<$BlogRSDURL$>

Saturday, February 19, 2005

FROM MYDD.COM

The Consequences of Iraq
by Chris Bowers

More soldiers have already died in February of 2005 than in February of 2004.
More soldiers died in January of 2005 than January of 2004.
More soldiers died in December of 2004 than December 2003.
More soldiers died in November of 2004 than November of 2003.
More soldiers died in October of 2004 than October of 2003.
More soldiers died in September of 2004 than September of 2003.
More soldiers died in August of 2004 than August of 2003.
More soldiers died in July of 2004 than July of 2003.
More soldiers died in June of 2004 than June of 2003.
More soldiers died in May of 2004 than May of 2003.
More soldiers died in April of 2004 than April of 2003.
March looms.

Source for above statements. The same goes for wounded soldiers.

Daily coalition fatality rate before Saddam Hussein's capture: 2.03
Daily coalition fatality rate after Saddam Hussein's capture: 2.55

Daily coalition fatality rate before the transfer of power away from the CPA: 2.09
Daily coalition fatality rate after the transfer of power away from the CPA: 2.86

And that's not all. With the human cost steadily mounting, even after milestones are passed that supposedly will make things better, the head of both intelligence agencies agree: the war in Iraq is fueling the growth of terrorism worldwide:

The Iraq insurgency continues to baffle the U.S. military and intelligence communities, and the U.S. occupation has become a potent source of recruiting for al-Qaida and other terrorist groups, top U.S. national security officials said before Congress on Wednesday. "Islamic extremists are exploiting the Iraqi conflict to recruit new anti-U.S. jihadists," CIA Director Porter Goss told the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. "These jihadists who survive will leave Iraq experienced and focused on acts of urban terrorism," he said. "They represent a potential pool of contacts to build transnational terrorist cells, groups and networks in Saudi Arabia, Jordan and other countries."(...)

"Our policies in the Middle East fuel Islamic resentment," Vice Adm. Lowell E. Jacoby, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, told the Senate panel. "Overwhelming majorities in Morocco, Jordan and Saudi Arabia believe the U.S. has a negative policy toward the Arab world."

And the insurgency is growing in strength:
Jacoby said the Iraq insurgency has grown "in size and complexity over the past year" and is now mounting an average of 60 attacks per day, up from 25 last year. Attacks on Iraq's election day last month reached approximately 300, he said, double the previous one-day high of 150, even though transportation was virtually locked down.
And our military readiness has been significantly reduced:
Stretched thin in Iraq, the U.S. military would have trouble responding as quickly and effectively as commanders would like if it had to go to war in Iran or North Korea, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told Congress Wednesday.

Air Force Gen. Richard Myers, said a sudden military crisis in one of those two nations -- both of which are resisting U.S. demands that they give up nuclear programs -- would likely force the Pentagon to remobilize reserve and Guard components that have rotated home from Iraq to rest.

In addition, because of the current strain on U.S. forces, it would take longer for U.S. troops to respond to a crisis in Iran, North Korea or some other major conflict than U.S. battle plans call for, Myers told the House Armed Services Committee.

But don't' forget, despite all of this, suggesting that our current policy in Iraq is more destructive than productive is borderline traitorous.

this post was collected (not written) by chuckago@yahoo.com
// posted by chuckago @ 1:07 AM

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?