April Was Deadliest Month of Last Seven For US Forces

Things have been decent in Iraq for the past year or so. Not great, but definitely not as bad as they had been. Well, you can scratch that notion, at least as far as last month is concerned. April was the deadliest month for US forces in the last seven months of fighting in Iraq. No less than 18 service members paid the ultimate price in April, along with 371 Iraqis. Strange how we haven't heard anything about the US death toll or injury count since Mr. Obama took office.

"Tensions also rose Friday in northern Iraq after American forces killed two men during a raid in Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit.

The provincial governor's office and tribal leaders said the raid violated the security agreement regulating U.S. forces' conduct and demanded an apology.

The U.S. military, however, said it was an Iraqi-led joint operation and the two men killed were suspected of planting roadside bombs. The suspects were armed and resisted arrest, according to a statement, adding that U.S. troops shot the two men 'for their own safety and the safety of their Iraqi partners.'

Security was tightened in Tikrit after hundreds of angry mourners - some firing weapons into the air - took to the streets to protest the killings. The demonstrators shouted 'Down with America!' and promised revenge."

I don't know about you all, but I am getting a might bit tired of hearing about these Iraqi demonstrators flipping out every time one of their bomb-planting buddies gets waxed. News flash! The bombs can kill you too!

Maybe it is time we pull out of Iraq. Maybe we have given them plenty of time to stand on their own. Maybe they don't want to govern themselves, make choices for themselves, or live on their feet. Maybe they want, maybe they need some dictator to make life's decisions for them.

Now re-read that last paragraph; only this time, replace "Iraq" with "Washington," and "dictator" with "President." Which group of Americans does that sound like? Exactly. Ironic that those among us with the government-nanny mindset are the same ones saying Iraqis have had enough chances and need to do things for themselves.

I fear the sacrifices our fighting men and women gave will be for naught when we pull out of Iraq. It would have been nice to let them make the call as to when they should leave, but as we all know, politics come first, even in matters of life and death.