for its frequent attacks by insurgents who carry out bombings, shootings and kidnappings as part of a campaign aimed at toppling the Shi'ite-led, U.S.-backed government.
It has been one of the most difficult areas for U.S. troops to root out rebels because of the landscape. The triangle lies on a direct route from the guerrilla bastion of Ramadi, which offers a steady supply of fighters and weapons.
And its numerous orchards, complicated network of canals from the Euphrates and thick grass offer ideal hiding places.
Residents say bearded Iraqi militants as well as foreign fighters, believed to be al Qaeda militants, have become more and more powerful in the area.
"We try not to go out too much. When we go to the market we do it very quickly," said Jassim.
In their traditional flowing Arab robes with checkered red and white headdresses or wide black pants and shirts with black ski masks, insurgents freely roam the streets, residents say.
People don't know who the bearded militants are. They think most are Iraqi but are afraid to ask.
"We cannot say anything to these people. We are afraid that if we open our mouths they will just shoot us," said local council employee Muhammad Amaar. "They do what they want and no one dares question them."
Iraqi army troops and police are especially vulnerable. Their convoys are often ambushed or blown up by roadside bombs along the main road through the triangle, one of the most dangerous in Iraq.
Police officials said it's not an environment the two U.S. soldiers could likely survive if they fell into the wrong hands.
"We still don't know their fate. But these people kill anyone associated with the Americans," said a police official in Yusufiya, who asked not to be named for his safety.
Copyright © 2006 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.
Copyright © 2006 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.
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By Michael Georgy
Two U.S. soldiers missing in Iraq since Friday disappeared into a lawless al Qaeda stronghold where residents describe being terrorised by unknown militants.
Military helicopters and divers are combing the rural Euphrates river area south of Baghdad for the troops who went missing after an attack on their checkpoint near the town of Yusufiya killed another U.S. soldier.
Most people in the Sunni Arab region resent the presence of the U.S. troops. But even if they wanted to help the two soldiers, doing so could be fatal.
"We live in fear. Gunmen always go to people's houses asking about who works for the Iraqi army or police or the Americans," taxi driver Abdullah Jassim told Reuters by telephone.
"If they find out you have any ties with the Americans or the Iraqi government they will certainly kill you."
Yusufiya is in an area some Iraqis call the "Triangle of Death" for its frequent attacks by insurgents who carry out bombings, shootings and kidnappings as part of a campaign aimed at toppling the Shi'ite-led, U.S.-backed government.
It has been one of the most difficult areas for U.S. troops to root out rebels because of the landscape. The triangle lies on a direct route from the guerrilla bastion of Ramadi, which offers a steady supply of fighters and weapons.
And its numerous orchards, complicated network of canals from the Euphrates and thick grass offer ideal hiding places.
Residents say bearded Iraqi militants as well as foreign fighters, believed to be al Qaeda militants, have become more and more powerful in the area.
"We try not to go out too much. When we go to the market we do it very quickly," said Jassim.
In their traditional flowing Arab robes with checkered red and white headdresses or wide black pants and shirts with black ski masks, insurgents freely roam the streets, residents say.
People don't know who the bearded militants are. They think most are Iraqi but are afraid to ask.
"We cannot say anything to these people. We are afraid that if we open our mouths they will just shoot us," said local council employee Muhammad Amaar. "They do what they want and no one dares question them."
Iraqi army troops and police are especially vulnerable. Their convoys are often ambushed or blown up by roadside bombs along the main road through the triangle, one of the most dangerous in Iraq.
Police officials said it's not an environment the two U.S. soldiers could likely survive if they fell into the wrong hands.
"We still don't know their fate. But these people kill anyone associated with the Americans," said a police official in Yusufiya, who asked not to be named for his safety.
Copyright © 2006 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.
Copyright © 2006 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.
Questions or Comments
Privacy Policy -Terms of Service - Copyright/IP Policy - Ad Feedback
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/110...g_Soldiers.html
Monday, June 19, 2006 · Last updated 4:47 a.m. PT
7 U.S. troops wounded looking for comrades
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
A member of the U.S. military is seen through the smashed window of a nearby vehicle after a car bomb exploded near a university killing one woman and wounding 19 other people in the northern city of Mosul in Iraq Sunday, June 18, 2006. (AP Photo/Mohammed Ibrahim)
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- The U.S. military said Monday that seven American troops have been wounded, three insurgents have been killed and 34 detained during an intensive search for two missing American soldiers.
Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, a spokesman for U.S. forces in Iraq, said fighter jets, unmanned aerial vehicles and dive teams had been deployed to find the two men. The men went missing Friday during an attack on their checkpoint in the volatile Sunni area south of Baghdad that left one of their comrades dead.
"We have surged intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platforms and employed planes, boats, helicopters and UAVs to ensure the most thorough search possible on the ground, in the air and in the water," Caldwell said in a statement issued Monday.
He did not comment on reports that the two men had been seized by insurgents, saying only that they were listed as "duty status and whereabouts unknown." He said seven other U.S. service members had been wounded in action during the search efforts that began Friday night.
The Defense Department identified the missing men as Pfc. Kristian Menchaca, 23, of Houston, and Pfc. Thomas L. Tucker, 25, of Madras, Ore. It said Spc. David J. Babineau, 25, of Springfield, Mass., was killed in the attack. The three were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.
Caldwell said more than 8,000 U.S. and Iraqi troops were participating in the search.
"While searching for our soldiers, we have engaged in a number of significant actions against the anti-Iraqi forces," he said, adding that three insurgents had been killed and 34 taken into custody.
He also said the military had received 63 tips and had launched 12 cordon and search operations, eight air assaults and 280 flight hours were logged.
"Approximately 12 villages have been cleared in the area, and we continue to engage local citizens for help and information leading to the whereabouts of our soldiers," he said, without elaborating.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/110...g_Soldiers.html
Monday, June 19, 2006 · Last updated 4:47 a.m. PT
7 U.S. troops wounded looking for comrades
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
A member of the U.S. military is seen through the smashed window of a nearby vehicle after a car bomb exploded near a university killing one woman and wounding 19 other people in the northern city of Mosul in Iraq Sunday, June 18, 2006. (AP Photo/Mohammed Ibrahim)
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- The U.S. military said Monday that seven American troops have been wounded, three insurgents have been killed and 34 detained during an intensive search for two missing American soldiers.
Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, a spokesman for U.S. forces in Iraq, said fighter jets, unmanned aerial vehicles and dive teams had been deployed to find the two men. The men went missing Friday during an attack on their checkpoint in the volatile Sunni area south of Baghdad that left one of their comrades dead.
"We have surged intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platforms and employed planes, boats, helicopters and UAVs to ensure the most thorough search possible on the ground, in the air and in the water," Caldwell said in a statement issued Monday.
He did not comment on reports that the two men had been seized by insurgents, saying only that they were listed as "duty status and whereabouts unknown." He said seven other U.S. service members had been wounded in action during the search efforts that began Friday night.
The Defense Department identified the missing men as Pfc. Kristian Menchaca, 23, of Houston, and Pfc. Thomas L. Tucker, 25, of Madras, Ore. It said Spc. David J. Babineau, 25, of Springfield, Mass., was killed in the attack. The three were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.
Caldwell said more than 8,000 U.S. and Iraqi troops were participating in the search.
"While searching for our soldiers, we have engaged in a number of significant actions against the anti-Iraqi forces," he said, adding that three insurgents had been killed and 34 taken into custody.
He also said the military had received 63 tips and had launched 12 cordon and search operations, eight air assaults and 280 flight hours were logged.
"Approximately 12 villages have been cleared in the area, and we continue to engage local citizens for help and information leading to the whereabouts of our soldiers," he said, without elaborating.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2094907
ABC News
Qaeda group says it abducted US soldiers in Iraq
Reuters
Jun 19, 2006 — By Michael Georgy and Ibon Villelabeitia
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A group linked to al Qaeda in Iraq said on Monday it had abducted two U.S. soldiers, and thousands of U.S. troops scoured the countryside for the missing men.
"Your brothers in the military wing of the Mujahideen Shura Council kidnapped two American soldiers near Yusufiya," the Sunni Arab group said. "We will provide you with more details about the incident in the next coming days."
The U.S. military said three U.S. soldiers had been charged with premeditated murder of three prisoners. They are accused of shooting the detainees on May 9 and threatening to kill a fellow soldier if he told the truth about the incident.
In the capital's fortified Green Zone, the chief prosecutor in Saddam Hussein's trial demanded the death sentence for the ousted Iraqi leader, whose loyalists make up much of the Sunni insurgency against the U.S.-backed Shi'ite-led government.
Some 8,000 U.S. and Iraqi troops, supported by aircraft, were hunting for the two missing soldiers, who have not been seen since an attack on Friday night on a checkpoint south of Baghdad in which a fellow soldier was killed.
"The American military has made very clear that they are going to do everything possible — I think they've said air, land and sea — to try and find them," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in Washington.
The missing soldiers have been identified as Private Thomas Lowell Tucker, 25, from Madras, Oregon and Private Kristian Menchaca, 23, from Houston, Texas.
The U.S. military is still looking for Keith Maupin, the only other missing soldier. He was abducted on April 9, 2004, when his convoy was ambushed in Baghdad.
Al Qaeda vowed to hit back after its leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, was killed in a U.S. air strike on June 7. The group has killed several foreign hostages, some by beheading.
The Mujahideen Shura Council, made up of al Qaeda and other militant groups, said it was also holding four Russian diplomats and gave Moscow 48 hours to pull out from Chechnya and free Muslim prisoners, according to an Internet statement.
The group said it had abducted the four and killed a fifth in an attack on June 3 in Baghdad.
In a case which adds to the list of alleged U.S. war crimes in Iraq, the U.S. military said three members of 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division had been charged in connection with the deaths of three male detainees.
The deaths took place during a raid on a suspected insurgent training camp, when, the military said at the time, more than 200 people were detained at the Muthana chemical complex.
The charges include "murder, attempted murder, conspiracy, communicating a threat, and obstructing justice."
SOUTHERN HANDOVER
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said Iraqi forces would take control of the country's southernmost province from a British-led multinational force in July.
Maliki hailed it as a first step toward Iraqi forces taking responsibility for their own security.
But Muthanna province is relatively quiet and is much easier to hand over than the violence-racked oil port city of Basra to the east or Sunni Arab insurgent strongholds further north like Yusufiya, where the two U.S. soldiers went missing.
U.S. troops tried to establish positions in south Ramadi, one of the most troublesome Sunni insurgent strongholds. A Reuters witness saw seven U.S. tanks rumbling along the streets.
Shops were shuttered and most residents stayed at home, fearing a U.S. offensive on the scale of the one that inflicted heavy destruction and loss of life in nearby Falluja in 2004.
Transferring security to Iraq's fledgling security forces is a key part of London's and Washington's plans to withdraw their 137,000 troops, but the insurgency remains strong.
A spokesman for British Prime Minister Tony Blair cautioned that the handover of control in Muthanna did not mean British, Australian and Japanese troops were pulling out immediately.
"It does mean there will be a gradual transition to the Iraqis taking control … This is a significant step toward Iraq controlling its own destiny," he told reporters in London.
Japan's Kyodo news agency said Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi would announce a plan on Tuesday to withdraw Japan's troops, based in Muthanna.
In Baghdad, prosecutors in Saddam's trial asked for the death penalty for the former president and his half brother Barzan al-Tikriti, his former vice president Taha Yassin Ramadan, and former Revolutionary Court judge Awad Hamed al-Bander for crimes against humanity.
Saddam and seven co-accused are on trial for their alleged roles in the killing of 148 Shi'ites after an assassination attempt against Saddam in the village of Dujail in 1982. A U.S. official said a verdict was expected by mid-September.
(Additional reporting by Ross Colvin)
Copyright 2006 Reuters News Service. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
ABC News
Qaeda group says it abducted US soldiers in Iraq
Reuters
Jun 19, 2006 — By Michael Georgy and Ibon Villelabeitia
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A group linked to al Qaeda in Iraq said on Monday it had abducted two U.S. soldiers, and thousands of U.S. troops scoured the countryside for the missing men.
"Your brothers in the military wing of the Mujahideen Shura Council kidnapped two American soldiers near Yusufiya," the Sunni Arab group said. "We will provide you with more details about the incident in the next coming days."
The U.S. military said three U.S. soldiers had been charged with premeditated murder of three prisoners. They are accused of shooting the detainees on May 9 and threatening to kill a fellow soldier if he told the truth about the incident.
In the capital's fortified Green Zone, the chief prosecutor in Saddam Hussein's trial demanded the death sentence for the ousted Iraqi leader, whose loyalists make up much of the Sunni insurgency against the U.S.-backed Shi'ite-led government.
Some 8,000 U.S. and Iraqi troops, supported by aircraft, were hunting for the two missing soldiers, who have not been seen since an attack on Friday night on a checkpoint south of Baghdad in which a fellow soldier was killed.
"The American military has made very clear that they are going to do everything possible — I think they've said air, land and sea — to try and find them," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in Washington.
The missing soldiers have been identified as Private Thomas Lowell Tucker, 25, from Madras, Oregon and Private Kristian Menchaca, 23, from Houston, Texas.
The U.S. military is still looking for Keith Maupin, the only other missing soldier. He was abducted on April 9, 2004, when his convoy was ambushed in Baghdad.
Al Qaeda vowed to hit back after its leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, was killed in a U.S. air strike on June 7. The group has killed several foreign hostages, some by beheading.
The Mujahideen Shura Council, made up of al Qaeda and other militant groups, said it was also holding four Russian diplomats and gave Moscow 48 hours to pull out from Chechnya and free Muslim prisoners, according to an Internet statement.
The group said it had abducted the four and killed a fifth in an attack on June 3 in Baghdad.
In a case which adds to the list of alleged U.S. war crimes in Iraq, the U.S. military said three members of 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division had been charged in connection with the deaths of three male detainees.
The deaths took place during a raid on a suspected insurgent training camp, when, the military said at the time, more than 200 people were detained at the Muthana chemical complex.
The charges include "murder, attempted murder, conspiracy, communicating a threat, and obstructing justice."
SOUTHERN HANDOVER
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said Iraqi forces would take control of the country's southernmost province from a British-led multinational force in July.
Maliki hailed it as a first step toward Iraqi forces taking responsibility for their own security.
But Muthanna province is relatively quiet and is much easier to hand over than the violence-racked oil port city of Basra to the east or Sunni Arab insurgent strongholds further north like Yusufiya, where the two U.S. soldiers went missing.
U.S. troops tried to establish positions in south Ramadi, one of the most troublesome Sunni insurgent strongholds. A Reuters witness saw seven U.S. tanks rumbling along the streets.
Shops were shuttered and most residents stayed at home, fearing a U.S. offensive on the scale of the one that inflicted heavy destruction and loss of life in nearby Falluja in 2004.
Transferring security to Iraq's fledgling security forces is a key part of London's and Washington's plans to withdraw their 137,000 troops, but the insurgency remains strong.
A spokesman for British Prime Minister Tony Blair cautioned that the handover of control in Muthanna did not mean British, Australian and Japanese troops were pulling out immediately.
"It does mean there will be a gradual transition to the Iraqis taking control … This is a significant step toward Iraq controlling its own destiny," he told reporters in London.
Japan's Kyodo news agency said Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi would announce a plan on Tuesday to withdraw Japan's troops, based in Muthanna.
In Baghdad, prosecutors in Saddam's trial asked for the death penalty for the former president and his half brother Barzan al-Tikriti, his former vice president Taha Yassin Ramadan, and former Revolutionary Court judge Awad Hamed al-Bander for crimes against humanity.
Saddam and seven co-accused are on trial for their alleged roles in the killing of 148 Shi'ites after an assassination attempt against Saddam in the village of Dujail in 1982. A U.S. official said a verdict was expected by mid-September.
(Additional reporting by Ross Colvin)
Copyright 2006 Reuters News Service. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
--------------------
Al Qaeda Group Says It Took Soldiers
--------------------
By Louise Roug
Times Staff Writer
June 19 2006, 10:24 AM PDT
BAGHDAD -- A group affiliated with Al Qaeda in Iraq claimed responsibility today for the kidnappings of two American soldiers while thousands of U.S. and Iraqi troops fanned out across the area known as "the triangle of death," looking for the men who went missing Friday.
The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wo...-home-headlines
Al Qaeda Group Says It Took Soldiers
--------------------
By Louise Roug
Times Staff Writer
June 19 2006, 10:24 AM PDT
BAGHDAD -- A group affiliated with Al Qaeda in Iraq claimed responsibility today for the kidnappings of two American soldiers while thousands of U.S. and Iraqi troops fanned out across the area known as "the triangle of death," looking for the men who went missing Friday.
