Lots of death, equipment shortages

125 people died in Iraq today... in a car bomb attack on a Shiite Mosque. "'It would be like a major bomb going off outside of St. Peter's [Basilica] in Rome, or the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, for Christians,' Brookings Institution scholar Ken Pollack said."

This is the kind of thing that, as the article points out, could lead toward civil war. Why people kill each other over religion, even if that wasn't the case here, is beyond me.

5,000 or so civilians dead? According to CNN, "The Associated Press reported 3,240 civilian Iraqi deaths between March 20 and April 20, but the AP said the figure was based on records of only half of Iraq's hospitals, and the actual number was thought to be significantly higher."

23 people died in the blast at the U.N. headquarters in Baghdad last week.

144 U.S. soldiers have been killed since President Bush declared the end of major combat May 1.

I heard a rumor that there was a major lack of supplies, especially body armor, in Iraq. So I did some digging and came up with this:

"Palazzo, whose unit is patrolling Ramadi, canceled a checkpoint Wednesday because of a shortage of body armor. As an armored unit, these soldiers typically wear vests that stop shrapnel, not bullets, so now they share body armor. 'I’m not going to put my guys out there in jeopardy,' he said." If only our President had this much wisdom. That rumor was sure true.

And then there was the story about the troops not having enough weapons:

’''We just do not have enough rifles to equip all of our soldiers. So in certain circumstances we allow soldiers to have an AK-47. They have to demonstrate some proficiency with the weapon ... demonstrate an ability to use it,’' said Lt. Col. Mark Young, commander of the 3rd Battalion, 67th Armor Regiment, 4th Infantry Division."

That's... fantastic. Great. "Some proficiency." $4billion/month for this damn war and we can't even get the guys what they need most. SOLDIERS DIE BECAUSE OF... THIS? I want to scream.

Posted by mbare at August 30, 2003 03:41 AM