Four US soldiers were killed today in Iraq in a suicide bomb attack, bringing the US total dead service men and women to about 2,040 . Also today, five members of an elite Army unit, the 75th Ranger Regiment, were charged with severely kicking and punching detainees in Iraq.

And today, I updated my statistics on the Iraq War at Iraq War Made Simple - Results & Statistics as of October 2005. All data is presented through November 2, 2005, and it's not pretty. Here is a small sampling....

-- Taxpayers' funds spent and approved to spend in Iraq - $350 billion

-- US troop casualties - 2,036 soldiers, including 90% non-officers and 15% from the National Guards

-- Non-US troop casualities - 199, including 97 from Great Britain

-- US Troops Wounded 15,477 (excludes psychological injuries)

-- Estimated insurgents, June 2003 - 5,000

-- Estimated insurgents, September 2005 - 20,000 - 30,000

And something new added to Iraq War Made Simple - Results & Statistics as of October 2005 are results of a poll taken in August 2005 of Iraqi citizens by the British Ministry of Defense. Here are a few results....

-- Iraqis "strongly opposed" to presence of coalition troops - 82%

-- Iraqis who believe Coalition forces are responsible for any improvement in security - less than 1%

-- Iraqis who feel less secure because of the occupation - 67%

-- Iraqis who do not have confidence in multi-national forces - 72%

-- Iraqis who rarely have safe, clean water - 71%

-- Iraqis who never have enough electricity - 47%

Let's see if I have this straight. A majority of Americans are now strongly opposed to the War in Iraq, and want the Bush Administration to start pulling troops out now. A huge majority of Iraqi citizens are vehemently opposed to the continuing occupation of their country by US and other "coalition" troops.

But President George Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and Condoleezza Rice rushed the US into an unnecessary, elective war, and now they all say we're staying....maybe for ten more years or so?

WHY ???
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Related articles
-- Iraq War Made Simple - Results & Statistics as of October 2005
-- Downing Street Memos - What Are They? What Do They Mean?
-- Army Uses Aggressive Tactics to Recruit at High Schools
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