The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wo...-home-headlines
In Harm's Way
by Barbara J. Miller
Here’s the kind of story you hurry through because, if you think about it for more than 5 seconds, your heart gallops, your guts clench and you break out in a clammy sweat.
Two U.S. soldiers went missing in Iraq three days ago. We have just learned that Al Qaeda is claiming they have them. Three days in the hands of rageful fanatics whose modus operandi is torture and death.
Sound the alarm! Call out the troops! Make a statement to the press. “We will never stop looking for our service members until their status is definitively determined,” says U.S. Maj. Gen. William Caldwell. The thing is, after 10 minutes, it was already too late. “Status definitively determined” is a chilling warning about what is yet to come.
Think three years of mission accomplished. Think bombs and artillery, blowing thousands of Iraqi citizens to bloody bits. Think total chaos, 24/7. Think arrogant U.S. president delivering snarky sound bites. Think Gitmo. Think payback. Does that make it right? No and no and no. And as John Murtha noted, it’s easy to send someone else do the work and pay the price while the administration sits on its patrician butts in the safety of Washington D.C.
The burden of our nation’s warring insanity is now on the backs of those two captive soldiers. Our soldiers. We did this to them. Even before their capture, they’d paid a huge price, defending the indefensible in a country we’ve destroyed. In a country where we pay immense sums to administration cronies to rebuild a little of this, a little of that, at their leisure.
George, Dick, Don, Condi? I have some questions for you. How do you rise to face each new day, believing this is right? How can you continue to send our sons and daughters to kill Iraqi sons and daughters? How can you justify bankrupting this nation to fill your own pockets and those of your pals with oil-smeared lucre?
Today, we have soldiers missing in action. MIA, we say, because that makes it less personal and easier to bear. Turn to page two. Or seven. Meanwhile, an anguished parent, wife, child stumbles through these days, fearing the worst and knowing they cannot begin to imagine what the worst may be.
It is time for the United States to defend our military. Get them out of that hell-hole that we have co-created. Bring them home. And then rally them to begin a search for the soul of this administration, which is MIA.
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0619-29.htm
by Barbara J. Miller
Here’s the kind of story you hurry through because, if you think about it for more than 5 seconds, your heart gallops, your guts clench and you break out in a clammy sweat.
Two U.S. soldiers went missing in Iraq three days ago. We have just learned that Al Qaeda is claiming they have them. Three days in the hands of rageful fanatics whose modus operandi is torture and death.
Sound the alarm! Call out the troops! Make a statement to the press. “We will never stop looking for our service members until their status is definitively determined,” says U.S. Maj. Gen. William Caldwell. The thing is, after 10 minutes, it was already too late. “Status definitively determined” is a chilling warning about what is yet to come.
Think three years of mission accomplished. Think bombs and artillery, blowing thousands of Iraqi citizens to bloody bits. Think total chaos, 24/7. Think arrogant U.S. president delivering snarky sound bites. Think Gitmo. Think payback. Does that make it right? No and no and no. And as John Murtha noted, it’s easy to send someone else do the work and pay the price while the administration sits on its patrician butts in the safety of Washington D.C.
The burden of our nation’s warring insanity is now on the backs of those two captive soldiers. Our soldiers. We did this to them. Even before their capture, they’d paid a huge price, defending the indefensible in a country we’ve destroyed. In a country where we pay immense sums to administration cronies to rebuild a little of this, a little of that, at their leisure.
George, Dick, Don, Condi? I have some questions for you. How do you rise to face each new day, believing this is right? How can you continue to send our sons and daughters to kill Iraqi sons and daughters? How can you justify bankrupting this nation to fill your own pockets and those of your pals with oil-smeared lucre?
Today, we have soldiers missing in action. MIA, we say, because that makes it less personal and easier to bear. Turn to page two. Or seven. Meanwhile, an anguished parent, wife, child stumbles through these days, fearing the worst and knowing they cannot begin to imagine what the worst may be.
It is time for the United States to defend our military. Get them out of that hell-hole that we have co-created. Bring them home. And then rally them to begin a search for the soul of this administration, which is MIA.
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0619-29.htm
Families Anxiously Await Confirmation of Missing Soldiers' Status
By Sylvia Moreno
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, June 20, 2006; A12
AUSTIN, June 19 -- About a week ago, Army Pfc. Kristian Menchaca called his mother in South Texas and said he was exhausted, having just finished an overnight shift working a vehicle checkpoint in Iraq. It was tough, tense and dangerous work, he said.
Working that same duty on Friday, Menchaca, 23, and Pfc. Thomas L. Tucker, 25, were apparently kidnapped following an attack by Iraqi insurgents outside the town of Yusufiyah, south of Baghdad. The Pentagon said a third soldier working with Menchaca and Tucker, Spec. David J. Babineau, 25, of Springfield, Mass., was killed.
Menchaca's mother, Maria Guadalupe Vasquez, said in a telephone interview from her home in Brownsville: "The sergeants came and told us he was missing and that they were searching land and sea for him. They told us to pray. They said we just needed to pray for him."
As Vasquez and Tucker's family in Madras, Ore., awaited word Monday on the whereabouts of their sons, a message was posted on the Internet saying the soldiers were abducted by an Islamic group. A Marine spokesman in Baghdad had not been able to verify the authenticity of the statement, which was purportedly posted by al-Qaeda in Iraq under the name of the Mujaheddin al-Shura Council, an umbrella organization of insurgent groups.
More than 8,000 U.S. and Iraqi troops, employing fighter jets, dive teams, unmanned drones and ground forces, had been deployed to Yusufiyah and other villages south of Baghdad for a widespread search. Menchaca, Tucker and Babineau were members of the 1st Battalion of the 502nd Infantry Regiment of the 2nd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division based at Fort Campbell, Ky.
A representative of the Tucker family referred calls to the public affairs office of the Oregon National Guard. Phone calls to a spokeswoman there were not returned.
Menchaca's wife, Christina, 18, was in Big Spring, Tex., with her family but was not taking phone calls, a family representative said.
The couple married last September and had met through Christina's brother, who is also in the Army, Vasquez said. Menchaca was deployed to Iraq a month after he was married.
"I'd like to know her, but she hasn't come down here yet. I've only seen her picture," Vasquez said of her daughter-in-law. "But we spoke by phone and she's very worried."
Vasquez said her son attended schools in Brownsville and nearby San Benito but dropped out of high school. He moved to Houston, where his older brother lives, and worked as a cashier at a fast-food restaurant. He also took adult education classes and completed his general equivalency diploma, she said. Vasquez said her son joined the Army because he wanted to further his studies and eventually become a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent.
Vasquez said she last saw her son in April, when he was in Brownsville on a 10-day leave following his first tour in Iraq. "He was very changed," she said.
"He talked about killing people. He couldn't sleep. He came traumatized," she said. "I was scared."
He stayed in touch with her by phone, calling every few weeks, she said. In one call he described receiving a hand wound from an explosion. Menchaca told her that he recuperated in an infirmary and went back to work. Then, he subsequently told her, Iraqis set a barracks on fire, destroying his and his fellow soldiers' clothing and other belongings. "But, he said, 'I have my two feet and my two hands.' "
Two weeks ago, he called his mother asking her to send him Cheetos, insect repellent and cleaning wipes. She was about to ship the items when the sergeants came to her home Friday afternoon. "I have it all here," Vasquez said. "Then this happened."
© 2006 The Washington Post Company
By Sylvia Moreno
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, June 20, 2006; A12
AUSTIN, June 19 -- About a week ago, Army Pfc. Kristian Menchaca called his mother in South Texas and said he was exhausted, having just finished an overnight shift working a vehicle checkpoint in Iraq. It was tough, tense and dangerous work, he said.
Working that same duty on Friday, Menchaca, 23, and Pfc. Thomas L. Tucker, 25, were apparently kidnapped following an attack by Iraqi insurgents outside the town of Yusufiyah, south of Baghdad. The Pentagon said a third soldier working with Menchaca and Tucker, Spec. David J. Babineau, 25, of Springfield, Mass., was killed.
Menchaca's mother, Maria Guadalupe Vasquez, said in a telephone interview from her home in Brownsville: "The sergeants came and told us he was missing and that they were searching land and sea for him. They told us to pray. They said we just needed to pray for him."
As Vasquez and Tucker's family in Madras, Ore., awaited word Monday on the whereabouts of their sons, a message was posted on the Internet saying the soldiers were abducted by an Islamic group. A Marine spokesman in Baghdad had not been able to verify the authenticity of the statement, which was purportedly posted by al-Qaeda in Iraq under the name of the Mujaheddin al-Shura Council, an umbrella organization of insurgent groups.
More than 8,000 U.S. and Iraqi troops, employing fighter jets, dive teams, unmanned drones and ground forces, had been deployed to Yusufiyah and other villages south of Baghdad for a widespread search. Menchaca, Tucker and Babineau were members of the 1st Battalion of the 502nd Infantry Regiment of the 2nd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division based at Fort Campbell, Ky.
A representative of the Tucker family referred calls to the public affairs office of the Oregon National Guard. Phone calls to a spokeswoman there were not returned.
Menchaca's wife, Christina, 18, was in Big Spring, Tex., with her family but was not taking phone calls, a family representative said.
The couple married last September and had met through Christina's brother, who is also in the Army, Vasquez said. Menchaca was deployed to Iraq a month after he was married.
"I'd like to know her, but she hasn't come down here yet. I've only seen her picture," Vasquez said of her daughter-in-law. "But we spoke by phone and she's very worried."
Vasquez said her son attended schools in Brownsville and nearby San Benito but dropped out of high school. He moved to Houston, where his older brother lives, and worked as a cashier at a fast-food restaurant. He also took adult education classes and completed his general equivalency diploma, she said. Vasquez said her son joined the Army because he wanted to further his studies and eventually become a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent.
Vasquez said she last saw her son in April, when he was in Brownsville on a 10-day leave following his first tour in Iraq. "He was very changed," she said.
"He talked about killing people. He couldn't sleep. He came traumatized," she said. "I was scared."
He stayed in touch with her by phone, calling every few weeks, she said. In one call he described receiving a hand wound from an explosion. Menchaca told her that he recuperated in an infirmary and went back to work. Then, he subsequently told her, Iraqis set a barracks on fire, destroying his and his fellow soldiers' clothing and other belongings. "But, he said, 'I have my two feet and my two hands.' "
Two weeks ago, he called his mother asking her to send him Cheetos, insect repellent and cleaning wipes. She was about to ship the items when the sergeants came to her home Friday afternoon. "I have it all here," Vasquez said. "Then this happened."
© 2006 The Washington Post Company
http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?sectio...4&article=38050
8,000 troops widen search for missing GIs
Militant Web site claims soldiers were kidnapped
By Joseph Giordono, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Tuesday, June 20, 2006
American military officials Monday named the two soldiers listed as missing after an insurgent attack on Friday and also announced that more than 8,000 U.S. and Iraqi troops are involved in a widening search that has become a top military priority in the country.
A third soldier was killed in the attack and was also identified by the Pentagon on Monday.
Pfc. Kristian Menchaca and Pfc. Thomas L. Tucker are both listed as “duty status whereabouts unknown,” while Spc. David J. Babineau was confirmed as killed in action. All three were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division, officials said.
“We will never leave a fallen comrade,” said Maj. Gen. James D. Thurman, commander of the U.S. forces around Baghdad. “Make no doubt about it, the welfare and status of these two soldiers is our primary concern.”
The soldiers were manning a checkpoint near Youssifiyah, about 10 miles south of Baghdad, when they were attacked. Residents quoted by various news agencies have said the two soldiers were captured alive by a group of heavily armed insurgents, but the U.S. military has not commented on those reports.
On Monday, the main U.S. spokesman in Baghdad said the search — begun shortly after the 8 p.m. Friday incident — now includes ground forces, fixed wing aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, helicopters, rescue divers and boats. More than 12 “cordon and search” operations have been undertaken in area villages, along with eight air assault operations and 280 flight hours by search crews.
At least three suspected insurgents have been killed in the search, with 34 more taken into custody in what officials called “significant” clashes in the search area. Seven U.S. troops supporting the search have been wounded, Maj. Gen. Bill Caldwell said. American and Iraqi forces have received more than 63 tips in regards to the incident, officials said.
“We have surged intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platforms and employed planes, boats, helicopters and UAVs to ensure the most thorough search possible on the ground, in the air and in the water,” Caldwell said. “Words cannot express the sadness we feel at the loss of Spc. Babineau and the uncertainty the families of Pfc. Menchaca and Pfc. Tucker must be experiencing. Our deepest sympathy goes out to their families. … We are using every means at our disposal.”
Babineau, 25, was a native of Springfield, Mass., the Pentagon said. Menchaca, 23, is from Houston, and Tucker, 25, is from Madras, Ore.
“We are using all available assets, coalition and Iraqi, to find our soldiers and will not stop looking until we find them,” Caldwell said. “We will never stop looking for our servicemembers until their status is definitively determined.”
By Monday, a claim of responsibility was posted on a Web site often used by al-Qaida in Iraq and other groups.
“Your brothers in the military wing of the Mujahedeen Shura Council kidnapped the two American soldiers near Youssifiya,” the message read in part, according to an Associated Press translation.
There was no way to confirm the claim.
A third U.S. soldier in Iraq — Sgt. Keith “Matt” Maupin — has been listed as missing since an April 2004 attack on a convoy in Fallujah.
© 2006 Stars and Stripes. All Rights Reserved. Disclaimer | Web Notice
8,000 troops widen search for missing GIs
Militant Web site claims soldiers were kidnapped
By Joseph Giordono, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Tuesday, June 20, 2006
American military officials Monday named the two soldiers listed as missing after an insurgent attack on Friday and also announced that more than 8,000 U.S. and Iraqi troops are involved in a widening search that has become a top military priority in the country.
A third soldier was killed in the attack and was also identified by the Pentagon on Monday.
Pfc. Kristian Menchaca and Pfc. Thomas L. Tucker are both listed as “duty status whereabouts unknown,” while Spc. David J. Babineau was confirmed as killed in action. All three were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division, officials said.
“We will never leave a fallen comrade,” said Maj. Gen. James D. Thurman, commander of the U.S. forces around Baghdad. “Make no doubt about it, the welfare and status of these two soldiers is our primary concern.”
The soldiers were manning a checkpoint near Youssifiyah, about 10 miles south of Baghdad, when they were attacked. Residents quoted by various news agencies have said the two soldiers were captured alive by a group of heavily armed insurgents, but the U.S. military has not commented on those reports.
On Monday, the main U.S. spokesman in Baghdad said the search — begun shortly after the 8 p.m. Friday incident — now includes ground forces, fixed wing aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, helicopters, rescue divers and boats. More than 12 “cordon and search” operations have been undertaken in area villages, along with eight air assault operations and 280 flight hours by search crews.
At least three suspected insurgents have been killed in the search, with 34 more taken into custody in what officials called “significant” clashes in the search area. Seven U.S. troops supporting the search have been wounded, Maj. Gen. Bill Caldwell said. American and Iraqi forces have received more than 63 tips in regards to the incident, officials said.
“We have surged intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platforms and employed planes, boats, helicopters and UAVs to ensure the most thorough search possible on the ground, in the air and in the water,” Caldwell said. “Words cannot express the sadness we feel at the loss of Spc. Babineau and the uncertainty the families of Pfc. Menchaca and Pfc. Tucker must be experiencing. Our deepest sympathy goes out to their families. … We are using every means at our disposal.”
Babineau, 25, was a native of Springfield, Mass., the Pentagon said. Menchaca, 23, is from Houston, and Tucker, 25, is from Madras, Ore.
“We are using all available assets, coalition and Iraqi, to find our soldiers and will not stop looking until we find them,” Caldwell said. “We will never stop looking for our servicemembers until their status is definitively determined.”
By Monday, a claim of responsibility was posted on a Web site often used by al-Qaida in Iraq and other groups.
“Your brothers in the military wing of the Mujahedeen Shura Council kidnapped the two American soldiers near Youssifiya,” the message read in part, according to an Associated Press translation.
There was no way to confirm the claim.
A third U.S. soldier in Iraq — Sgt. Keith “Matt” Maupin — has been listed as missing since an April 2004 attack on a convoy in Fallujah.
