Today in Iraq

War News for November 11 and 12, 2004 Casualty Reports Local story: California Guardsman killed in Iraq. Local story: Pennsylvania Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: Michigan Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: Michigan soldier killed in Iraq. Local story: Florida sailor killed in Iraq. Local story: Texas soldier killed in Iraq. Local story: New York airman killed in Iraq. Local story: Texas soldier killed in Iraq. Local story: Texas soldier killed in Iraq. Local story: New York Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: Washington State Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: Four Illinois Marines killed in Iraq. Local story: Wisconsin Guardsman killed in Iraq. Local story: Puerto Rico soldier killed in Iraq. Local story: Florida Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: Washington State Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: Illinois Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: Indiana soldier killed in Iraq. Local story: California Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: California Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: Texas soldier killed in Iraq. Local story: Two Kansas Guardsmen killed in Iraq. Local story: Two Wisconsin Marines killed in Iraq. Local story: Texas Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: New Jersey soldier killed in Iraq. Local story: Oklahoma Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: New York soldier killed in Iraq. Local story: Florida soldier wounded in Iraq. Local story: Louisiana Marine wounded in Iraq. Local story: Five Ohio Guardsmen wounded in Iraq. Local story: New York Marine wounded in Iraq. Local story: South Carolina contractor killed in Iraq. War News Bring ‘em on: Heavy fighting continues in Fallujah. Bring ‘em on: Heavy fighting reported in several Baghdad neighborhoods. Bring ‘em on: US troops mortared near Samarra. Bring ‘em on: Seventeen Iraqis killed in Baghdad car bombing. Bring ‘em on: Insurgents seize Mosul. Bring ‘em on: British helicopter pilot wounded by ground fire. Bring ‘em on: Two US soldiers wounded arresting Sunni cleric in Baghdad. Bring ‘em on: Uprising reported in Beiji. Bring ‘em on: Fourteen Iraqis wounded in attempted assassination of Kirkuk governor. Blowback. “Iraqi insurgents have extended their reach over large swaths of the country, including sections of the capital, making it unlikely that the United States can establish the stability needed for credible elections in January even if its forces succeed in Fallouja, military and political analysts say. There is little doubt that American-led forces will recapture Fallouja within days, the analysts say. But U.S. officials who are planning for the election face another challenge: a law and order vacuum in many Sunni Muslim areas where there are no American or Iraqi forces and insurgents can operate with impunity…. Civil authority appears to have all but vanished in some areas. In Haditha and Haqlaniya, neighboring towns 135 miles west of Baghdad, people say they are afraid to walk the streets. Insurgents sent a strong warning months ago after the U.S. military put a local tribal leader in control. Militants killed him and his sons. A second group of leaders, including a police chief, was also deposed.” 178 US troops wounded in assault on Fallujah. Heavy fighting. “Medical staff at a U.S. military hospital in southwest Germany are expanding bed capacity to care for scores of wounded from Iraq, including many from the assault on Fallujah, officials said Thursday. A planeload with 53 wounded from Iraq arrived Thursday morning, and another with 49 more was expected to arrive Thursday evening at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center -- together making an anticipated 102 for the day, spokeswoman Marie Shaw said. ‘We are very busy,’ Shaw said. ‘We have seen an increase of patient arrivals since the outbreak of the Fallujah conflict.’ On Wednesday, 64 wounded were brought in. The large number of wounded sent to Germany suggests that fighting might be more intense, at least in some areas, than the military had initially indicated.” Commentary Analysis: “What's to be done if the chaos continues in Iraq? Today, New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman joined his paper's editorial board in calling for more boots on the ground, two divisions worth. Now, where are those boots going to come from? The Times' editorial, earlier this week, suggested that all the military had to do was raise recruitment quotas and, presto, enlistees would appear. Why? With the promise of 40,000 more troops in Iraq, the editorial suggested, these young men would no longer worry about their safety there. Just don't show them any footage from Landstuhl.” Opinion: “Of course it was convenient and the better part of valor for the president to wait until after the election to start dropping the 500-pound bombs on Fallujah as well as raking the streets with artillery and aircraft firepower. Bush, who has never been in war, flaunted his commander in chief status during the campaign. But clearly he did not want to put it to the test at Fallujah before Election Day. Had he done so, the president would have had to explain why he took the United States into Iraq and why he was targeting innocent Iraqis.” Analysis: “The old saw has it that war is too important to be left to the generals, but the truth is that war is too important and too costly to be left solely to the politicians. Fallujah is the case in point. This week as American and Iraqi troops launched their long-delayed and long-expected assault to crush the foreign and home-grown Sunni terrorists holed up in Fallujah, it was clear that the timing was dictated more by the American presidential election than by the forthcoming January Iraqi election.” Analysis: “Baghdad residents say there are practically no US troops around, even as regular explosions can be heard all over the city. Baghdad sources confirm to Asia Times Online that the mujahideen now control parts of the southern suburb of ad-Durha, as well as Hur Rajab, Abu Ghraib, al-Abidi, as-Suwayrah, Salman Bak, Latifiyah and Yusufiyah - all in the Greater Baghdad area. This would be the first time since the fall of Baghdad on April 9, 2003, that the resistance has been able to control these neighborhoods.”