The Toll - 9/9/07

The Department of Defense released the obituaries of 18 military personnel killed in Iraq last week, ranging in age from 19 to 37.  Nine of the fallen heroes (50%) were killed by improvised explosive devices.  According to the website www.icasualties.org, U.S. deaths in Iraq now stand at 3,761, including seven whose relatives are being notified today.

Also, last week, the Department of Defense released the obituaries of two soldiers killed in Afghanistan, ages 19 and 38. Total U.S. deaths in Afghanistan were 373, as of September 1, according to the Pentagon.

Many types of heroes have been identified in previous Tolls - the fallen soldiers themselves, the grieving families, the wounded and even one who committed suicide.  Today’s hero is a soldier who actually died last December in Maryland, but who was recently the subject of an article in Salon.com entitled The Killing of Jamie Dean.

Last Christmas, Jamie Dean was on the verge of being shipped out to Iraq.  The problem was that he had recently completed a difficult mission in Afghanistan, and he was severely impaired with post traumatic stress disorder.  It was so deeply embedded in his mind that he was unable to talk of his experiences overseas.  And, apparently there was a lack of communication between the VA that was treating him and the Army that was calling him back.

In any event, he was totally messed up and, on the day after Christmas, he was drinking. This, in turn, caused an argument to start with his wife, after which he left their home and went to the country house where he grew up.  No one was there, and his mother, living elsewhere, was concerned that he might try to take his life, so she called 911.

The police arrived around 4:00 AM and, after a long standoff, he was shot down and killed by a sniper when he emerged from the house with a shotgun, after the police had bombarded it with tear gas.

The Maryland state's attorney's office launched an investigation into Dean's death and ruled it a justifiable homicide, but the report was highly critical of the police actions leading up to it.

Jaimie Dean was a casualty of the war as surely as any other, but his death is yet another indication that there are real but unknown numbers of veterans out there who are immersed in their own personal hells from which they feel there is no escape.

Turning to the politics of war, this was, of course, the week that began the great debate.

Testifying before the Senate on Tuesday, David M. Walker, head of the U.S. Government Accountability Office, said “I think there is serious question as to whether or not they (the Iraqi security forces) on there own will be able to hold these neighborhoods (cleared by American troops) for an extended period of time.” His report to Congress was described in the LA Times as being “generally bleak.”

On Friday, retired Marine General James L. Jones testified before Congress. He had headed a group of retired military experts who were commissioned by Congress in May to assess Iraq’s military and police forces. In his testimony, he described the progress of the Iraqi units as “uneven.” He also recommended that the U.S. military should reduce its footprint in Iraq to counter the impression that it is an occupying force, although he cautioned against a swift pullout or setting deadlines for withdrawal.

By the end of the week it was reported that a group of moderate Democrats and Republicans were working towards a compromise that would stipulate a change in the course of the war, but leave out any date certain for withdrawal.

At the same time, other Democrats were already disputing the conclusions they expected to hear from General Petraeus during his testimony on Monday and Tuesday. The general is a force to be reckoned with, however, and he will likely handle himself well against any critical members of Congress. Petraeus is a recognized authority on counterinsurgency tactics with a doctorate from Princeton University. He also showed during his confirmation process that he was adroit at charming politicians from both sides of the aisle.

Nevertheless, the area of contention seems to revolve around the general’s expected claim that military deaths are down because of the effectiveness of the surge. The counter-opinion that is likely to be expressed by some lawmakers is that the deaths are down simply because the insurgents have shied away from conflicts with American forces.

Petraeus told the Boston Globe on Friday, via an e-mail, that he will recommend a gradual reduction in the number of U.S. troops, starting sometime in the spring of next year.

Of course, Iraq is described as part of the war on terrorism, so it is appropriate to also mention that a tape of Bin Laden making a rambling pre-9/11 statement was released the other day. The initial conclusions regarding the tape are that it was, in fact, Bin Laden, that it was recently made and that there aren’t any direct threats against the U.S., although it is being studied for possible coded messages.

Sounding somewhat like a liberal blogger on Gather, Bin Laden urged Americans to reject being controlled by large corporations. His exact words were that the system “plays with the interests of the peoples and their blood by sacrificing soldiers and populations to achieve the interests of the major corporations.”

He criticized the usual suspects in the administration as well as the Democrats in Congress for failing to change the country’s course even though a majority of Americans oppose the war.

He said everything would be fine if we would just accept his solution, which would be for all of us to embrace Islam.

Despite the link being made to 9/11, another possibility is that the statement was actually aimed at the ongoing debate in Washington. In that respect, Bin Laden is certainly smart enough to know that the affect of his diatribe, if anything, would be to lend strength and motivation to those who want us to stay the course. If that’s the case, then it follows that he must actually be happy with the chaotic situation that exists in that country.

Iraq’s political situation, however, actually took a turn for the better this weekend. According to BBC News, the last Sunni group to rejoin the parliament, did so yesterday. To pacify the group, the government had agreed to address security concerns and delay oil talks.

The bad news included many shootings and assassinations. Reuters reported that a car bomb killed 14 people last evening at dusk and wounded at least 40 others near a market in Baghdad’s Shiite district of Sadr City. Five people were killed, and eight were wounded, in the town of Kufa, when another car bomb exploded yesterday.

Three more car bombs today killed seven and wounded 23 in Balad, Mahmudiya and Baghdad.

The factional discord in Iraq has taken a new turn. The Shiites are composed mainly of two camps, known as the Sadr and Badr groups, and they have recently become openly hostile to one another, resulting in bloodshed and political instability. Last month, 52 people were killed and 300 injured during gunfights between the two Shiite factions in the holy city of Karbala.

Part of the problem is that the two groups have been battling for control of Iraq’s oil rich south as the British troops have been departing from that area.