© 2006 Stars and Stripes. All Rights Reserved. Disclaimer | Web Notice
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2006-06...tent_621394.htm
Iraqi rebels claim GI kidnappings
(AP)
Updated: 2006-06-20 10:19
An al-Qaida-linked group said Monday it was holding captive two US privates, one from Texas and the other from Oregon, and taunted the US military for failing to find the soldiers despite a search involving more than 8,000 Iraqi and American troops.
The Mujahedeen Shura Council, an umbrella organization for a variety of insurgent factions led by al-Qaida in Iraq, offered no video, identification cards or other evidence to prove that they have the Americans. The group had vowed to seek revenge for the June 7 killing of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq, in a US airstrike.
The council also said it was responsible for the June 3 kidnapping of four Russian Embassy workers. The two separate postings could not be authenticated, but they appeared on a Web site known for publishing messages from insurgent groups in Iraq.
Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman, when asked about the claim by the Shura Council that it was holding the soldiers, said: "We have no independent confirmation of that report."
Besides the troops, the US military said Monday it has deployed fighter jets, helicopters, unmanned drones, boats and dive teams in the hunt for the soldiers, who disappeared Friday in a region south of Baghdad known as the "Triangle of Death."
Residents said the Americans slapped a 3 p.m.-to-6 a.m. curfew in the area and were conducting house-to-house raids, arresting anyone found not to be a permanent resident. They said US and Iraqi soldiers were demanding to see each family's food ration card, which lists the number of beneficiaries, so as to single out outsiders.
Troops searching for the soldiers killed three suspected insurgents and detained 34 in fighting that also left seven US servicemen wounded, said military spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell.
Please go to link for rest of the article
Iraqi rebels claim GI kidnappings
(AP)
Updated: 2006-06-20 10:19
An al-Qaida-linked group said Monday it was holding captive two US privates, one from Texas and the other from Oregon, and taunted the US military for failing to find the soldiers despite a search involving more than 8,000 Iraqi and American troops.
The Mujahedeen Shura Council, an umbrella organization for a variety of insurgent factions led by al-Qaida in Iraq, offered no video, identification cards or other evidence to prove that they have the Americans. The group had vowed to seek revenge for the June 7 killing of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq, in a US airstrike.
The council also said it was responsible for the June 3 kidnapping of four Russian Embassy workers. The two separate postings could not be authenticated, but they appeared on a Web site known for publishing messages from insurgent groups in Iraq.
Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman, when asked about the claim by the Shura Council that it was holding the soldiers, said: "We have no independent confirmation of that report."
Besides the troops, the US military said Monday it has deployed fighter jets, helicopters, unmanned drones, boats and dive teams in the hunt for the soldiers, who disappeared Friday in a region south of Baghdad known as the "Triangle of Death."
Residents said the Americans slapped a 3 p.m.-to-6 a.m. curfew in the area and were conducting house-to-house raids, arresting anyone found not to be a permanent resident. They said US and Iraqi soldiers were demanding to see each family's food ration card, which lists the number of beneficiaries, so as to single out outsiders.
Troops searching for the soldiers killed three suspected insurgents and detained 34 in fighting that also left seven US servicemen wounded, said military spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell.
Please go to link for rest of the article
Missing Soldiers' Families Pray for Safety
By LYNN BREZOSKY
BROWNSVILLE, Texas -- Maria Vasquez has barely slept in the three days since authorities said her 23-year-old son was one of two servicemen missing in Iraq.
To view the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...er=emailarticle
By LYNN BREZOSKY
BROWNSVILLE, Texas -- Maria Vasquez has barely slept in the three days since authorities said her 23-year-old son was one of two servicemen missing in Iraq.
To view the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...er=emailarticle
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/06/20/D8IBTN9G0.html
Iraq Official: U.S. Soldiers' Bodies Found
Jun 20 7:26 AM US/Eastern
BAGHDAD, Iraq
The bodies of two missing U.S. soldiers have been found, a senior Iraqi military official said Tuesday, but the U.S. military said it could not confirm the report.
Maj. Gen. Abdul-Aziz Mohammed said the bodies of Army Pfc. Kristian Menchaca, 23, of Houston, and Army Pfc. Thomas Lowell Tucker, 25, of Madras, Ore., were found on a street near a power plant in the town of Youssifiyah, just south of Baghdad.
U.S. Maj. Doug Powell said he could not confirm the report.
The soldiers came under attack Friday at a traffic checkpoint near Youssifiyah. A third soldier, Spc. David J. Babineau, 25, of Springfield, Mass., was killed in the attack. All three were from the 101st Airborne Division based at Fort Campbell, Ky.
An umbrella group that includes al-Qaida in Iraq claimed in a statement Monday that it had kidnapped the two U.S. soldiers, but it did not name them.
"The news is going to be heartbreaking for my family," Ken MacKenzie, Menchaca's uncle, told NBC's "Today" show.
He said the United States should have paid a ransom from money seized from Saddam Hussein.
"I think the U.S. was too slow to react to this. Because the U.S. did not have a plan in place, my nephew has paid with his life."
More than 8,000 Iraqi and American troops searched for the missing soldiers on Monday.
Earlier Tuesday, a parked minivan exploded in a busy outdoor market in a Baghdad slum, killing four people and wounding 16, police said.
Elsewhere, a suicide bomber wearing an explosives belt blew himself up in a home for the elderly in the southern city of Basra, killing two people and wounding three.
The minivan bombing occurred as people were shopping in the rundown district of Sadr City, a sprawling Shiite district in eastern Baghdad. Police Col. Hassan Chalob said four civilians were killed and seven cars were left charred.
The area has been targeted by attackers in the past. Bombs exploded in two markets there on March 12, killing at least 44 people.
The motive of the attack on the elderly home was unclear and an investigation was under way, police Lt. Col. Karim al-Zaida said. Two women were killed.
Tensions have been worsening in the Shiite-dominated area of Basra, Iraq's second-largest city, which is about 340 miles southeast of Baghdad. Britain has about 8,000 soldiers in the city.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki declared a state of emergency there late last month, but it has failed to quell the rampant violence as rival Shiite militias fight each other for power.
Ahmed Khalaf Falah, a farmer, has told The Associated Press that he witnessed seven masked gunmen seize the soldiers near Youssifiyah, about 12 miles south of Baghdad, in a region known as the "Triangle of Death."
The Mujahedeen Shura Council, an umbrella organization for a variety of insurgent factions led by al-Qaida in Iraq, offered no video, identification cards or other evidence to prove that they had the Americans. The group had vowed to seek revenge for the June 7 killing of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq, in a U.S. airstrike.
The council also said it was responsible for the June 3 kidnapping of four Russian Embassy workers. The two separate postings could not be authenticated, but they appeared on a Web site known for publishing messages from insurgent groups in Iraq.
The area is among the most dangerous in Iraq for U.S. troops and mostly populated by minority Sunni Arabs, the backbone of Iraq's 3- year-old insurgency. The two soldiers were missing after an attack on their traffic checkpoint that left one of their comrades dead.
Kidnappings of U.S. service members have been rare since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, despite the presence of about 130,000 forces.
U.S. troops patrol only in convoys. Foot patrols, while common in parts of Iraq during 2003 and 2004, have become rare because of roadside bombs, snipers and ambushes.
The last U.S. soldier to be captured was Sgt. Keith M. Maupin of Batavia, Ohio, who was taken on April 9, 2004 after insurgents ambushed his fuel convoy. Two months later, a tape on Al-Jazeera purported to show a captive U.S. soldier shot, but the Army ruled it was inconclusive.
Six soldiers, including Pvt. Jessica Lynch, were captured in an ambush in southern Iraq in the early days of the war _ March 23, 2003. Lynch was rescued April 1, 2003, the others 12 days later.
Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Iraq Official: U.S. Soldiers' Bodies Found
Jun 20 7:26 AM US/Eastern
BAGHDAD, Iraq
The bodies of two missing U.S. soldiers have been found, a senior Iraqi military official said Tuesday, but the U.S. military said it could not confirm the report.
Maj. Gen. Abdul-Aziz Mohammed said the bodies of Army Pfc. Kristian Menchaca, 23, of Houston, and Army Pfc. Thomas Lowell Tucker, 25, of Madras, Ore., were found on a street near a power plant in the town of Youssifiyah, just south of Baghdad.
U.S. Maj. Doug Powell said he could not confirm the report.
The soldiers came under attack Friday at a traffic checkpoint near Youssifiyah. A third soldier, Spc. David J. Babineau, 25, of Springfield, Mass., was killed in the attack. All three were from the 101st Airborne Division based at Fort Campbell, Ky.
An umbrella group that includes al-Qaida in Iraq claimed in a statement Monday that it had kidnapped the two U.S. soldiers, but it did not name them.
"The news is going to be heartbreaking for my family," Ken MacKenzie, Menchaca's uncle, told NBC's "Today" show.
He said the United States should have paid a ransom from money seized from Saddam Hussein.
"I think the U.S. was too slow to react to this. Because the U.S. did not have a plan in place, my nephew has paid with his life."
More than 8,000 Iraqi and American troops searched for the missing soldiers on Monday.
Earlier Tuesday, a parked minivan exploded in a busy outdoor market in a Baghdad slum, killing four people and wounding 16, police said.
Elsewhere, a suicide bomber wearing an explosives belt blew himself up in a home for the elderly in the southern city of Basra, killing two people and wounding three.
The minivan bombing occurred as people were shopping in the rundown district of Sadr City, a sprawling Shiite district in eastern Baghdad. Police Col. Hassan Chalob said four civilians were killed and seven cars were left charred.
The area has been targeted by attackers in the past. Bombs exploded in two markets there on March 12, killing at least 44 people.
The motive of the attack on the elderly home was unclear and an investigation was under way, police Lt. Col. Karim al-Zaida said. Two women were killed.
Tensions have been worsening in the Shiite-dominated area of Basra, Iraq's second-largest city, which is about 340 miles southeast of Baghdad. Britain has about 8,000 soldiers in the city.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki declared a state of emergency there late last month, but it has failed to quell the rampant violence as rival Shiite militias fight each other for power.
Ahmed Khalaf Falah, a farmer, has told The Associated Press that he witnessed seven masked gunmen seize the soldiers near Youssifiyah, about 12 miles south of Baghdad, in a region known as the "Triangle of Death."
The Mujahedeen Shura Council, an umbrella organization for a variety of insurgent factions led by al-Qaida in Iraq, offered no video, identification cards or other evidence to prove that they had the Americans. The group had vowed to seek revenge for the June 7 killing of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq, in a U.S. airstrike.
The council also said it was responsible for the June 3 kidnapping of four Russian Embassy workers. The two separate postings could not be authenticated, but they appeared on a Web site known for publishing messages from insurgent groups in Iraq.
The area is among the most dangerous in Iraq for U.S. troops and mostly populated by minority Sunni Arabs, the backbone of Iraq's 3- year-old insurgency. The two soldiers were missing after an attack on their traffic checkpoint that left one of their comrades dead.
Kidnappings of U.S. service members have been rare since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, despite the presence of about 130,000 forces.
U.S. troops patrol only in convoys. Foot patrols, while common in parts of Iraq during 2003 and 2004, have become rare because of roadside bombs, snipers and ambushes.
The last U.S. soldier to be captured was Sgt. Keith M. Maupin of Batavia, Ohio, who was taken on April 9, 2004 after insurgents ambushed his fuel convoy. Two months later, a tape on Al-Jazeera purported to show a captive U.S. soldier shot, but the Army ruled it was inconclusive.
Six soldiers, including Pvt. Jessica Lynch, were captured in an ambush in southern Iraq in the early days of the war _ March 23, 2003. Lynch was rescued April 1, 2003, the others 12 days later.
Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsarticle....op%2BNewsNews-2
Tue Jun 20, 2006 6:53am ET
US military confirms two missing soldiers dead
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Two missing U.S. soldiers in Iraq have been killed and their bodies were found, the spokesman for Iraq's Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.
"The two soldiers were killed and they were found in Yusufiya near an electricity plant," Major General Abdul Aziz Mohammed told a news conference in Baghdad.
He did not say when the soldiers were killed or when their bodies were found.
The soldiers went missing on Friday after insurgents attacked their checkpoint near Yusufiya, an al Qaeda stronghold south of Baghdad. A group linked to al Qaeda in Iraq said on Monday it had abducted two U.S. soldiers near Yusufiya.
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
Tue Jun 20, 2006 6:53am ET
US military confirms two missing soldiers dead
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Two missing U.S. soldiers in Iraq have been killed and their bodies were found, the spokesman for Iraq's Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.
"The two soldiers were killed and they were found in Yusufiya near an electricity plant," Major General Abdul Aziz Mohammed told a news conference in Baghdad.
He did not say when the soldiers were killed or when their bodies were found.
The soldiers went missing on Friday after insurgents attacked their checkpoint near Yusufiya, an al Qaeda stronghold south of Baghdad. A group linked to al Qaeda in Iraq said on Monday it had abducted two U.S. soldiers near Yusufiya.
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
Pentagon confirms 2 bodies found in Iraq:
report 2 hours, 1 minute ago
The Pentagon said on Tuesday that two unidentified bodies were found south of Baghdad but did not confirm they were the U.S. soldiers who were abducted by Iraqi insurgents late last week, CNN reported.
An Iraqi defense official said earlier the soldiers who went missing were killed and their bodies were found in an area south of Baghdad where a group linked to al Qaeda said it had abducted them.
The two bodies showed signs of torture, Fox News Channel reported, citing reports to Iraqi defense-ministry officials by civilians who had found the bodies. Fox said that according to the reports, "there were marks of torture all over the bodies."
Pvt. Thomas Lowell Tucker, 25, from Madras, Oregon, and Private Kristian Menchaca, 23, of Houston, went missing at dusk on Friday after an ambush at a checkpoint in Yusufiya, a town south of Baghdad in an area considered an al Qaeda stronghold.
Maj. William Wilhoute, spokesman for the multinational forces in Iraq, told CNN he could not confirm whether the bodies that had been found were the two missing soldiers, and could not say whether the bodies had been tortured.
Copyright © 2006 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.
Copyright © 2006 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.
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report 2 hours, 1 minute ago
The Pentagon said on Tuesday that two unidentified bodies were found south of Baghdad but did not confirm they were the U.S. soldiers who were abducted by Iraqi insurgents late last week, CNN reported.
An Iraqi defense official said earlier the soldiers who went missing were killed and their bodies were found in an area south of Baghdad where a group linked to al Qaeda said it had abducted them.
The two bodies showed signs of torture, Fox News Channel reported, citing reports to Iraqi defense-ministry officials by civilians who had found the bodies. Fox said that according to the reports, "there were marks of torture all over the bodies."
Pvt. Thomas Lowell Tucker, 25, from Madras, Oregon, and Private Kristian Menchaca, 23, of Houston, went missing at dusk on Friday after an ambush at a checkpoint in Yusufiya, a town south of Baghdad in an area considered an al Qaeda stronghold.
Maj. William Wilhoute, spokesman for the multinational forces in Iraq, told CNN he could not confirm whether the bodies that had been found were the two missing soldiers, and could not say whether the bodies had been tortured.
Copyright © 2006 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.
Copyright © 2006 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.
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Al-Zarqawi's successor gets the credit
By NADIA ABOU EL-MAGD, Associated Press Writer
The new leader of al-Qaida in Iraq killed two U.S. soldiers whom the group abducted last week, an insurgent umbrella group said in a Web statement posted Tuesday. The statement, which could not be authenticated, said the two soldiers were "slaughtered," suggesting they had been beheaded by Abu Hamza al-Muhajer.
The Arabic word used in the statement, "nahr," is used for the slaughtering of sheep by cutting the throat and has been used in past statements to refer to beheadings.
The claim of responsibility was posted on an Islamic militant Web site where insurgent groups regularly post statements.
If true, it would be the first act of violence attributed to al-Muhajer since he was named al-Qaida in Iraq's new leader in a June 12 Web message by the group. He succeeded Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who was killed in a U.S. airstrike on June 7.
Al-Zarqawi made al-Qaida in Iraq notorious for hostage beheadings and was believed to have killed two American captives himself.
U.S. Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said the military has recovered what are believed to be the remains of two missing soldiers, but said the cause of death was "undeterminable at this point." An Iraqi military official said the bodies showed signs of torture and were killed in a barbaric way.
The statement in the name of the Mujahedeen Shura Council, said: "We give the good news ... to the Islamic nation that we have carried God's verdict by slaughtering the two captured crusaders."
"With God Almighty's blessing, Abu Hamza al-Muhajer carried out the verdict of the Islamic court" for the soldier's slaying, the statement said.
The statement did not indicate whether any video of the killings would be released.
The U.S. military has identified al-Muhajer as an Egyptian associate of al-Zarqawi. He is also known as Abu Ayyub al-Masri.
