There have been 4,438 coalition deaths -- 4,124 Americans, two Australians, one Azerbaijani, 176 Britons, 13 Bulgarians, one Czech, seven Danes, two Dutch, two Estonians, one Fijian, five Georgians, one Hungarian, 33 Italians, one Kazakh, one Korean, three Latvian, 22 Poles, three Romanians, five Salvadoran, four Slovaks, 11 Spaniards, two Thai and 18 Ukrainians -- in the war in Iraq as of July 28, 2008, according to a CNN count. This includes the soldiers, Marines, airmen, sailors and Coast Guardsmen whose deaths have been reported by their country's governments. Also included are seven employees of the U.S. Defense Department.
At least 30,435 U.S. troops have been wounded in action, according to the Pentagon. This does not include soldiers who die of their wounds or suicides when they are stateside.
Documented deaths of Iraqi civilians are more than 93,060. Most deaths are not documented and some experts believe the number is closer to over 2 million.
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Donald Rumsfeld, in 2003, estimated that the cost of the war in Iraq would be $50 billion. Five years and more than $500 billion later, Iraq has turned into a sinkhole for American taxpayers. In fact, recent analysis indicates that the true cost of the war could easily top $1-2 trillion dollars!
End the waste of money and lives! »
The war in Iraq is on track to be more expensive than any other war, except for World War II. Just think -- it has already been more expensive than the anticipated cost of the U.S. implementing the Kyoto Protocol to control greenhouse gases ($300 billion).
Countless lives lost and massive fiscal irresponsibility to boot -- the entire affair has been one debacle after another. Demand that the U.S. better use its resources and return its troops home. »
TAKE ACTION : http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/151569753?z00m=15873140
A little light reading...
Former "Bush Puppet" Iraqi PM Calls for US Withdrawal
Thursday 24 July 2008
by: Maya Schenwar, t r u t h o u t | Report
Dr. Ayad Allawi, the former interim Iraqi prime minister previously referred to even by US Congress members as a "Bush puppet," voiced his strong support for a US withdrawal timeline during a Wednesday Congressional hearing.
McCaskill Takes On Military Industrial Complex
Friday 25 July 2008
by: Matt Renner, t r u t h o u t | Report
A Governmental Accountability Office report has found that Defense Contract Audit Agency officials and major defense contractors successfully pressured Pentagon auditors to hide damaging facts about the performance and costs of weapons systems.
US Military Recruits Children: "America's Army" Video Game Violates International Law
Wednesday 23 July 2008
by: Michael B. Reagan, t r u t h o u t | Perspective
In May of 2002, the United States Army invaded E3, the annual video game convention held in Los Angeles. At the city's Convention Center, young game enthusiasts mixed with camouflaged soldiers, Humvees and a small tank parked near the entrance. Thundering helicopter sound effects drew the curious to the Army's interactive display, where a giant video screen flashed the words "Empower yourself. Defend America ... You will be a soldier."
Bill Moyers and Michael Winship | It Was Oil, All Along
For Truthout, Bill Moyers and Michael Winship write: "Oh, no, they told us, Iraq isn't a war about oil. That's cynical and simplistic, they said. It's about terror and al-Qaeda and toppling a dictator and spreading democracy and protecting ourselves from weapons of mass destruction. But one by one, these concocted rationales went up in smoke, fire and ashes. And now the bottom line turns out to be ... the bottom line. It is about oil."
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