Iraq War Casualties Mounting for U.S. Citizen Soldiers, No Letup in Sight

[CShine]

The Iraq war is taking a growing toll on soldiers of the National Guard and Reserve, which have suffered more deaths since April 1 than in the previous seven months combined. The trend may continue after the transfer of sovereignty, since the size of the U.S. military force in Iraq - including Guard and Reserve soldiers - is not shrinking, and may even increase. Military officials warn that while the U.S.-led occupation authority ends Wednesday, the danger for troops will not.

"We should expect more violence, not less, in the immediate weeks ahead," Marine Corps Gen. Peter Pace, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the House Armed Services Committee this past week.

Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, testifying with Pace, predicted that the next six months will be "particularly difficult, particularly dangerous," for American forces in Iraq.

That forecast was underlined by Thursday's surge of insurgent attacks across Iraq which killed more than 100 Iraqis and three American troops - an Army Reserve soldier from Wisconsin and two Army National Guardsmen from North Carolina. Part-time soldiers of the National Guard and Reserve have played a role in virtually every U.S. conflict, including the 1991 war against Iraq. But rarely have they suffered so many casualties. Some states are reporting their first Guard combat deaths since World War II. The Guard and Reserve are on active duty by presidential order. They might have played a somewhat smaller role in Iraq, but the Bush administration could not get as many foreign troop contributions as it anticipated and the Iraqi insurgency has been more violent than expected. Throughout the conflict, deaths among National Guard and Reserve troops have represented 15 percent to 20 percent of the monthly U.S. total. In May that figure jumped to 28 percent, and it jumped even higher this month, when 18 of the first 35 Americans who died were members of the Guard or Reserve.

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGBV9ZQYXVD.html

[leftchick]

1. It will let up on the reserves and NG when...

the new 2005 Draft goes into effect if idiotface* is reselected.

[saigon68]

2. THOUSANDS WILL DIE FOR HALLIBURTON PROFITS

BLOOD WILL FLOW IN THE STREETS OF AMERIKA TOO.