Attributing the slayings to al-Muhajer could be an attempt to build up the image of the new leader.
Al-Zarqawi had been praised by followers as "the slaughtering sheik" for the videos of hostage beheadings his group issued on the Web. Al-Zarqawi is believed to have appeared in two of those videos, killing Americans Nicholas Berg in April 2004 and Eugene Armstrong in September 2004.
Kidnappings of U.S. service members have been rare since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, despite the presence of about 130,000 forces.
The last U.S. soldier to be captured was Sgt. Keith M. Maupin of Batavia, Ohio, who was taken on April 9, 2004 after insurgents ambushed his fuel convoy. Two months later, a tape on Al-Jazeera purported to show a captive U.S. soldier shot, but the Army ruled it was inconclusive and Maupin remains listed as missing.
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By NADIA ABOU EL-MAGD, Associated Press Writer
The new leader of al-Qaida in Iraq killed two U.S. soldiers whom the group abducted last week, an insurgent umbrella group said in a Web statement posted Tuesday. The statement, which could not be authenticated, said the two soldiers were "slaughtered," suggesting they had been beheaded by Abu Hamza al-Muhajer.
The Arabic word used in the statement, "nahr," is used for the slaughtering of sheep by cutting the throat and has been used in past statements to refer to beheadings.
The claim of responsibility was posted on an Islamic militant Web site where insurgent groups regularly post statements.
If true, it would be the first act of violence attributed to al-Muhajer since he was named al-Qaida in Iraq's new leader in a June 12 Web message by the group. He succeeded Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who was killed in a U.S. airstrike on June 7.
Al-Zarqawi made al-Qaida in Iraq notorious for hostage beheadings and was believed to have killed two American captives himself.
U.S. Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said the military has recovered what are believed to be the remains of two missing soldiers, but said the cause of death was "undeterminable at this point." An Iraqi military official said the bodies showed signs of torture and were killed in a barbaric way.
The statement in the name of the Mujahedeen Shura Council, said: "We give the good news ... to the Islamic nation that we have carried God's verdict by slaughtering the two captured crusaders."
"With God Almighty's blessing, Abu Hamza al-Muhajer carried out the verdict of the Islamic court" for the soldier's slaying, the statement said.
The statement did not indicate whether any video of the killings would be released.
The U.S. military has identified al-Muhajer as an Egyptian associate of al-Zarqawi. He is also known as Abu Ayyub al-Masri.
Attributing the slayings to al-Muhajer could be an attempt to build up the image of the new leader.
Al-Zarqawi had been praised by followers as "the slaughtering sheik" for the videos of hostage beheadings his group issued on the Web. Al-Zarqawi is believed to have appeared in two of those videos, killing Americans Nicholas Berg in April 2004 and Eugene Armstrong in September 2004.
Kidnappings of U.S. service members have been rare since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, despite the presence of about 130,000 forces.
The last U.S. soldier to be captured was Sgt. Keith M. Maupin of Batavia, Ohio, who was taken on April 9, 2004 after insurgents ambushed his fuel convoy. Two months later, a tape on Al-Jazeera purported to show a captive U.S. soldier shot, but the Army ruled it was inconclusive and Maupin remains listed as missing.
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Missing soldier's uncle criticizes U.S.
By LYNN BREZOSKY, Associated Press Writer
BROWNSVILLE, Texas - As the families of two missing soldiers waited to hear if two bodies found Tuesday were their loved ones, the uncle of one lashed out at the government, saying it didn't do enough to bring the men home safe.
"Because the U.S. government did not have a plan in place, my nephew has paid for it with his life," Ken MacKenzie, uncle of Army Pfc. Kristian Menchaca, told NBC's "Today" show.
U.S. Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said the military has recovered what are believed to be the remains of two missing soldiers, but he said the cause of death was "undeterminable at this point."
A member of the Army's casualty assistance office was meeting with Menchaca's mother Tuesday morning and said it could take two or three days for DNA tests to be completed.
Menchaca's mother, Maria Vasquez, was sobbing when she answered the door of her Brownsville, Texas, home. Her niece, Felipa Gomez, said the family had been watching television news reports of the Iraqi military announcement.
"She's hanging in there," and still holding on to hope that Menchaca will make it back alive, Gomez said. "She might be frightened, but she won't show it."
Sgt. 1st Class Jesus Rolnmedina, who spoke with her, said the bodies "had a lot of trauma."
The first report that the soldiers had been found came from Iraqi Maj. Gen. Abdul-Aziz Mohammed, who announced that the bodies of Menchaca, 23, of Houston, and Army Pfc. Thomas Lowell Tucker, 25, of Madras, Ore., had been discovered on a street in Youssifiyah, just south of Baghdad.
The two soldiers had been manning checkpoints when they were attacked Friday and another soldier with them was killed.
A group that includes al-Qaida in Iraq claimed Monday it had kidnapped the two soldiers, but it did not name them and the U.S. military was skeptical of the claim. The group posted another statement found on the Internet Tuesday saying it had killed the two.
"I think the U.S. government was too slow to react to this," MacKenzie said Tuesday. "They should have had a plan in place."
MacKenzie said the government should have offered a $100 million reward and offered to exchange mujahideen detainees for the soldiers' lives. The government seized enough money from Saddam Hussein to afford it, he said.
The military has said more than 8,000 U.S. and Iraqi troops were searching for the missing men.
In Tucker's hometown in Oregon, yellow ribbons adorn the trees and store reader boards offer prayers of hope for his safe return.
A spokesman for the Tucker family, Oregon National Guard Sgt. Randy Everett, said Tuesday they had not heard any specifics from the military but that they were expecting the worst.
Tucker's relatives declined interviews but released the text of a phone message Monday that Tucker recently left on an answering machine, telling his mother to be proud of him.
"I'm defending my country," Tucker says on the recording. "Tell sis and my nephews hello for me, I'm OK, I'm on my way."
The family said in a statement Monday that their son had joined the military because he wanted to "do something positive." They also sent their sympathy to the family of Spc. David J. Babineau, 25, of Springfield, Mass., who was killed in the attack.
Lyndsay Kowaleski, a high school classmate of Tucker's, described "a sense of helplessness" after learning Tucker was missing.
"Our hearts are broken with our friend being in this situation," she said.
Copyright © 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
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By LYNN BREZOSKY, Associated Press Writer
BROWNSVILLE, Texas - As the families of two missing soldiers waited to hear if two bodies found Tuesday were their loved ones, the uncle of one lashed out at the government, saying it didn't do enough to bring the men home safe.
"Because the U.S. government did not have a plan in place, my nephew has paid for it with his life," Ken MacKenzie, uncle of Army Pfc. Kristian Menchaca, told NBC's "Today" show.
U.S. Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said the military has recovered what are believed to be the remains of two missing soldiers, but he said the cause of death was "undeterminable at this point."
A member of the Army's casualty assistance office was meeting with Menchaca's mother Tuesday morning and said it could take two or three days for DNA tests to be completed.
Menchaca's mother, Maria Vasquez, was sobbing when she answered the door of her Brownsville, Texas, home. Her niece, Felipa Gomez, said the family had been watching television news reports of the Iraqi military announcement.
"She's hanging in there," and still holding on to hope that Menchaca will make it back alive, Gomez said. "She might be frightened, but she won't show it."
Sgt. 1st Class Jesus Rolnmedina, who spoke with her, said the bodies "had a lot of trauma."
The first report that the soldiers had been found came from Iraqi Maj. Gen. Abdul-Aziz Mohammed, who announced that the bodies of Menchaca, 23, of Houston, and Army Pfc. Thomas Lowell Tucker, 25, of Madras, Ore., had been discovered on a street in Youssifiyah, just south of Baghdad.
The two soldiers had been manning checkpoints when they were attacked Friday and another soldier with them was killed.
A group that includes al-Qaida in Iraq claimed Monday it had kidnapped the two soldiers, but it did not name them and the U.S. military was skeptical of the claim. The group posted another statement found on the Internet Tuesday saying it had killed the two.
"I think the U.S. government was too slow to react to this," MacKenzie said Tuesday. "They should have had a plan in place."
MacKenzie said the government should have offered a $100 million reward and offered to exchange mujahideen detainees for the soldiers' lives. The government seized enough money from Saddam Hussein to afford it, he said.
The military has said more than 8,000 U.S. and Iraqi troops were searching for the missing men.
In Tucker's hometown in Oregon, yellow ribbons adorn the trees and store reader boards offer prayers of hope for his safe return.
A spokesman for the Tucker family, Oregon National Guard Sgt. Randy Everett, said Tuesday they had not heard any specifics from the military but that they were expecting the worst.
Tucker's relatives declined interviews but released the text of a phone message Monday that Tucker recently left on an answering machine, telling his mother to be proud of him.
"I'm defending my country," Tucker says on the recording. "Tell sis and my nephews hello for me, I'm OK, I'm on my way."
The family said in a statement Monday that their son had joined the military because he wanted to "do something positive." They also sent their sympathy to the family of Spc. David J. Babineau, 25, of Springfield, Mass., who was killed in the attack.
Lyndsay Kowaleski, a high school classmate of Tucker's, described "a sense of helplessness" after learning Tucker was missing.
"Our hearts are broken with our friend being in this situation," she said.
Copyright © 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
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‘Devastated’
A small Oregon town mourns the loss of a soldier
U.S. Army-AP
Pfc. Thomas L. Tucker, in an undated U.S. Army photo
Today, they learned that those prayers had not been answered. Iraqi authorities reported that the brutalized corpses of two U.S. soldiers were found near the town of Youssifiyah, south of Baghdad. U.S. Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said the bodies were believed to be those of Tucker and Houston Pfc. Kristian Menchaca, 23, who disappeared along with Tucker from a checkpoint near a Euphrates River canal. “With great regret, they were killed in a barbaric way,” Maj. Gen. Abdul-Aziz Mohammed, director of the Iraqi defense military’s operations team, told journalists in Baghdad. Al Qaeda in Iraq has claimed responsibility for the killings.
U.S. officials have not yet formally confirmed the death of the two soldiers, saying that they are waiting for positive identification from DNA tests. For Tucker’s parents Wes and Margaret, that means the agony of the wait is not quite over. "They're hanging on to the hope that perhaps it's not their son," said Kay Fristad, a spokeswoman for the Oregon Army National Guard. "But I believe they're coming to grips with the high probability that this will indeed mark the end of the wait."
In a statement later released by the Guard, Fristad described the family as “devastated,” but said that they were “very grateful” for the community’s support and love. “The family has come to the realization that Tom has gained a much larger family through this ordeal than when he had left home to go help to free the Iraqi people and protect his country from the threat of terrorism.”
Indeed, Tucker’s desire to serve his nation was made clear in a haunting telephone message that his parents released to the media on Monday: "Hey mama, um, I love you. I love you too dad,” he said. “Just going to go on this little vacation ... Ill be back before I know it ... I'm going to be OK. Everything's going to be OK. I'm going to defend my country. Be proud of me... So I will call you as much as I can. You guys will never not know what I'm doing."
Tucker was wrong about that. When his parents returned from a weekend camping trip Sunday, they learned their son was missing. They've been holed up in their small home ever since, the driveway barricaded by Jefferson County sheriff's deputies and adorned with 10 oversized American flags; the property filled with well-meaning family members and friends.
As they grieved, some of Tucker’s friends and former teachers shared their memories of a of a good-natured young man who had struggled to find direction in life.
"He was one of those quiet, polite, wonderful kids you enjoyed having around," said Stephen Hillis, Tucker's English teacher at Madras High School. "I never envisioned him being a military person. That wasn't his personality." Science teacher Scott Coles recalled that Tucker’s mother was delighted when her son finally found something that he wanted to do. "It sounded like the military was really a positive force in his life," said Coles.
Classmate Kayla DuPont remembered him as “a great guy.” Outgoing and friendly, he was “fun to hang out with,” she said. And former mayor Rick Allen, a former owner of the Chevron station where Tucker worked during high school, described him as a “typical, nice kid.”
Tucker, Menchaca and 25-year-old Spc. David J. Babineau—who was killed in the ambush that led to the kidnapping—were all assigned to Fort Campbell, Kentucky, as members of the 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division.
© 2006 Newsweek, Inc.
‘Devastated’
A small Oregon town mourns the loss of a soldier
U.S. Army-AP
Pfc. Thomas L. Tucker, in an undated U.S. Army photo
Today, they learned that those prayers had not been answered. Iraqi authorities reported that the brutalized corpses of two U.S. soldiers were found near the town of Youssifiyah, south of Baghdad. U.S. Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said the bodies were believed to be those of Tucker and Houston Pfc. Kristian Menchaca, 23, who disappeared along with Tucker from a checkpoint near a Euphrates River canal. “With great regret, they were killed in a barbaric way,” Maj. Gen. Abdul-Aziz Mohammed, director of the Iraqi defense military’s operations team, told journalists in Baghdad. Al Qaeda in Iraq has claimed responsibility for the killings.
U.S. officials have not yet formally confirmed the death of the two soldiers, saying that they are waiting for positive identification from DNA tests. For Tucker’s parents Wes and Margaret, that means the agony of the wait is not quite over. "They're hanging on to the hope that perhaps it's not their son," said Kay Fristad, a spokeswoman for the Oregon Army National Guard. "But I believe they're coming to grips with the high probability that this will indeed mark the end of the wait."
In a statement later released by the Guard, Fristad described the family as “devastated,” but said that they were “very grateful” for the community’s support and love. “The family has come to the realization that Tom has gained a much larger family through this ordeal than when he had left home to go help to free the Iraqi people and protect his country from the threat of terrorism.”
Indeed, Tucker’s desire to serve his nation was made clear in a haunting telephone message that his parents released to the media on Monday: "Hey mama, um, I love you. I love you too dad,” he said. “Just going to go on this little vacation ... Ill be back before I know it ... I'm going to be OK. Everything's going to be OK. I'm going to defend my country. Be proud of me... So I will call you as much as I can. You guys will never not know what I'm doing."
Tucker was wrong about that. When his parents returned from a weekend camping trip Sunday, they learned their son was missing. They've been holed up in their small home ever since, the driveway barricaded by Jefferson County sheriff's deputies and adorned with 10 oversized American flags; the property filled with well-meaning family members and friends.
As they grieved, some of Tucker’s friends and former teachers shared their memories of a of a good-natured young man who had struggled to find direction in life.
"He was one of those quiet, polite, wonderful kids you enjoyed having around," said Stephen Hillis, Tucker's English teacher at Madras High School. "I never envisioned him being a military person. That wasn't his personality." Science teacher Scott Coles recalled that Tucker’s mother was delighted when her son finally found something that he wanted to do. "It sounded like the military was really a positive force in his life," said Coles.
Classmate Kayla DuPont remembered him as “a great guy.” Outgoing and friendly, he was “fun to hang out with,” she said. And former mayor Rick Allen, a former owner of the Chevron station where Tucker worked during high school, described him as a “typical, nice kid.”
Tucker, Menchaca and 25-year-old Spc. David J. Babineau—who was killed in the ambush that led to the kidnapping—were all assigned to Fort Campbell, Kentucky, as members of the 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division.
© 2006 Newsweek, Inc.
http://www.alertnet.org/printable.htm?URL=...k/N20452044.htm
US official: soldiers' remains to be DNA tested
20 Jun 2006 18:20:54 GMT
Source: Reuters
WASHINGTON, June 20 (Reuters) - The mutilated remains of two bodies believed to be U.S. soldiers missing in Iraq will be flown back to the United States for genetic testing because they cannot be identified, a U.S. defense official said on Tuesday.
While U.S. officials said it was believed the remains were those of two soldiers missing since Friday, the defense official cautioned that insurgents could be wrongly making that claim.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there remained doubt about the identity of the badly damaged bodies and noted the insurgents could have set the scene to lure other soldiers involved in the search into a booby-trapped area.
Genetic testing will take three to four days, the defense official added. The remains were being flown to Dover, Delaware.
The Pentagon was also waiting for other evidence, such as a videotape, to substantiate claims by al Qaeda in Iraq that the group had killed the soldiers.
The missing servicemen have been identified as Pfc. Thomas Lowell Tucker, 25, and Pfc. Kristian Menchaca, 23.
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US official: soldiers' remains to be DNA tested
20 Jun 2006 18:20:54 GMT
Source: Reuters
WASHINGTON, June 20 (Reuters) - The mutilated remains of two bodies believed to be U.S. soldiers missing in Iraq will be flown back to the United States for genetic testing because they cannot be identified, a U.S. defense official said on Tuesday.
