Worst day since 'end of war'

[Cronus Protagonist]

http://www.oaklandtribune.com/Stories/0,1413,82~1865~1741427,00.html

16 soldiers killed as helicopter downed; administration says more troops not needed

By Glenn Kessler, Washington Post
and Mike Allen

WASHINGTON -- On the bloodiest day for the U.S. military in more than seven months, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld insisted Sunday the Bush administration's plan to improve security in Iraq was on track, with no need for additional U.S. troops.

"In a long, hard war, we're going to have tragic days, as this is," Rumsfeld said on ABC's "This Week." "But they are necessary. They are part of a war that's difficult and complicated."

President Bush, visiting his ranch in Crawford, Texas, made no public appearances Sunday and offered no comment on the day's events: the downing of an Army helicopter that left 16 dead, the killing of a U.S. soldier in a bomb attack in Baghdad and the deaths of two American civilian contractors in a roadside mine blast.

[4dsc]

1. Not what former military personal are stating

today on MSNBC, former military people are stating we need more troops on the ground and soon.

[Cronus Protagonist]

3. Again, it seems that everyone knows what the Bush admin fails to see

- more people needed on the ground, period. UN needs to be in control of all civilian efforts. The war was a bad idea.

I remember tens of millions telling the Bush admin this war was a bad idea and still they, and the Dems too, to be fair, still claim they didn't know it.

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[bleedingheart]

2. So * has no comment? Why not...too busy clearing up brush?

to offer his condolences to the families?

[Cronus Protagonist]

4. I think that's the most damning thing - Bush has no comment.

Condi hasn't told him what he thinks of this yet.

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[gbwarming]

5. Most Americans killed by Iraqis on a single day EVER.

Right? Not just since some arbitrary date in the current debacle. And I didn't forget about the zero Americans killed by Iraqis on 9/11.

Edit: Have there been higher combat losses on a single day since Vietnam? There have of course been terrorist bombings in Beruit and USS Cole, and lots of accidents that took more lives.

[Brucey]

6. There's really nothing left to say.

It's ugly.

[caledesi]

7. Bush at the "ranch" w/ no comment - disgusting!

President Bush, visiting his ranch in Crawford, Texas, made no public appearances Sunday and offered no comment on the day's events: the downing of an Army helicopter that left 16 dead, the killing of a U.S. soldier in a bomb attack in Baghdad and the deaths of two American civilian contractors in a roadside mine blast.

Hey you moran! See what a REAL president does.

[yellowcanine]

9. Bush appears to have made the calculation that

he will not "obsess" over casualties the way previous presidents did - particularly LBJ during Vietnam. What he fails to see is that this makes him appear cold and unfeeling - this along with the continuing claptrap from Rummy, the decision to "hide" the returning KIAs, and the perception that wounded veterns are not getting adequate care is going to create a firestorm against Bush in the military community. Bush is getting bad advice on this from the neocon chicken hawks. The fact that Bush has surrounded himself with chicken hawks who know little about the human dimensions of the military may yet come back to bite him.

[Upfront]

10. Cold And Unfeeling

It dosn't make him appear to be cold and unfeeling, he is cold and unfeeling.

[diamond14]

8. many more than 16 killed...this must be standard DOD policy

to report HALF the number killed....nobody could live after falling out of the sky from hundreds of feet up, hit by a missile, and fuel explosion, followed by a fire on the ground....

announcing that most got out of that demolished helicopter is just more bush* lies....there are many more troops being killed than we willl ever know....with many buried in their hometowns, and no photos allowed of the returning caskets...who could tell how many died?