this diary is dedicated to all who suffer because of war
we love and support our troops, just as we love and support the Iraqi people - without exception, or precondition, or judgment
we have no sympathy for the devil.
we acknowledge the power to act that is in us
image and poem below the fold
(RubDMC's daily intro)
Iraqi men mourn their loved ones who were victims of sectarian violence at Yarmuk Hospital in Baghdad. At least 17 people have been killed in attacks across Iraq, including 13 in Baghdad where a revised security plan is being put in place to restore stability, security officials said.(AFP/Ali Yussef)
War's Toll on Iraqis Put at 22,950 in '06
BAGHDAD, Jan. 7 -- More than 17,000 Iraqi civilians and police officers died violently in the latter half of 2006, according to Iraqi Health Ministry statistics, a sharp increase that coincided with rising sectarian strife since the February bombing of a landmark Shiite shrine.
In the first six months of last year, 5,640 Iraqi civilians and police officers were killed, but that number more than tripled to 17,310 in the latter half of the year, according to data provided by a Health Ministry official with direct knowledge of the statistics. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information, said those numbers remained incomplete, suggesting the final tally of violent deaths could be higher.
[snip]
Last year's spike in casualties occurred despite an ambitious U.S. military operation in the capital, Together Forward, that involved thousands of U.S. and Iraqi troops cordoning off some of the deadliest neighborhoods and conducting house-to-house searches.
Invisible Sun - Sting
I don't want to spend the rest of my life
Looking at the barrel of an Armalite
I don't want to spend the rest of my days
Keeping out of trouble like the soldiers say
I don't want to spend my time in hell
Looking at the walls of a prison cell
I don't ever want to play the part
Of a statistic on a government chart
There has to be an invisible sun
It gives its heat to everyone
There has to be an invisible sun
That gives us hope when the whole day's done
It's dark all day and it glows all night
Factory smoke and acetylene light
I face the day with my head caved in
Looking like something that the cat brought in
(chorus)
And they're only going to change this place
By killing everybody in the human race
And they would kill me for a cigarette
But I don't even want to die just yet
(chorus)
Note: while RubDMC is away roses and I are alternating posting this series. roses diary from yesterday is
here, and look for an entry from roses tomorrow as well.