While U.S. officials said it was believed the remains were those of two soldiers missing since Friday, the defense official cautioned that insurgents could be wrongly making that claim.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there remained doubt about the identity of the badly damaged bodies and noted the insurgents could have set the scene to lure other soldiers involved in the search into a booby-trapped area.
Genetic testing will take three to four days, the defense official added. The remains were being flown to Dover, Delaware.
The Pentagon was also waiting for other evidence, such as a videotape, to substantiate claims by al Qaeda in Iraq that the group had killed the soldiers.
The missing servicemen have been identified as Pfc. Thomas Lowell Tucker, 25, and Pfc. Kristian Menchaca, 23.
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QUOTE(graham4anything @ Jun 19 2006, 02:15 PM)
Hey- how do we know that bushforces didn't do this to get some sympathy going?
Methinks that's just 'bout the single dumbest thing I've seen written here on CGCS in quite a while, yet 'twas not a surprise. Did you really mean it or were you just tryin' to be your provocative self, eh? 'Twas a definite reminder why I now avoid the Café threads.Almost as impressive was the speed with which the news media swooped down like vultures on the families of the two missin' soldiers to get their reaction to the two mangled bodies bein' found. Methinks there was nothin' newsworthy to be gained by this lack of consideration and display of poor taste by the MSM. Again, not surprisin', eh?
QUOTE(flydangler @ Jun 20 2006, 09:36 PM)
Almost as impressive was the speed with which the news media swooped down like vultures on the families of the two missin' soldiers to get their reaction to the two mangled bodies bein' found. Methinks there was nothin' newsworthy to be gained by this lack of consideration and display of poor taste by the MSM. Again, not surprisin', eh?
This is one of the unpleasant tasks of being a reporter. On a story like this, the media is obligated to ask for the family's reaction. Now, the family certainly has a right to decline to speak, and if that is their choice it should be respected. But no two families are alike. Some actually *want* to use the opportunity to vent or to honor their loved one. But at any rate, the media has to ask. It may seem insensitive, but it's a vital part of the story.
Missing Soldiers Are Found Dead
Americans Were Beheaded, Dismembered, Residents of Iraqi Town Say
By Jonathan Finer and Joshua Partlow
Washington Post Foreign Service
Wednesday, June 21, 2006; A01
BAGHDAD, June 20 -- Two U.S. soldiers, missing for three days since their abduction in an insurgent stronghold south of Baghdad, were found dead, a military spokesman said Tuesday, and a top U.S. commander ordered an investigation into why the men were isolated from a larger force in such a dangerous part of Iraq.
The remains of the soldiers -- Pfc. Kristian Menchaca, 23, of Houston and Pfc. Thomas L. Tucker, 25, of Madras, Ore. -- were recovered near a power plant in the town of Yusufiya, where they had been operating a vehicle checkpoint that came under attack Friday, Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell said in a briefing for reporters. A third soldier, Spec. David J. Babineau, 25, of Springfield, Mass., died in the initial assault.
"Coalition forces have in fact recovered what we believe to be the remains of our two soldiers," Caldwell said. "Our heartfelt prayers go out to both the families and friends of our two soldiers."
Caldwell declined to describe the condition of the soldiers' bodies, saying it would be "inappropriate until I know what the families were told." He said it was clear the soldiers had died of wounds suffered in captivity, rather than at the site of the attack on the checkpoint, but that the cause of death could not be immediately determined.
According to residents of Yusufiya and a relative of one of the victims, the soldiers were beheaded. An Iraqi official said they had been brutally tortured before their death, but provided no further details.
The bodies will be flown to Kuwait and then to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware for full autopsies and DNA testing to ensure they were identified correctly, the military said in a statement.
As 8,000 U.S. and Iraqi troops scoured the region, a tip from a local resident led them to the soldiers' bodies after dark Monday. Because the informant warned that the bodies were booby-trapped, they were not removed until after dawn Tuesday, the military said.
"We went ahead and established a cordon around the area to protect it so it would be undisturbed at daylight this morning and brought the necessary assets like explosive ordnances," Caldwell said. "They did have to dismantle some stuff to get to them."
One U.S. soldier was killed and 12 wounded during the three-day search across a vast area south of Baghdad, while two insurgents were killed and 78 detained, the military said.
The killings of the two privates raised questions about why such low-ranking troops were left alone, backed by a single armored Humvee, in a region Caldwell described Thursday as "an insurgent hotbed" and the most dangerous place in Iraq for U.S. forces after Baghdad and Ramadi. Even in safer areas, U.S. troops generally travel in convoys to provide support in case insurgents attack or a vehicle breaks down.
Lt. Gen. Peter Chiarelli, the commander of U.S. ground forces in Iraq, has ordered an investigation into procedures used that night. "They are looking at the entire situation," Caldwell said.
To the consternation of U.S. officials, who are careful to withhold casualty details until the soldiers' families can be notified, the deaths were first reported by an Iraqi defense official. Maj. Gen. Abdul Aziz Muhammed Jassim said in a news conference Tuesday they had been tortured and killed "in a barbaric way."
The Mujaheddin al-Shura Council, a collection of several insurgent groups including al-Qaeda in Iraq, claimed in an Internet statement to have "slaughtered" the two soldiers, suggesting they were beheaded. The group, which had vowed revenge on U.S. forces following the killing of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi this month, claimed on Monday to have abducted the two privates.
Asked Tuesday if the Internet statements were credible, Caldwell responded: "Absolutely not," and added that based on "preliminary analysis" there was "no reason to believe" the group's claims.
In telephone interviews, two Yusufiya residents, Muyasar Ghalib al-Qaraghuli, 19, and a tribal leader who gave his name only as Abu Salam, described a gruesome scene in which insurgents beheaded and dismembered the soldiers after dragging their bodies behind pickup trucks.
"It's something that we are against," Qaraghuli said. "But what could we do? It happened."
Those accounts could not be independently confirmed, though U.S. and Iraqi officials acknowledged privately that the killings had been particularly brutal.
Menchaca's uncle, Mario Vasquez, said military officials told him early Tuesday morning that the two soldiers had been beheaded, according to a report on the Web site of the Houston Chronicle.
The two soldiers were the first to be classified as "duty status and whereabouts unknown," since Sgt. Keith "Matt" Maupin, who disappeared after an attack on his convoy in April 2004. He subsequently appeared in a video made by insurgents, who later released another video purporting to show his execution. The military called the footage inconclusive and continues to classify him as missing. Eleven American civilians, most of them contractors, are also considered to be missing in the country, Caldwell said.
Also Tuesday, U.S. military officials said they had killed a senior member of al-Qaeda in Iraq during an airstrike on Friday in the same area where the two Army privates vanished.
Mansur Sulayman Mansur Khalif al-Mashadani, an Iraqi known as Sheik Mansur, was a "key leader" of al-Qaeda in Iraq with "excellent religious, military and leadership credentials within that organization," said Caldwell. Mashadani, in his mid-thirties, had studied religion in Jordan before rising to be the religious emir for all of al-Qaeda in Iraq, Caldwell said.
"We do think his death will significantly continue to impact on the ability of this organization to regenerate and reorganize itself," Caldwell said.
After tracking Mashadani, U.S. forces moved to capture him, prompting Mashadani and two other people to flee in a vehicle, which was destroyed by a U.S. airstrike, said Caldwell.
Mashadani had been captured by U.S. forces in July 2004 and released that fall, Caldwell said, because he was not considered "a threat to Iraqi citizens or coalition forces." Mashadani joined al-Qaeda in Iraq after his release, he said.
On Tuesday, the U.S. military issued a statement saying it had killed 15 "terrorists" and detained three suspects during simultaneous raids near Baqubah aimed at pursuing a suspected senior member of al-Qaeda in Iraq. After being fired on from a rooftop, U.S. forces shot back and killed nine armed insurgents, and gunfire from supporting aircraft killed two others in a nearby building, the statement said.
The raids yielded 10 AK-47 assault rifles, a shotgun, a pistol and a crate of explosives, military officials said.
A different account of the incident was provided by witnesses, family members of the dead and a Sunni Muslim member of the Iraqi parliament, Mohammed al-Diani, who called the raids a "barbaric bombing" of civilians and children. Diani called on the Iraqi cabinet to investigate.
Hadi al-Azzawi, a press officer for a human rights organization in Baghdad who said he witnessed the incident, said two of the dead were young boys, ages 10 and 12, and a police officer denied any weapons were present at the scene.
When asked about the differing account, Caldwell denied there were any civilian casualties in what he described as "an extremely long firefight."
Violence continued in Baghdad despite efforts to tighten security. Four explosions detonated within an hour Tuesday morning in and around Baghdad, killing 13 people and wounding 39, said Col. Adil Saeed al-Samarai of the Interior Ministry.
In the southern city of Basra, a suicide bomber blew himself up inside a home for the elderly, killing five people and wounding 15, said Samarai.
Special correspondents Saad al-Izzi, Bassam Sebti, Naseer Nouri and K.I. Ibrahim contributed to this report.
© 2006 The Washington Post Company
Americans Were Beheaded, Dismembered, Residents of Iraqi Town Say
By Jonathan Finer and Joshua Partlow
Washington Post Foreign Service
Wednesday, June 21, 2006; A01
BAGHDAD, June 20 -- Two U.S. soldiers, missing for three days since their abduction in an insurgent stronghold south of Baghdad, were found dead, a military spokesman said Tuesday, and a top U.S. commander ordered an investigation into why the men were isolated from a larger force in such a dangerous part of Iraq.
The remains of the soldiers -- Pfc. Kristian Menchaca, 23, of Houston and Pfc. Thomas L. Tucker, 25, of Madras, Ore. -- were recovered near a power plant in the town of Yusufiya, where they had been operating a vehicle checkpoint that came under attack Friday, Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell said in a briefing for reporters. A third soldier, Spec. David J. Babineau, 25, of Springfield, Mass., died in the initial assault.
"Coalition forces have in fact recovered what we believe to be the remains of our two soldiers," Caldwell said. "Our heartfelt prayers go out to both the families and friends of our two soldiers."
Caldwell declined to describe the condition of the soldiers' bodies, saying it would be "inappropriate until I know what the families were told." He said it was clear the soldiers had died of wounds suffered in captivity, rather than at the site of the attack on the checkpoint, but that the cause of death could not be immediately determined.
According to residents of Yusufiya and a relative of one of the victims, the soldiers were beheaded. An Iraqi official said they had been brutally tortured before their death, but provided no further details.
The bodies will be flown to Kuwait and then to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware for full autopsies and DNA testing to ensure they were identified correctly, the military said in a statement.
As 8,000 U.S. and Iraqi troops scoured the region, a tip from a local resident led them to the soldiers' bodies after dark Monday. Because the informant warned that the bodies were booby-trapped, they were not removed until after dawn Tuesday, the military said.
"We went ahead and established a cordon around the area to protect it so it would be undisturbed at daylight this morning and brought the necessary assets like explosive ordnances," Caldwell said. "They did have to dismantle some stuff to get to them."
One U.S. soldier was killed and 12 wounded during the three-day search across a vast area south of Baghdad, while two insurgents were killed and 78 detained, the military said.
The killings of the two privates raised questions about why such low-ranking troops were left alone, backed by a single armored Humvee, in a region Caldwell described Thursday as "an insurgent hotbed" and the most dangerous place in Iraq for U.S. forces after Baghdad and Ramadi. Even in safer areas, U.S. troops generally travel in convoys to provide support in case insurgents attack or a vehicle breaks down.
Lt. Gen. Peter Chiarelli, the commander of U.S. ground forces in Iraq, has ordered an investigation into procedures used that night. "They are looking at the entire situation," Caldwell said.
To the consternation of U.S. officials, who are careful to withhold casualty details until the soldiers' families can be notified, the deaths were first reported by an Iraqi defense official. Maj. Gen. Abdul Aziz Muhammed Jassim said in a news conference Tuesday they had been tortured and killed "in a barbaric way."
The Mujaheddin al-Shura Council, a collection of several insurgent groups including al-Qaeda in Iraq, claimed in an Internet statement to have "slaughtered" the two soldiers, suggesting they were beheaded. The group, which had vowed revenge on U.S. forces following the killing of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi this month, claimed on Monday to have abducted the two privates.
Asked Tuesday if the Internet statements were credible, Caldwell responded: "Absolutely not," and added that based on "preliminary analysis" there was "no reason to believe" the group's claims.
In telephone interviews, two Yusufiya residents, Muyasar Ghalib al-Qaraghuli, 19, and a tribal leader who gave his name only as Abu Salam, described a gruesome scene in which insurgents beheaded and dismembered the soldiers after dragging their bodies behind pickup trucks.
"It's something that we are against," Qaraghuli said. "But what could we do? It happened."
Those accounts could not be independently confirmed, though U.S. and Iraqi officials acknowledged privately that the killings had been particularly brutal.
Menchaca's uncle, Mario Vasquez, said military officials told him early Tuesday morning that the two soldiers had been beheaded, according to a report on the Web site of the Houston Chronicle.
The two soldiers were the first to be classified as "duty status and whereabouts unknown," since Sgt. Keith "Matt" Maupin, who disappeared after an attack on his convoy in April 2004. He subsequently appeared in a video made by insurgents, who later released another video purporting to show his execution. The military called the footage inconclusive and continues to classify him as missing. Eleven American civilians, most of them contractors, are also considered to be missing in the country, Caldwell said.
Also Tuesday, U.S. military officials said they had killed a senior member of al-Qaeda in Iraq during an airstrike on Friday in the same area where the two Army privates vanished.
Mansur Sulayman Mansur Khalif al-Mashadani, an Iraqi known as Sheik Mansur, was a "key leader" of al-Qaeda in Iraq with "excellent religious, military and leadership credentials within that organization," said Caldwell. Mashadani, in his mid-thirties, had studied religion in Jordan before rising to be the religious emir for all of al-Qaeda in Iraq, Caldwell said.
"We do think his death will significantly continue to impact on the ability of this organization to regenerate and reorganize itself," Caldwell said.
After tracking Mashadani, U.S. forces moved to capture him, prompting Mashadani and two other people to flee in a vehicle, which was destroyed by a U.S. airstrike, said Caldwell.
Mashadani had been captured by U.S. forces in July 2004 and released that fall, Caldwell said, because he was not considered "a threat to Iraqi citizens or coalition forces." Mashadani joined al-Qaeda in Iraq after his release, he said.
On Tuesday, the U.S. military issued a statement saying it had killed 15 "terrorists" and detained three suspects during simultaneous raids near Baqubah aimed at pursuing a suspected senior member of al-Qaeda in Iraq. After being fired on from a rooftop, U.S. forces shot back and killed nine armed insurgents, and gunfire from supporting aircraft killed two others in a nearby building, the statement said.
The raids yielded 10 AK-47 assault rifles, a shotgun, a pistol and a crate of explosives, military officials said.
A different account of the incident was provided by witnesses, family members of the dead and a Sunni Muslim member of the Iraqi parliament, Mohammed al-Diani, who called the raids a "barbaric bombing" of civilians and children. Diani called on the Iraqi cabinet to investigate.
Hadi al-Azzawi, a press officer for a human rights organization in Baghdad who said he witnessed the incident, said two of the dead were young boys, ages 10 and 12, and a police officer denied any weapons were present at the scene.
When asked about the differing account, Caldwell denied there were any civilian casualties in what he described as "an extremely long firefight."
Violence continued in Baghdad despite efforts to tighten security. Four explosions detonated within an hour Tuesday morning in and around Baghdad, killing 13 people and wounding 39, said Col. Adil Saeed al-Samarai of the Interior Ministry.
In the southern city of Basra, a suicide bomber blew himself up inside a home for the elderly, killing five people and wounding 15, said Samarai.
Special correspondents Saad al-Izzi, Bassam Sebti, Naseer Nouri and K.I. Ibrahim contributed to this report.
© 2006 The Washington Post Company
http://www.wdsu.com/news/9395921/detail.html
Missing Soldiers' Bodies Beaten Beyond Recognition
Al-Qaida In Iraq Claims New Leader Killed Soldiers
POSTED: 5:45 am CDT June 20, 2006
UPDATED: 5:56 pm CDT June 20, 2006
The U.S. military said it will conduct DNA tests on two bodies found in Iraq to confirm whether they are those of two missing soldiers.
U.S. Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said coalition forces recovered the bodies, which he said officials "believe are the remains of our two missing soldiers."
Caldwell said the cause of death is "undeterminable at this point," and the two bodies will be taken back to the United States for DNA tests to confirm the identities.
The bodies were desecrated, suffering what was described as severe trauma. Visual identification of the remains could not be made, which is why DNA tests are required, CNN reported.
