Today in Iraq

War News for March 19 and 20, 2004 Bring 'em on: One US soldier wounded by RPG fire in Mosul. Bring 'em on: Insurgents give Powell the "Wolfowitz Welcome" in Baghdad. Bring 'em on: Eight US soldiers and one Marine wounded by mortar fire in Fallujah. (Last paragraph.) Bring 'em on: Iraqi policeman killed in Kirkuk ambush. Bring 'em on: Iraqi police station bombed in Karbala. Bring 'em on: US Marines under rocket and mortar barrage near Al-Asad. Bring 'em on: US Army helicopter shot down near Amariya. Bring 'em on: One US Marine killed in action near Fallujah. CENTCOM reports one soldier died from injuries sustained in Bradley accident near Beiji. US soldier electrocuted in accident near Baquba. South Korea cancels plan to deploy 3,600 troops near Kirkuk. Time to call up more US Guardsmen. Iraqis sound off about Bush-style liberation. Arab journalists walk out on Powell's Baghdad press conference. Reality TV in Mosul. "The scene could be straight out of the U.S. television reality show 'Cops,' but instead of American police officers, the lawmen getting their 15 minutes of fame are Iraqi police." Iraqi police colonel arrested for aiding insurgents in Kirkuk. Let's attack Iraq because there are lots of good targets there. "The Bush administration considered bombing Iraq in retaliation almost immediately after the 9-11 terrorist attacks against New York and the Pentagon, according to a new first-person account by a former senior counterterrorism adviser inside the White House. Richard Clarke, the president's counterterrorism coordinator at the time of the attacks, said Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld complained on Sept. 12, 2001 -- after the administration was convinced that al Qaeda was responsible -- that, 'there aren't any good targets in Afghanistan, and there are lots of good targets in Iraq.'" Emphasis added. Today, hundreds of thousands of people are protesting Bush's War. Rather than cover those protests, this one small incident reveals how much damage Lieutenant AWOL has done to America's reputation. Commentary Editorial: " Bush's theme yesterday was that it was important for the world to come together now to fight terrorism. There is no middle ground, he said. Fine, but the reality is that his administration's arrogant, unilateral approach to the war against Iraq has done more to isolate the United States from its allies than any other single act over the last 100 years. Much, if not all, of the good will and unity that came out of the outrage over the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington was dissipated by the administration's go-it-alone excursion into Iraq." Opinion: "Iraq is only one example of distorted security priorities. By focusing on the use of unilateral military force at the expense of the more traditional U.S. focus on diplomacy, arms-control treaties and cooperation with allies, we actually have made ourselves less safe." Casualty Reports Local story: California soldier killed in Iraq. Local story: Illinois Guardsman killed in Iraq. Local story: Texas Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: Arkansas Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: Texas Marine wounded in Iraq. Local story: Illinois Guardsman wounded in Iraq. Local story: West Virginia soldier dies of wounds received in Iraq. Local story: Ohio Marine wounded in Iraq. Local story: Massachusetts Marine wounded in Iraq. Local story: Vermont Guardsman dies in Kuwait. Local story: Texas soldier dies in Iraq. Local story: Georgia Guardsman dies in Kuwait. Awards and Decorations Local story: Oregon soldier posthumously decorated for valor. 86-43-04. Pass it on.