The other night on Fox News, their embedded reporter in Fallujah went into a house or apartment. There were bodies on the floor (they didn't show the heads just the torsos) and the reporter said that the terrorists were basically using them as shields and when they had served their purpose, would execute them.

This war sucks.

All wars suck, you idiot. It is just better than the alternative.

Political

You should move to Amsterdam, they don't have wars there, and it is a very peaceful place IF YOU"RE A MUSLIM.

When the marines are done this time around, more of my money will be thrown at these savages rebuilding their godforsaken city, so they go back to building their IEDs to kill more good US and UK troops, only this time with a better sewage treatment system. Then the marines will have to go back in... well you see the point. It appears that the Iraqi bloggers who seem to be decent human beings are few and far between among the non-Kurdish Iraqi population.

Yeah, all wars suck, but it's the ones that seem to have no end in sight that suck the most. Maybe if we got the hell out, they'll spend so much time killing one another that they won't have the time to strike again over here. Well, here's to wishful thinking anyway.

Actually, Nemo, there are a lot more good people in Iraq who are like the Iraqi bloggers than you realize. The media just won't show them. I work with an Iraqi here in the States who went back to Iraq to visit with her family for a month. She made it back just fine and said that many people there, including her family, supported our efforts in this war and were grateful. Her brother was killed by Saddam. They are a lot more civilized than these barbarians who go around beheading people. And this lady also said that the people who are doing the beheadings and other violence were doing this sort of thing long before we invaded Iraq. Our media just wasn't there to report it because our troops weren't there. I know much of the world thinks we caused this violence by invading Iraq but it's not true.

It would be nice if those decent Iraqis (probably a great majority) would get hold of some guns, and would start working harder at killing the nuts, and building their free society.
They deserve (??) all the help given to them by the US army, but somehow I have the feeling that they could do more, beside writing some very inspiring notes on blogs.
Or maybe this is another aspect under-reported by MSM: popular, vigilante Iraqis killing terrorists ?

I would also like to hear some press release by the Iraqi gov of Mr Allawi thus:
"The glorious "Ahmed" battalion of the Iraqi police conducted a succesful cleaning sweep in Ramadi last night, killing 8 insurgents and capturing 20, Allah be praised, and long live democracy".....

Jacob, the Iraqis have spent 20+ years under a brutally repressive regime and have only "recently" experienced something resembling freedom as we know it, with less death and not none. These aren't, collectively, a people who have suddenly developed the will to smash down locked doors, they've still got to be told that it's okay to open the door even if it's not locked. There are encouraging signs to be sure, but we're in it for the long haul no matter what the "neo-cons" (for want of a better term) think.

From the reports I've read that aren't in the mainstream UK media, the Iraqi army is in the thick of the fighting.

"...but we're in it for the long haul ..."

How long ? Bush will stay on course for 4 years, but what happens afterwards? There is no telling. My guess: the next US president will cut and run; it was a damn close thing this time (this election).

So freedom loving Iraqis must learn fast and act fast. They don't have unlimited time. I hope they succeed, but this is far from certain.

How do we know even Bush will 'stay on course' for his second term? He is under pressure to disengage the troops and sort out his budget deficit. I would have liked to have been a fly in a wall during Bush's meeting with Blair this week - I wonder what was said about Iran and Syria as well as Palestine. And who will Bush appoint as Secretary of State (will Jack Straw even remain at the foreign office assuming Blair holds off Brown to win a third term?)

A slight tangent here - the French just wiped out a black African country's air force.

"The acts France committed against us are acts of war".

It will be interesting to see who does and who doesn't condemn this action...

This is an actual e-mail from a senior watch officer monitoring the battle in Fallujah...

Gents,

There is a legitimate, credentialed, Iraqi Reporter named Fathi Ghanim Al Iraqia attached with 4th BN, 1st Bde of the Iraqi forces (with 6th Plt?).

Earlier today he took some pictures of 4th BN Iraqi wounded. The Iraqi soldiers he was with took exception to him doing this. He says he deleted the photos from his camera, but the Iraqi soldiers were still incensed and locked him in a closet somewhere in their zone. They apparently dumped him in some house somewhere inside a locked closet.

He is calling the MEF PAO on his cell phone from the closet.

We need to get him released.

Please get a hold of the LNO there and work the issue. Let us know your progress and when you find him.

Semper Fidelis.

Hang on a minute -
Freely-available guns
No government to speak of
Isn't this supposed to be desirable?

"Hang on a minute -
Freely-available guns
No government to speak of
Isn't this supposed to be desirable?"

There also seems to be plenty of violent coercion too.