At first, the U.S. military wouldn't confirm or deny an Iraqi report that two bodies found near Baghdad were those of the missing U.S. soldiers. Caldwell said the military's first responsibility is to the families of the missing men.
Pfc. Kristian Menchaca, 23, of Houston and Pfc. Thomas Tucker, 25, of Madras, Ore., were last seen on Friday during an attack on a roadside checkpoint south of Baghdad. Another soldier, Spc. David J. Babineau, 25, of Springfield, Mass., was killed in the attack.
A farmer claiming to have witnessed the attack said Sunday that insurgents swarmed the scene, killing the driver of the Humvee before taking two of his comrades captive.
Menchaca's relatives held out faint hope that his was not among the bodies discovered. And they said they were outraged to hear grisly reports of his slaying through the news media, before they heard from the military.
"It's very upsetting to me that they would give you details of the torture, of the beheading," said Menchaca's uncle, Mario Vasquez, of Houston.
The first reports that the bodies of Menchaca and Tucker had been found came from an Iraqi defense ministry official. That official said the two had been "killed in a barbaric way."
Then came news reports that Al-Qaida in Iraq had claimed the two men were "slaughtered." The language in the group's Internet statement, which could not be authenticated, suggested the two soldiers had been beheaded.
The statement was made Tuesday on an Islamic militant Web site where insurgent groups regularly post statements. It claimed that the group abducted the soldiers and they were killed by the new leader of al-Qaida in Iraq.
The statement, which could not be authenticated, said the two soldiers were "slaughtered," suggesting they had been beheaded. The Arabic word used in the statement, "nahr," is used for the slaughtering of sheep by cutting the throat and has been used in past statements to refer to beheadings.
The statement said militants "have carried God's verdict" by killing what it calls "the two captured crusaders."
Taking a jab at U.S. forces, a posting on the site said the United States' failure to find the troops proves what it called "the weakness of the alleged American intelligence."
If the statements are authenticated, it would mark the first act of violence attributed to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's successor. The claim could also be an effort to bolster the image of Abu Hamza al-Muhajer, who was tapped to lead insurgents after al-Zarqawi was killed by a U.S. airstrike on June 7.
Al-Zarqawi was called the "slaughtering sheik" for the photos and videos of brutal slayings that circulated on the Internet and in media reports. He made al-Qaida in Iraq notorious for hostage beheadings and was believed to have killed two American captives himself -- Nicholas Berg in April 2004 and Eugene Armstrong in September 2004.
Iraqi Maj. Gen. Abdul-Aziz Mohammed said the soldiers' bodies were found on a street near the town where the men disappeared near a power plant just south of Baghdad. The Sunni region is the site of frequent ambushes of U.S. soldiers and Iraqi troops.
U.S. troops found the bodies late Monday near Youssifiyah, where they disappeared Friday. But troops did not recover the bodies until Tuesday because they had to wait until daylight to cordon off the area for an ordnance team for fear it was booby-trapped, Caldwell said. They were right. There were explosive devices set at the location of the bodies and all along tie road, clearly intended to injure those recovering the bodies, CNN reported.
Menchaca's uncle said, "The news is going to be heartbreaking for my family."
The two soldiers were the first to go missing in the Iraq war since Sgt. Keith Maupin, of Batavia, Ohio, was captured on April 9, 2004. Insurgents ambushed his fuel convoy west of Baghdad. He has yet to be found.
A U.S. military spokesman said troops searching for the soldiers killed three suspected insurgents and detained 34 in fighting that also left seven U.S. servicemen wounded.
The United States said 8,000 American and Iraqi troops had searched for the missing men, using everything from fighter jets, choppers and boats, to unmanned drones.
Menchaca's Family Waits, Prays
Menchaca's wife, Christina, 18, said the military told her they were using every means possible to find her husband. The couple married last September.
Another of Menchaca's uncles, Ken MacKenzie, said the U.S. government let his family down. Washington "did not have a plan in place" and his nephew "paid for it with his life," MacKenzie said.
In Brownsville, Texas, a family member said Menchaca's mother, Maria Vasquez, and other relatives spent Tuesday morning watching TV news reports after barely sleeping the night before. She said she had been praying for her son's safe return, waiting for word from the military and watching the news.
Tucker’s Family Releases Statement
In Tucker's hometown of Madras, Ore., yellow ribbons flew from trees and store reader boards offered prayers of hope for his safe return.
"Tom" to his family and friends had recently left a message on his family's answering machine, telling his mother to be proud of him.
Tucker's relatives declined interviews but released the text of the phone message.
"I'm defending my country," Tucker said on the recording. "Tell sis and my nephews hello for me, I'm OK, I'm on my way."
The family said in a statement that their son had joined the military because he wanted to "do something positive."
Mass. Soldier Killed
The mother of a 25-year-old soldier from Springfield, Mass., killed during an insurgent attack in Iraq said her son always wanted to serve his country.
Spc. David J. Babineau died Friday at a checkpoint southwest of Baghdad in the same attack in which Menchaca and Tucker were kidnapped. Babineau fought with the 101st Airborne Division out of Fort Campbell, Ky.
Dawn Babineau said her son's tour of duty in Iraq had been scheduled to end in May, but he was extended for a second tour. She said her son wanted to make a career out of the Army.
Babineau was a 1998 graduate of Springfield High School of Science and Technology. He leaves a wife and three young children -- two sons ages 2 and 4, and an 8-year-old daughter.
He predicted in his high school yearbook that he'd return for their 20-year reunion as a five-star general.
Missing Soldiers' Bodies Beaten Beyond Recognition
Al-Qaida In Iraq Claims New Leader Killed Soldiers
POSTED: 5:45 am CDT June 20, 2006
UPDATED: 5:56 pm CDT June 20, 2006
The U.S. military said it will conduct DNA tests on two bodies found in Iraq to confirm whether they are those of two missing soldiers.
U.S. Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said coalition forces recovered the bodies, which he said officials "believe are the remains of our two missing soldiers."
Caldwell said the cause of death is "undeterminable at this point," and the two bodies will be taken back to the United States for DNA tests to confirm the identities.
The bodies were desecrated, suffering what was described as severe trauma. Visual identification of the remains could not be made, which is why DNA tests are required, CNN reported.
At first, the U.S. military wouldn't confirm or deny an Iraqi report that two bodies found near Baghdad were those of the missing U.S. soldiers. Caldwell said the military's first responsibility is to the families of the missing men.
Pfc. Kristian Menchaca, 23, of Houston and Pfc. Thomas Tucker, 25, of Madras, Ore., were last seen on Friday during an attack on a roadside checkpoint south of Baghdad. Another soldier, Spc. David J. Babineau, 25, of Springfield, Mass., was killed in the attack.
A farmer claiming to have witnessed the attack said Sunday that insurgents swarmed the scene, killing the driver of the Humvee before taking two of his comrades captive.
Menchaca's relatives held out faint hope that his was not among the bodies discovered. And they said they were outraged to hear grisly reports of his slaying through the news media, before they heard from the military.
"It's very upsetting to me that they would give you details of the torture, of the beheading," said Menchaca's uncle, Mario Vasquez, of Houston.
The first reports that the bodies of Menchaca and Tucker had been found came from an Iraqi defense ministry official. That official said the two had been "killed in a barbaric way."
Then came news reports that Al-Qaida in Iraq had claimed the two men were "slaughtered." The language in the group's Internet statement, which could not be authenticated, suggested the two soldiers had been beheaded.
The statement was made Tuesday on an Islamic militant Web site where insurgent groups regularly post statements. It claimed that the group abducted the soldiers and they were killed by the new leader of al-Qaida in Iraq.
The statement, which could not be authenticated, said the two soldiers were "slaughtered," suggesting they had been beheaded. The Arabic word used in the statement, "nahr," is used for the slaughtering of sheep by cutting the throat and has been used in past statements to refer to beheadings.
The statement said militants "have carried God's verdict" by killing what it calls "the two captured crusaders."
Taking a jab at U.S. forces, a posting on the site said the United States' failure to find the troops proves what it called "the weakness of the alleged American intelligence."
If the statements are authenticated, it would mark the first act of violence attributed to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's successor. The claim could also be an effort to bolster the image of Abu Hamza al-Muhajer, who was tapped to lead insurgents after al-Zarqawi was killed by a U.S. airstrike on June 7.
Al-Zarqawi was called the "slaughtering sheik" for the photos and videos of brutal slayings that circulated on the Internet and in media reports. He made al-Qaida in Iraq notorious for hostage beheadings and was believed to have killed two American captives himself -- Nicholas Berg in April 2004 and Eugene Armstrong in September 2004.
Iraqi Maj. Gen. Abdul-Aziz Mohammed said the soldiers' bodies were found on a street near the town where the men disappeared near a power plant just south of Baghdad. The Sunni region is the site of frequent ambushes of U.S. soldiers and Iraqi troops.
U.S. troops found the bodies late Monday near Youssifiyah, where they disappeared Friday. But troops did not recover the bodies until Tuesday because they had to wait until daylight to cordon off the area for an ordnance team for fear it was booby-trapped, Caldwell said. They were right. There were explosive devices set at the location of the bodies and all along tie road, clearly intended to injure those recovering the bodies, CNN reported.
Menchaca's uncle said, "The news is going to be heartbreaking for my family."
The two soldiers were the first to go missing in the Iraq war since Sgt. Keith Maupin, of Batavia, Ohio, was captured on April 9, 2004. Insurgents ambushed his fuel convoy west of Baghdad. He has yet to be found.
A U.S. military spokesman said troops searching for the soldiers killed three suspected insurgents and detained 34 in fighting that also left seven U.S. servicemen wounded.
The United States said 8,000 American and Iraqi troops had searched for the missing men, using everything from fighter jets, choppers and boats, to unmanned drones.
Menchaca's Family Waits, Prays
Menchaca's wife, Christina, 18, said the military told her they were using every means possible to find her husband. The couple married last September.
Another of Menchaca's uncles, Ken MacKenzie, said the U.S. government let his family down. Washington "did not have a plan in place" and his nephew "paid for it with his life," MacKenzie said.
In Brownsville, Texas, a family member said Menchaca's mother, Maria Vasquez, and other relatives spent Tuesday morning watching TV news reports after barely sleeping the night before. She said she had been praying for her son's safe return, waiting for word from the military and watching the news.
Tucker’s Family Releases Statement
In Tucker's hometown of Madras, Ore., yellow ribbons flew from trees and store reader boards offered prayers of hope for his safe return.
"Tom" to his family and friends had recently left a message on his family's answering machine, telling his mother to be proud of him.
Tucker's relatives declined interviews but released the text of the phone message.
"I'm defending my country," Tucker said on the recording. "Tell sis and my nephews hello for me, I'm OK, I'm on my way."
The family said in a statement that their son had joined the military because he wanted to "do something positive."
Mass. Soldier Killed
The mother of a 25-year-old soldier from Springfield, Mass., killed during an insurgent attack in Iraq said her son always wanted to serve his country.
Spc. David J. Babineau died Friday at a checkpoint southwest of Baghdad in the same attack in which Menchaca and Tucker were kidnapped. Babineau fought with the 101st Airborne Division out of Fort Campbell, Ky.
Dawn Babineau said her son's tour of duty in Iraq had been scheduled to end in May, but he was extended for a second tour. She said her son wanted to make a career out of the Army.
Babineau was a 1998 graduate of Springfield High School of Science and Technology. He leaves a wife and three young children -- two sons ages 2 and 4, and an 8-year-old daughter.
He predicted in his high school yearbook that he'd return for their 20-year reunion as a five-star general.
U.S. Investigates GIs' 'Barbaric' Slayings in Iraq
BAGHDAD - As the mutilated bodies of two American soldiers were
flown to the United States in flag-draped coffins, the U.S.
military launched a top-level investigation to determine why their
vehicle had been alone outside a fortified Army camp when they
were abducted. By Solomon Moore.
http://email.latimes.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/e4O...Io30G2B0HdoW0EU
BAGHDAD - As the mutilated bodies of two American soldiers were
flown to the United States in flag-draped coffins, the U.S.
military launched a top-level investigation to determine why their
vehicle had been alone outside a fortified Army camp when they
were abducted. By Solomon Moore.
http://email.latimes.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/e4O...Io30G2B0HdoW0EU
http://www.thestate.com/mld/mercurynews/ne...aq/14862984.htm
Notification upsets kin of slain GIs
Associated Press
BAGHDAD, Iraq - The families of the two soldiers whose bodies were found Tuesday in Iraq were upset that first word of the gruesome discovery came from Iraqi authorities.
A senior Iraqi military official, Maj. Gen. Abdul-Aziz Mohammed, said early Tuesday the bodies had been found near a power plant not far from the site where they were attacked.
"With great regret, they were killed in a barbaric way," he said in remarks that were widely reported.
The U.S. military said it could not confirm or deny the report until the families of the missing soldiers were fully briefed.
Hours later, U.S. Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, the spokesman for U.S. forces in Baghdad, held a previously scheduled news conference at which he stuck to that line until after it was over.
"There have been press reports that have gone on this afternoon saying that we have, in fact, found the remains of our two missing soldiers," he said.
"We, as an armed force of the United States, have an obligation first and foremost to those families who have either lost or have someone missing. And to them we owe our first responsibility of any reporting," he said.
But after the news conference, an aide told journalists to stay put as Caldwell was on the phone and would have another announcement to make.
He returned and confirmed that the bodies believed to be those of Pfc. Kristian Menchaca, 23, of Houston, Texas, and Pfc. Thomas L. Tucker, 25, of Madras, Oregon, had been found, although he said it would be inappropriate to discuss their condition.
Mario Vasquez, 48, Menchaca's uncle, said he was watching television news reports Tuesday morning, listening to a Pentagon spokeswoman say the two kidnapped soldiers' families would be notified before anyone else that they had been found when he got a call from his niece, Sylvia Grice. She told him that the media was reporting that the bodies had been found.
"It's very upsetting to me that they would give you details of the torture, of the beheading," he said. "Who tells the media when we don't know before they do. Why is the media doing that, saying what they did to them?"
Grice, 37, who was Menchaca's cousin, said the soldier's mother, Maria Vasquez, and older brother, Julio Cesar Vasquez, were very distraught after hearing the news about his death.
Ken MacKenzie told NBC's "Today" show that he first heard the news a few minutes before his interview. "The news will be heartbreaking for my family," he said.
Notification upsets kin of slain GIs
Associated Press
BAGHDAD, Iraq - The families of the two soldiers whose bodies were found Tuesday in Iraq were upset that first word of the gruesome discovery came from Iraqi authorities.
A senior Iraqi military official, Maj. Gen. Abdul-Aziz Mohammed, said early Tuesday the bodies had been found near a power plant not far from the site where they were attacked.
"With great regret, they were killed in a barbaric way," he said in remarks that were widely reported.
The U.S. military said it could not confirm or deny the report until the families of the missing soldiers were fully briefed.
Hours later, U.S. Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, the spokesman for U.S. forces in Baghdad, held a previously scheduled news conference at which he stuck to that line until after it was over.
"There have been press reports that have gone on this afternoon saying that we have, in fact, found the remains of our two missing soldiers," he said.
"We, as an armed force of the United States, have an obligation first and foremost to those families who have either lost or have someone missing. And to them we owe our first responsibility of any reporting," he said.
But after the news conference, an aide told journalists to stay put as Caldwell was on the phone and would have another announcement to make.
He returned and confirmed that the bodies believed to be those of Pfc. Kristian Menchaca, 23, of Houston, Texas, and Pfc. Thomas L. Tucker, 25, of Madras, Oregon, had been found, although he said it would be inappropriate to discuss their condition.
Mario Vasquez, 48, Menchaca's uncle, said he was watching television news reports Tuesday morning, listening to a Pentagon spokeswoman say the two kidnapped soldiers' families would be notified before anyone else that they had been found when he got a call from his niece, Sylvia Grice. She told him that the media was reporting that the bodies had been found.
"It's very upsetting to me that they would give you details of the torture, of the beheading," he said. "Who tells the media when we don't know before they do. Why is the media doing that, saying what they did to them?"
Grice, 37, who was Menchaca's cousin, said the soldier's mother, Maria Vasquez, and older brother, Julio Cesar Vasquez, were very distraught after hearing the news about his death.
Ken MacKenzie told NBC's "Today" show that he first heard the news a few minutes before his interview. "The news will be heartbreaking for my family," he said.
