国产热热热精品,亚洲视频久久】日韩,三级婷婷在线久久,99人妻精品视频,精品九热人人肉肉在线,AV东京热一区二区,91po在线视频观看,久久激情宗合,青青草黄色手机视频

   

WORLD / America

American deaths in Iraq top 2,500
(AP)
Updated: 2006-06-16 10:25

"It's always a sad benchmark, and one of the things the president has said is that these people will not die in vain," Snow added. " ... You've got a government now that can help ensure that that is not the case."

The Pentagon releases new casualty figures daily with no fanfare - and scant detail -as defense officials have said that no one death should be highlighted since all losses are equally tragic.

Some members of Congress have been calling for a timetable for the eventual withdrawal of troops from Iraq, of which there are about 127,000.

The United States invaded Iraq in March 2003, in an effort to depose dictator Saddam Hussein, amid now debunked allegations that he had weapons of mass destruction.

According to the Pentagon totals, there have been 1,972 service members killed in action in Iraq, and another 528 died from other non-hostile causes. There also have been 18,490 troops wounded in action, including 8,501 who did not return to duty.

According to some estimates, about 4,800 Iraqi police and security forces have died during the war, and at least 30,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed.

Bush has dismissed calls for a US withdrawal as election-year politics and has consistently refused to give a timetable or benchmark for success that would allow troops to come home.

Bush's visit sought to capitalize on the death of Iraq's most feared terrorist, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a key victory for the US military, as well as recent progress in setting up the new Iraqi government. Bush met with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who has been struggling to establish his new fledgling democracy and restore order to the capital city, which has seen increased insurgent attacks.

With few signs the insurgency is abating, Maliki has launched new security crackdown with tens of thousands of Iraqi troops fanning out across the city in an effort to end the violence that has devastated the capital. Maliki has also vowed to begin talks with some insurgents as part of a national reconciliation initiative aimed at smoothing relations between the various sectarian groups.

Maliki is also struggling to rebuild a country battered by war, struggling to restore electricity, revive shattered communities and bring back government services - from oil production to schools.

Speaking to Pentagon reporters Wednesday, Army Brig. Gen. Carter Ham said it's more important to focus on the individuals lost than on any aggregate number.

"I don't know that there's ever a way that you can adequately thank a family for the sacrifice that they make in the loss of a loved one," said Ham, deputy operations chief for the Joint Chiefs of Staff. "Yet it's important to remember that there is - there is a mission and there is a greater good which sometimes necessitates tremendous sacrifice."


Page: 12
 
 

关岭| 大邑县| 会宁县| 苗栗市| 阜康市| 阳山县| 上蔡县| 南宫市| 华宁县| 龙南县| 柳林县| 华蓥市| 顺昌县| 海原县| 寿光市| 丰宁| 乐山市| 宁安市| 盐津县| 密山市| 南溪县| 邢台县| 方城县| 永登县| 绩溪县| 绥阳县| 安图县| 枝江市| 敦煌市| 武川县| 高密市| 荥经县| 观塘区| 扎兰屯市| 施甸县| 新河县| 鹤岗市| 五莲县| 南宁市| 西畴县| 延长县|