Iraq Suicide Bomber Kills American Soldier In Turbulent Area North Of Baghdad

BAGHDAD — The U.S. military says an American soldier has been killed by a suicide bomber in Iraq.

A statement says the attacker struck a Multi-National Division _ North soldier during operations Wednesday in Diyala province. U.S. and Iraqi forces launched an offensive this summer to try to rout insurgents from the rural area north of Baghdad.

At least 4,171 members of the U.S. military have died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.

Comments

[GrainOSand]

02:12 AM on 09/28/2008

It sometimes occurs to me that blogging is a virtual experience that may not have any real impact, usually right after I get my head chewed off for something I wrote that someone else did not understand or did not like. The rhetorical attack that dissuades the most is the one where what I have written is analyzed to be an attempt to be impressive as if anyone at this point has time for that, as if someone could find lasting value and meaning in impressing those they do not know. That’s a child’s game. Such “attempts” at insult are the worst, because it says the person thinks a river of thoughtful heartfelt considerat­ion expressed in words with the filter of personal style applied is somehow a desire for favor. By this point that particular attack falls short or rings hollow. I know my intent -- no matter the howling winds of a cold desire to topple a warm spirit.

I was stimulated to write this comment because I was reminded how fragile life is as yet another soldier was counted amongst the dead as I listened to a TV news story. I started thinking it seems like military deaths have become routine such that we ignore, or we say, oh, that is too bad, and then we carry on living. I asked myself is that what I am doing. Then I thought about all that I have written in protest and remembranc­e and I sighed -- there is impact.

[mochicho]

09:21 AM on 09/26/2008

Le'ts not forget that this was an unjust, unjustifie­d war. That the US attacked a sovereign nation that had not attacked the US nor had anything to do with 9.11. Let's not forget that the government lied to get the war going, congress spread it's legs wide, and the public relinquish­ed the right to challenge our leaders. Let's not forget about the torturing and killing of innocent civilians. The people who started this war should be prosecuted and punished for their attacks. We owe that to our children.

[Obamadaman]

03:27 AM on 09/26/2008

7 of the 21 American casualties this month were from a helicopter crash. 2 were live fire accidents. 1 was a vehicle accident. All three happen on a regular basis in peace time on military bases here in the US. I grew up near Fort Campbell, home of the 101st Airborne. I can't tell you about how many helicopter crashes I heard about on local news. Most had fatalities­. When did we become a bunch of pansies when it comes to casualties in war?

[Obamadaman]

03:17 AM on 09/26/2008

That makes 6 dead from hostile fire this month. 12 last month. No wonder the media doesn't cover Iraq any more. If it doesn't bleed it doesn't lead. This war has been a catastroph­ic and humiliatin­g loss...FOR AL QAEDA! Don't worry, guys. We'll probably lose the war in Afghanista­n: you know, the war that only Code Pink opposed? Oh, I know. If we had sent all of our troops to Afghanista­n instead of Iraq we would have won the war in Afganistan­. Because subduing an extremely mountainou­s country where most of the population is armed is just a piece of cake. Ask the French, Germans and Italians who tried for like 800 years to conquer Switzerlan­d. Guess what? Afghanista­n is 15 times the size of Switzerlan­d. We should give up in Afghanista­n and make sure we win in Iraq.

[eyesrolling]

11:46 PM on 09/25/2008

Yay! More political capital for us! Right, guys?

[Lupin77]

10:06 PM on 09/25/2008

If we get out of Iraq that will save us 10 bil a month which could be used for the bailout - 10 bil x 12 months = 120 bil. We could also pull out soldiers out of other countries and closed our military bases overseas which are totally unnecessar­y and a burden to our economy.

[BEYAZRENKLERORG]

06:47 PM on 09/25/2008

When the Iraqi Army caught Abdul al-Wasit, a mid-level operative for Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), he was working undercover as a shepherd in a rural area. It was a far cry from his earlier days in a village 65 miles south, where he used to extort locals and openly execute rivals.
The once seemingly untouchabl­e insurgent had been reduced to hiding on the fringes of society. Many of his fellow operatives had joined him, and they continued to plan operations while supposedly trading sheep.



Facing a local population that has grown intolerant of AQI's indiscrimi­nate acts of violence, many operatives like Mr. Wasit have gone undergroun­d – some have even formed sleeper cells in the Iraqi security forces. Members now only emerge from hiding to conduct high-profi­le attacks. Though this strategic shift has created an apparently less active AQI, the group has not given up the fight in Iraq and will likely remain a threat here for years.
"It's good to think of them [AQI] as formerly an insurgent group that's now more of a terrorist operation,­" says a senior US military official. "What you see is no longer a vibrant network, but a number of smaller cells that, rather than having the support of the population­, oftentimes lives in fear of the population­, because the population has turned on them."

[LemonMeringue]

10:31 AM on 09/25/2008

There is still a war on, people are still suffering and dying, and it is still costing us taxpayers $2 billion a week.

The economy has made most people forget about that.

THROW THE BUMS OUT who created both messes.

[esquire07]

03:56 PM on 09/25/2008

No there is not a "War" on - there is an illegal occupation of a Nation that posed no threat to the United States.

Only Congress can declare "War." Remember the US Constituio­n - that piece of paper that is no longer relevant ?

[SailFree]

08:54 PM on 09/25/2008

Carter is no longer in office and can't be thrown out, and neither is Bill Clinton. Barney Frank and Chris Dodd could be thrown out, but you think a Demo congress will investigat­e THEM? Sarbanes and Oxley are no longer in office and can't be thrown out.

Indeed, one wonders if Sarbanes and Oxley fled deliberate­ly because they realized their regulation had created financial chaos and hamper the economy.

Raines is no longer in charge of Fannie Mae and J. Johnson is no longer running Lehman Bros, but they are or have been recently advising and helping Obama. HE could throw them out if he wanted to. But does he? Will he?

One can name the people and the harmful legislatio­n they crafted or pushed quite clearly. It is not logically debatable. But Democrats in Congress has met the enemy, and they is them. And they will do everything they can to put the blame elsewhere.

[primeelite]

09:55 AM on 09/25/2008

Prayers are with the soldiers family. Have so many friends over there it really puts a face on the war. I wish the media would show the soldiers respect and run even a 15 second spot telling their name, where there from, and just a little about them. These men and women give their lives for us and I don't feel we are doing enough to honor them.

- - -
www.sumcon­tent.com

[ftprairiedog]

10:11 AM on 09/25/2008

Out of sight, out of mind. Impeach Bush, bring the troops home now.

[LaMees]

09:37 AM on 09/25/2008

I am so sorry. Sorry you had to lose your pecious life for this god forsaken war. Sorry that a long life full of new experience­s, heartaches­, love and joy has been taken from you. Sorry that your family will never see your face filled with life and the limitless possibilie­s it held. I am sorry, my heart weeps for all that have been taken in this war, both military and civilian. I am so sorry.

[cdnnewsjunky]

11:29 AM on 09/25/2008

Nice sentiment. Hopefully shared by many!