QUOTE(Snuffysmith @ Jun 21 2006, 02:28 AM)
http://www.thestate.com/mld/mercurynews/ne...aq/14862984.htm
Notification upsets kin of slain GIs
Associated Press
BAGHDAD, Iraq - The families of the two soldiers whose bodies were found Tuesday in Iraq were upset that first word of the gruesome discovery came from Iraqi authorities.
Notification upsets kin of slain GIs
Associated Press
BAGHDAD, Iraq - The families of the two soldiers whose bodies were found Tuesday in Iraq were upset that first word of the gruesome discovery came from Iraqi authorities.
Actually if you read the release from Iraq the Iraqis DID NOT release this as the newspaper implies.
They released a statement that two multilated bodies had been recovered without making any speculation or identification of who they might be.
The folks who released the information that it was the two missing Soldiers was a speculation by the reporters.
Isn't it amazing how the media excels at conjecture and speculation then manages to casts the blame upon someone else? And they repeatedly get away with it. Must be they have practiced that art a bunch, eh?
Damned shame...a reminder that being captured ain't an option.
And, that occupations suck...big time. Invasions like Granada,
Panama, and Desert Storm were well thought out, run like a
freight train and then ended with victory as they were drafted.
Occupations on the other hand open up another can of worms.
I have a feeling these guys were surprised by what looked like
friendlies. Either guys in friendly uniforms or some other kind
of disguise...to get close enough to "get the drop" on 'em.
The GI with the French name must have already gone through
the mental gymnastics required in such a theater: Never surrender
as long as you can fight...only unconscious and dibilitated wounded
get captured in such a guerilla fight...the other side is ruthless against
captives as a tactic.
The terrorists (and this is said as a tactical discription, not a
broad-stroke neo-con slogan/label) are going stright to Hell
and the sooner the better, but I also think of the GI who got killed
in the massive search for the two...and the next hundred that
will pay the price required by insurgents who will tit-for-tat
endlessly - cause it's all they've got.
Anyway, thank you gentlemen for your service to our country,
you paid the price of heros no matter the situation. Salute.
Graham: take a walk.
And, that occupations suck...big time. Invasions like Granada,
Panama, and Desert Storm were well thought out, run like a
freight train and then ended with victory as they were drafted.
Occupations on the other hand open up another can of worms.
I have a feeling these guys were surprised by what looked like
friendlies. Either guys in friendly uniforms or some other kind
of disguise...to get close enough to "get the drop" on 'em.
The GI with the French name must have already gone through
the mental gymnastics required in such a theater: Never surrender
as long as you can fight...only unconscious and dibilitated wounded
get captured in such a guerilla fight...the other side is ruthless against
captives as a tactic.
The terrorists (and this is said as a tactical discription, not a
broad-stroke neo-con slogan/label) are going stright to Hell
and the sooner the better, but I also think of the GI who got killed
in the massive search for the two...and the next hundred that
will pay the price required by insurgents who will tit-for-tat
endlessly - cause it's all they've got.
Anyway, thank you gentlemen for your service to our country,
you paid the price of heros no matter the situation. Salute.
Graham: take a walk.
Former Defense Officials Urge U.S. Strike on North Korean Missile Site
By Glenn Kessler and Anthony Faiola
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, June 22, 2006; A23
Former defense secretary William J. Perry has called on President Bush to launch a preemptive strike against the long-range ballistic missile that U.S. intelligence analysts say North Korea is preparing to launch.
In an opinion article that appears in today's Washington Post, Perry and former assistant defense secretary Ashton B. Carter argue that if North Korea continues launch preparations, Bush should immediately declare that the United States will destroy the missile before it can be fired.
Perry and Carter suggest using a cruise missile launched from a submarine and carrying a high-explosive warhead. "The effect on the Taepodong would be devastating," they write, using the name of the Korean missile. "The multi-story, thin-skinned missile filled with high-energy fuel is itself explosive -- the U.S. airstrike would puncture the missile and probably cause it to explode. The carefully engineered test bed for North Korea's nascent nuclear missile force would be destroyed."
As President Bill Clinton's defense secretary, Perry oversaw preparation for airstrikes on North Korean nuclear facilities in 1994, an attack that was never carried out. He has remained deeply involved in Korean policy issues and is widely respected in national-security circles, especially among senior military officers. He has been a critic of the Bush administration's approach to North Korea.
"We believe diplomacy might have precluded the current situation," Perry and Carter said. "But diplomacy has failed, and we cannot sit by and let this deadly threat mature."
Perry and Carter say that such a strike "undoubtedly carries risk" but that there would be no damage to North Korea beyond the missile galley. They argue that the unproven U.S. missile-defense system might not be able to shoot down a missile.
Meanwhile, there were some signs that South Korea, where officials have expressed skepticism over U.S. intelligence regarding an imminent missile launch, might be willing to step up pressure on the North. Yesterday, Kim Dae Jung, the former South Korean president, postponed a much-lauded visit next week to the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, because of the rising tensions.
"Because of the unforeseen situation, it has become difficult" for Kim to visit North Korea, Jeong Se Hyun, a former top aide to Kim, told reporters.
In addition, South Korea's unification minister, Lee Jong-Seok, was widely quoted in the country's press as suggesting that continued investment and humanitarian aid to North Korea might be curbed if Pyongyang conducts a missile test. In a meeting with opposition leaders from South Korea's Grand National Party, which has criticized the administration of President Roh Moo Hyun for being soft on North Korea, Lee was quoted by the Korea Times as saying Seoul "will not pretend as if nothing has happened in the event of North Korea test-firing a missile."
Also yesterday, the U.S. ambassador to Japan reiterated that "all options are on the table" with regard to North Korea.
Asked whether the United States would attempt to shoot down the North Korean missile if launched, J. Thomas Schieffer warned in an interview that "we have greater technical means of tracking it than we had in the past, and we have options that we have not had in the past."
Faiola reported from Tokyo.
© 2006 The Washington Post Company
By Glenn Kessler and Anthony Faiola
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, June 22, 2006; A23
Former defense secretary William J. Perry has called on President Bush to launch a preemptive strike against the long-range ballistic missile that U.S. intelligence analysts say North Korea is preparing to launch.
In an opinion article that appears in today's Washington Post, Perry and former assistant defense secretary Ashton B. Carter argue that if North Korea continues launch preparations, Bush should immediately declare that the United States will destroy the missile before it can be fired.
Perry and Carter suggest using a cruise missile launched from a submarine and carrying a high-explosive warhead. "The effect on the Taepodong would be devastating," they write, using the name of the Korean missile. "The multi-story, thin-skinned missile filled with high-energy fuel is itself explosive -- the U.S. airstrike would puncture the missile and probably cause it to explode. The carefully engineered test bed for North Korea's nascent nuclear missile force would be destroyed."
As President Bill Clinton's defense secretary, Perry oversaw preparation for airstrikes on North Korean nuclear facilities in 1994, an attack that was never carried out. He has remained deeply involved in Korean policy issues and is widely respected in national-security circles, especially among senior military officers. He has been a critic of the Bush administration's approach to North Korea.
"We believe diplomacy might have precluded the current situation," Perry and Carter said. "But diplomacy has failed, and we cannot sit by and let this deadly threat mature."
Perry and Carter say that such a strike "undoubtedly carries risk" but that there would be no damage to North Korea beyond the missile galley. They argue that the unproven U.S. missile-defense system might not be able to shoot down a missile.
Meanwhile, there were some signs that South Korea, where officials have expressed skepticism over U.S. intelligence regarding an imminent missile launch, might be willing to step up pressure on the North. Yesterday, Kim Dae Jung, the former South Korean president, postponed a much-lauded visit next week to the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, because of the rising tensions.
"Because of the unforeseen situation, it has become difficult" for Kim to visit North Korea, Jeong Se Hyun, a former top aide to Kim, told reporters.
In addition, South Korea's unification minister, Lee Jong-Seok, was widely quoted in the country's press as suggesting that continued investment and humanitarian aid to North Korea might be curbed if Pyongyang conducts a missile test. In a meeting with opposition leaders from South Korea's Grand National Party, which has criticized the administration of President Roh Moo Hyun for being soft on North Korea, Lee was quoted by the Korea Times as saying Seoul "will not pretend as if nothing has happened in the event of North Korea test-firing a missile."
Also yesterday, the U.S. ambassador to Japan reiterated that "all options are on the table" with regard to North Korea.
Asked whether the United States would attempt to shoot down the North Korean missile if launched, J. Thomas Schieffer warned in an interview that "we have greater technical means of tracking it than we had in the past, and we have options that we have not had in the past."
Faiola reported from Tokyo.
© 2006 The Washington Post Company
I read that once fuel was completed missle must be launched or becomes useless with in 48 hours???????
I will try to find it again.
I will try to find it again.
Military Confirms IDs in Iraq Slaying
--------------------
From Associated Press
June 22 2006, 2:35 PM PDT
Relatives of two soldiers who disappeared in Iraq during an insurgent attack comforted each other today after the military confirmed two brutilized bodies found this week were the missing men.
The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wo...0,1855966.story
--------------------
From Associated Press
June 22 2006, 2:35 PM PDT
Relatives of two soldiers who disappeared in Iraq during an insurgent attack comforted each other today after the military confirmed two brutilized bodies found this week were the missing men.
The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wo...0,1855966.story
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rep-john-mur...my_b_23499.html
Rep. John Murtha
06.21.2006
Knowing Your Enemy
I am appalled that while manning a traffic checkpoint near Baghdad, three of our valiant soldiers were ambushed, one killed on the spot and two kidnapped, tortured and brutally killed. It is essential that we find the circumstances of their deaths. Why were they in such an isolated situation without additional back-up and who is responsible for these heinous acts?
Despite our most strenuous security efforts in the Baghdad area over the past several days, this area continues to be rocked by violent attacks, kidnapping and murderous acts, frequently aimed at our troops.
I continue to be concerned with the fact that our military men and women fighting in Iraq often tell me that they do not know who the enemy is. They do not know who they can trust; they are concerned that their camps have been infiltrated by Iraqis who are plotting to kill them; one day the Iraqis are smiling and waving at them on the streets, the next day the same people are throwing grenades at them.
I read today that Army investigators discovered that two California soldiers had been shot to death by Iraqi Defense officers who were patrolling with them.
We have all read countless stories of Iraqis being kidnapped and killed by Iraqis bearing the identification or uniforms of the official Iraqi Security force.
As I have said before, Iraq is not overrun by foreign terrorists. It is Iraqis fighting Iraqis and Iraqis fighting U.S. and coalition forces. Our troops have become the target.
As General Barry McCaffrey, who at the time of his retirement from the U.S. Army, was the most highly decorated and youngest four star general, recently stated, "the foreign fighters remain a tactical menace, however they are a minor threat to the heavily armed and wary U.S. forces. The al-Qaeda in Iraq is now largely Sunni Iraqi- not foreign fighters."
Consider these facts:
Very little of the insurgency in Iraq is made up of foreign fighters. Less than 7 percent, and even less are Al Qaeda, maybe 750 to 1,000.
47 percent of Iraqis feel they are justified to kill Americans.
Just a few days ago an aide to Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki was quoted as saying: "There's some sort of preliminary understanding between us and the MNF-I," the U.S.-led Multi-National Force-Iraq, "that there is a patriotic feeling among the Iraqi youth and the belief that those attacks are legitimate acts of resistance and defending their homeland. These people will be pardoned definitely, I believe."
When I retired from the Marine Corp, I was given a plaque that said, "Complete Victory is knowing your enemy."
Iraq's Vice President and President have asked for a scheduled withdrawal of foreign forces from Iraq. It's time for the Iraqis to be responsible for their own destiny.
Rep. John Murtha
06.21.2006
Knowing Your Enemy
I am appalled that while manning a traffic checkpoint near Baghdad, three of our valiant soldiers were ambushed, one killed on the spot and two kidnapped, tortured and brutally killed. It is essential that we find the circumstances of their deaths. Why were they in such an isolated situation without additional back-up and who is responsible for these heinous acts?
Despite our most strenuous security efforts in the Baghdad area over the past several days, this area continues to be rocked by violent attacks, kidnapping and murderous acts, frequently aimed at our troops.
I continue to be concerned with the fact that our military men and women fighting in Iraq often tell me that they do not know who the enemy is. They do not know who they can trust; they are concerned that their camps have been infiltrated by Iraqis who are plotting to kill them; one day the Iraqis are smiling and waving at them on the streets, the next day the same people are throwing grenades at them.
I read today that Army investigators discovered that two California soldiers had been shot to death by Iraqi Defense officers who were patrolling with them.
We have all read countless stories of Iraqis being kidnapped and killed by Iraqis bearing the identification or uniforms of the official Iraqi Security force.
As I have said before, Iraq is not overrun by foreign terrorists. It is Iraqis fighting Iraqis and Iraqis fighting U.S. and coalition forces. Our troops have become the target.
As General Barry McCaffrey, who at the time of his retirement from the U.S. Army, was the most highly decorated and youngest four star general, recently stated, "the foreign fighters remain a tactical menace, however they are a minor threat to the heavily armed and wary U.S. forces. The al-Qaeda in Iraq is now largely Sunni Iraqi- not foreign fighters."
Consider these facts:
Very little of the insurgency in Iraq is made up of foreign fighters. Less than 7 percent, and even less are Al Qaeda, maybe 750 to 1,000.
47 percent of Iraqis feel they are justified to kill Americans.
Just a few days ago an aide to Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki was quoted as saying: "There's some sort of preliminary understanding between us and the MNF-I," the U.S.-led Multi-National Force-Iraq, "that there is a patriotic feeling among the Iraqi youth and the belief that those attacks are legitimate acts of resistance and defending their homeland. These people will be pardoned definitely, I believe."
When I retired from the Marine Corp, I was given a plaque that said, "Complete Victory is knowing your enemy."
Iraq's Vice President and President have asked for a scheduled withdrawal of foreign forces from Iraq. It's time for the Iraqis to be responsible for their own destiny.
http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/135159
Murtha says U.S. poses top threat to world peace
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 06.25.2006
advertisementMIAMI — American presence in Iraq is more dangerous to world peace than nuclear threats from North Korea or Iran, Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., said to an audience of more than 200 in North Miami Saturday afternoon.
Murtha was the guest speaker at a town hall meeting organized by Rep. Kendrick B. Meek, D-Miami, at Florida International University's Biscayne Bay Campus. Meek's mother, former Rep. Carrie Meek, D-Miami, was also on the panel.
War veterans, local mayors, university students and faculty were in the Mary Ann Wolfe Theatre to listen to the three panelists discuss the war in Iraq for an hour.
A former Marine and a prominent critic of the Bush administration's policies in Iraq, Murtha reiterated his views that the war cannot be won militarily and needs political solutions. He said the more than 100,000 troops in Iraq should be pulled out immediately, and deployed to peripheral countries like Kuwait.
"We do not want permanent bases in Iraq," Murtha told the audience. "We want as many Americans out of there as possible."
Murtha also has publicly said that the shooting of 24 Iraqis in November at Haditha, a city in the Anbar province of western Iraq that has been plagued by insurgents, was wrongfully covered up.
The killings, which sparked an investigation into the deadly encounter and another into whether they were the subject of a cover-up, could undermine U.S. efforts in Iraq more than the prison abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib in 2004, Murtha said.
"(The United States) became the target when Abu Ghraib came along," Murtha said.
Murtha says U.S. poses top threat to world peace
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 06.25.2006
advertisementMIAMI — American presence in Iraq is more dangerous to world peace than nuclear threats from North Korea or Iran, Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., said to an audience of more than 200 in North Miami Saturday afternoon.
Murtha was the guest speaker at a town hall meeting organized by Rep. Kendrick B. Meek, D-Miami, at Florida International University's Biscayne Bay Campus. Meek's mother, former Rep. Carrie Meek, D-Miami, was also on the panel.
War veterans, local mayors, university students and faculty were in the Mary Ann Wolfe Theatre to listen to the three panelists discuss the war in Iraq for an hour.
A former Marine and a prominent critic of the Bush administration's policies in Iraq, Murtha reiterated his views that the war cannot be won militarily and needs political solutions. He said the more than 100,000 troops in Iraq should be pulled out immediately, and deployed to peripheral countries like Kuwait.
"We do not want permanent bases in Iraq," Murtha told the audience. "We want as many Americans out of there as possible."
Murtha also has publicly said that the shooting of 24 Iraqis in November at Haditha, a city in the Anbar province of western Iraq that has been plagued by insurgents, was wrongfully covered up.
The killings, which sparked an investigation into the deadly encounter and another into whether they were the subject of a cover-up, could undermine U.S. efforts in Iraq more than the prison abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib in 2004, Murtha said.
"(The United States) became the target when Abu Ghraib came along," Murtha said.
QUOTE(Snuffysmith @ Jun 25 2006, 04:24 PM)
"We do not want permanent bases in Iraq," Murtha told the audience. "We want as many Americans out of there as possible."
I don't think that editorial "we" includes the 7 sisters, BushCo, or H'burton.
QUOTE(jeffmoskin @ Jun 25 2006, 05:02 PM)
I don't think that editorial "we" includes the 7 sisters, BushCo, or H'burton.
Right. I think the Bush administration's interests are different from ours, from the majority of Iraqis, and from the military's.
http://www.military.com/features/0,15240,103562,00.html
Rumsfeld Lists Top DOD Priorities
InsideDefense.com NewsStand | Jason Sherman | June 29, 2006
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has set forth a collection of priorities intended to guide the Pentagon for the remainder of the Bush administration's second term, a list that calls for "significantly improving military intelligence capabilities" and meeting the challenge of roadside bombs, a scourge of U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.
These goals are the newest additions to a brief catalog of objectives for the U.S. military that Rumsfeld maintains and periodically updates. A copy of the previously undisclosed list, “Department of Defense -- Priorities 2006-2008,” dated March 20, reflects a number of changes from the last version to circulate in the spring of 2004.
Pentagon officials say Rumsfeld uses the list to articulate high-level goals for the department in meeting with senior leaders across the military.
“If you want to know what’s on the mind of the most senior military people, this is the sort of thing to look at,” said a defense analyst with ties to the Pentagon who has seen the three-page list. “Because this is a secretary of defense-produced thing, it is taken with greater weight.”
Among the new goals on the list of eight priorities is “focus on people -- military and civilian,” including caring for the wounded as well as the families of the fallen and those still serving. Rumsfeld has also set the broad goal to “improve effectiveness and efficiency across the board,” which encompasses making “the best use of taxpayer dollars in all that we do,” creating a “culture of efficiency,” and eliminating “waste at every level.”
The top priority, “pursue the global war on terrorism,” remains nearly the same as it was in the 2004 list, which used the wording “successfully pursue the global war on terrorism.” With two years’ experience and the benefit of a new defense strategy, the goal is refined to “win the long war” by reducing and defeating the threat of violent extremism.
The “strategic approach” to fulfill this objective, according to the document, includes the protection and defense of the U.S. homeland and interests; attacking terrorists in Iraq, Afghanistan and around the world; improving the military’s ability to “find, fix, and finish” threats; improving the military capability of partner countries; and strengthening U.S. strategic communications.
Other objectives on the list consistent with Rumsfeld’s 2004 goals: “Strengthen U.S. Combined and Joint Warfighting Capabilities” and “Continue Transforming the Joint Force.” Updated to reflect the latest thinking in the Pentagon, these objectives call for improving capabilities for irregular warfare and implementing an acquisition strategy that supports “joint interdependence.” They also take into account the execution of recommendations in the Quadrennial Defense Review, completed earlier this year.
The one new item on the list that is not supported by any companion goals is to “meet the challenge of improvised explosive devices,” an issue that Pentagon officials have recently decided to say little about in public.
To “significantly improve military intelligence capabilities,” Rumsfeld has called for the Defense Department to make better use of spies and enhance its ability to distribute and declassify intelligence “when possible” for tactical use. This overarching goal also calls for the Pentagon to “refocus intelligence” for the new defense strategy and keep contingency plans fresh.
The new list also calls for continued transformation of enterprise management, including the reform of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Staff and service staffs.
Objectives on the 2004 set of priorities that do not appear on the current list include countering the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and reorganizing the Defense Department to deal with “pre-war opportunities and post-war responsibilities.”
Other objectives from the 2004 list have been folded into new goals, such as refining the Defense Department’s role in homeland security and “improving force manning.”
Copyright 2006 InsideDefense.com NewsStand. All opinions expressed in this article are the author's and do not necessarily reflect those of Military.com.
Rumsfeld Lists Top DOD Priorities
InsideDefense.com NewsStand | Jason Sherman | June 29, 2006
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has set forth a collection of priorities intended to guide the Pentagon for the remainder of the Bush administration's second term, a list that calls for "significantly improving military intelligence capabilities" and meeting the challenge of roadside bombs, a scourge of U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.
These goals are the newest additions to a brief catalog of objectives for the U.S. military that Rumsfeld maintains and periodically updates. A copy of the previously undisclosed list, “Department of Defense -- Priorities 2006-2008,” dated March 20, reflects a number of changes from the last version to circulate in the spring of 2004.
Pentagon officials say Rumsfeld uses the list to articulate high-level goals for the department in meeting with senior leaders across the military.
“If you want to know what’s on the mind of the most senior military people, this is the sort of thing to look at,” said a defense analyst with ties to the Pentagon who has seen the three-page list. “Because this is a secretary of defense-produced thing, it is taken with greater weight.”
Among the new goals on the list of eight priorities is “focus on people -- military and civilian,” including caring for the wounded as well as the families of the fallen and those still serving. Rumsfeld has also set the broad goal to “improve effectiveness and efficiency across the board,” which encompasses making “the best use of taxpayer dollars in all that we do,” creating a “culture of efficiency,” and eliminating “waste at every level.”
The top priority, “pursue the global war on terrorism,” remains nearly the same as it was in the 2004 list, which used the wording “successfully pursue the global war on terrorism.” With two years’ experience and the benefit of a new defense strategy, the goal is refined to “win the long war” by reducing and defeating the threat of violent extremism.
The “strategic approach” to fulfill this objective, according to the document, includes the protection and defense of the U.S. homeland and interests; attacking terrorists in Iraq, Afghanistan and around the world; improving the military’s ability to “find, fix, and finish” threats; improving the military capability of partner countries; and strengthening U.S. strategic communications.
Other objectives on the list consistent with Rumsfeld’s 2004 goals: “Strengthen U.S. Combined and Joint Warfighting Capabilities” and “Continue Transforming the Joint Force.” Updated to reflect the latest thinking in the Pentagon, these objectives call for improving capabilities for irregular warfare and implementing an acquisition strategy that supports “joint interdependence.” They also take into account the execution of recommendations in the Quadrennial Defense Review, completed earlier this year.
The one new item on the list that is not supported by any companion goals is to “meet the challenge of improvised explosive devices,” an issue that Pentagon officials have recently decided to say little about in public.
To “significantly improve military intelligence capabilities,” Rumsfeld has called for the Defense Department to make better use of spies and enhance its ability to distribute and declassify intelligence “when possible” for tactical use. This overarching goal also calls for the Pentagon to “refocus intelligence” for the new defense strategy and keep contingency plans fresh.
The new list also calls for continued transformation of enterprise management, including the reform of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Staff and service staffs.
Objectives on the 2004 set of priorities that do not appear on the current list include countering the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and reorganizing the Defense Department to deal with “pre-war opportunities and post-war responsibilities.”
Other objectives from the 2004 list have been folded into new goals, such as refining the Defense Department’s role in homeland security and “improving force manning.”
Copyright 2006 InsideDefense.com NewsStand. All opinions expressed in this article are the author's and do not necessarily reflect those of Military.com.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,6-2249844,00.html
Listen to the veterans: America must decide if it's right to be in Iraq or not
Gerard Baker
LAST WEEKEND, at the invitation of a good friend, I found myself in Eminence, Missouri, a place that is, geographically speaking, just about the aortic valve of the heart of middle America: a town of 548 souls, the signs say, about 200 miles southwest of St Louis, the very paradigm of rural American simplicity, the kind of place where, as one of my hosts put it, “all the houses have wheels and none of the cars does”.
I was there not to take advantage of the hiking possibilities in the magnificent northern reaches of the Ozark Mountains, but to gatecrash a very private reunion and in the process to learn a little about the sharp end of American foreign policy.
Every June, under steamy hot skies, fuelled by gallons of beer, tons of meat and enough nicotine to keep a thousand personal-injury lawyers in business for life, a band of brothers from the now defunct 1st Battalion of the 52nd Infantry come from all over the country to relive the time they spent almost four decades ago in the jungles of Vietnam.
They only started doing this a few years back, when e-mail suddenly narrowed oceans of space and time. Some of the veterans wouldn’t come. Some have been once and never come back, evidently overwhelmed by the sight of comrades they thought they’d never see again and the poignant absence of men no one will ever see again. But a hard core show up every year, bearing scars mental and physical, but proud still; men like Sgt Philip Verlee, shot through the stomach by a Vietcong sniper and, 27 surgeries later, fighting again for his country during Desert Storm.
Inevitably in this rolling weekend of mirthful banter punctuated by reflective silences, the talk turns from time to time to Iraq. For many of the veterans the images of war have brought vividly back into focus memories of their own battles 35 or so years ago.
They’re all quick to acknowledge that Iraq is not Vietnam — they can check off the differences themselves: the scale of US losses is still barely a fraction of the 58,000 who died in Vietnam. The draft back then made the war a much more direct experience for millions of American families. Although reservists have served in Iraq, the war has not touched lives everywhere in the way Vietnam did.
Above all, the US was a much different place politically in the late 1960s and early 1970s — the antiwar Left was part of a broader counter-cultural movement that helped to tear the country apart. That has no parallel in today’s more conservative America.
But nearly all the veterans believed, whether they agreed with the current war or not, that the US is steadily digging itself into a hole of its own making. They see on their TV screens a military that is ill-equipped for the counter-insurgency fight.
For them the sights and stories of frightened young men sent to pacify hostile lands, fearful that the next step could blow their legs off, is all too familiar. And most of all, what these battle-hardened men worry about is that, just as they did in Vietnam, Americans have already lost sight of what it is fighting for in Iraq, that they no longer have any real confidence that this is a winnable war with a plausible strategy for victory.
The country is in the midst of a fierce debate on whether to pull US troops out of Iraq quickly. On the day these veterans gathered last week, the Senate defeated a resolution that would have cut the level of US forces sharply, leading to a total pullout in a year or two. Though the resolution was lost, the issue looks likely to dominate this year’s congressional elections. Troublingly, the tone of the debate is now so rancid that it is required practice not to confront the arguments and facts but to impugn the motives of your opponents.
On the Left it is axiomatic that the war was predicated on a deliberate falsehood and prosecuted for nefarious reasons related to oil and money.On the Right Republicans — who, unlike some of the Democrats they attack, avoided serving in Vietnam — accuse those who are calling for an early withdrawal from Iraq of cowardice in the face of the enemy. The spectacle of men who spent the Vietnam war drinking their way through college in the US now waving the white feather at men like John Kerry and John Murtha, the Vietnam vet who is an antiwar Democratic congressman, would be laughable if it did not seem to be so politically effective.
The veterans I met were no cowards, nor were they antiwar liberals with an anti-American agenda. Many of them were good ol’ boys from the Deep South, with accents as thick as the creamy white gravy they served on their biscuits for breakfast, or libertarians from California who believe the best government is no government.
Their concerns about the war resonate and their own experience is instructive. Most US casualties in Vietnam occurred in 1968 and after, by when Americans were weary of war and increasingly unconvinced that their Government had a strategy to win it. But it was another seven years and another 30,000 deaths before the US extricated itself: in ignominy.
The Democrats’ critics are right. It would be ruinous for the US to leave now. But it would be much worse to stay and dither. Americans need to decide if they believe in this fight or if they should indeed get out of it.
Their leaders need to stop using the military to score political points over their opponents at home, and instead do what is necessary to win the war. That may mean not a drawdown of troops, but more troops, a demonstration of heightened US resolve to create and protect a functioning Government in Iraq, whatever the cost.
But if it can’t do that, if the political will at home to see the war through is lacking, then the US should get out and cut its steadily mounting losses. Because the very worst thing would be if, in 40 years’ time, other men from other battalions came to places like Eminence, Missouri, to swap stories of another shared nightmare, and to mourn beloved friends whom the rest of the world thinks died in vain.
Listen to the veterans: America must decide if it's right to be in Iraq or not
Gerard Baker
LAST WEEKEND, at the invitation of a good friend, I found myself in Eminence, Missouri, a place that is, geographically speaking, just about the aortic valve of the heart of middle America: a town of 548 souls, the signs say, about 200 miles southwest of St Louis, the very paradigm of rural American simplicity, the kind of place where, as one of my hosts put it, “all the houses have wheels and none of the cars does”.
I was there not to take advantage of the hiking possibilities in the magnificent northern reaches of the Ozark Mountains, but to gatecrash a very private reunion and in the process to learn a little about the sharp end of American foreign policy.
Every June, under steamy hot skies, fuelled by gallons of beer, tons of meat and enough nicotine to keep a thousand personal-injury lawyers in business for life, a band of brothers from the now defunct 1st Battalion of the 52nd Infantry come from all over the country to relive the time they spent almost four decades ago in the jungles of Vietnam.
They only started doing this a few years back, when e-mail suddenly narrowed oceans of space and time. Some of the veterans wouldn’t come. Some have been once and never come back, evidently overwhelmed by the sight of comrades they thought they’d never see again and the poignant absence of men no one will ever see again. But a hard core show up every year, bearing scars mental and physical, but proud still; men like Sgt Philip Verlee, shot through the stomach by a Vietcong sniper and, 27 surgeries later, fighting again for his country during Desert Storm.
Inevitably in this rolling weekend of mirthful banter punctuated by reflective silences, the talk turns from time to time to Iraq. For many of the veterans the images of war have brought vividly back into focus memories of their own battles 35 or so years ago.
They’re all quick to acknowledge that Iraq is not Vietnam — they can check off the differences themselves: the scale of US losses is still barely a fraction of the 58,000 who died in Vietnam. The draft back then made the war a much more direct experience for millions of American families. Although reservists have served in Iraq, the war has not touched lives everywhere in the way Vietnam did.
Above all, the US was a much different place politically in the late 1960s and early 1970s — the antiwar Left was part of a broader counter-cultural movement that helped to tear the country apart. That has no parallel in today’s more conservative America.
But nearly all the veterans believed, whether they agreed with the current war or not, that the US is steadily digging itself into a hole of its own making. They see on their TV screens a military that is ill-equipped for the counter-insurgency fight.
For them the sights and stories of frightened young men sent to pacify hostile lands, fearful that the next step could blow their legs off, is all too familiar. And most of all, what these battle-hardened men worry about is that, just as they did in Vietnam, Americans have already lost sight of what it is fighting for in Iraq, that they no longer have any real confidence that this is a winnable war with a plausible strategy for victory.
The country is in the midst of a fierce debate on whether to pull US troops out of Iraq quickly. On the day these veterans gathered last week, the Senate defeated a resolution that would have cut the level of US forces sharply, leading to a total pullout in a year or two. Though the resolution was lost, the issue looks likely to dominate this year’s congressional elections. Troublingly, the tone of the debate is now so rancid that it is required practice not to confront the arguments and facts but to impugn the motives of your opponents.
On the Left it is axiomatic that the war was predicated on a deliberate falsehood and prosecuted for nefarious reasons related to oil and money.On the Right Republicans — who, unlike some of the Democrats they attack, avoided serving in Vietnam — accuse those who are calling for an early withdrawal from Iraq of cowardice in the face of the enemy. The spectacle of men who spent the Vietnam war drinking their way through college in the US now waving the white feather at men like John Kerry and John Murtha, the Vietnam vet who is an antiwar Democratic congressman, would be laughable if it did not seem to be so politically effective.
The veterans I met were no cowards, nor were they antiwar liberals with an anti-American agenda. Many of them were good ol’ boys from the Deep South, with accents as thick as the creamy white gravy they served on their biscuits for breakfast, or libertarians from California who believe the best government is no government.
Their concerns about the war resonate and their own experience is instructive. Most US casualties in Vietnam occurred in 1968 and after, by when Americans were weary of war and increasingly unconvinced that their Government had a strategy to win it. But it was another seven years and another 30,000 deaths before the US extricated itself: in ignominy.
The Democrats’ critics are right. It would be ruinous for the US to leave now. But it would be much worse to stay and dither. Americans need to decide if they believe in this fight or if they should indeed get out of it.
Their leaders need to stop using the military to score political points over their opponents at home, and instead do what is necessary to win the war. That may mean not a drawdown of troops, but more troops, a demonstration of heightened US resolve to create and protect a functioning Government in Iraq, whatever the cost.
But if it can’t do that, if the political will at home to see the war through is lacking, then the US should get out and cut its steadily mounting losses. Because the very worst thing would be if, in 40 years’ time, other men from other battalions came to places like Eminence, Missouri, to swap stories of another shared nightmare, and to mourn beloved friends whom the rest of the world thinks died in vain.