Sixty-One Troops Lost So Far This Month on Bush's March to "Victory"

By Bob Geiger
Created Dec 21 2006 - 1:20pm

During George W. Bush's press conference yesterday, a reporter brought up
the overwhelming opposition among the American people to continuing our
military presence in Iraq and asked ".are you still willing to follow a path
that seems to be in opposition to the will of the American people?"

Said Bush: "I am willing to follow a path that leads to victory, and that's
exactly why we're conducting the review we are. Victory in Iraq is
achievable.. it's been a tough period for the American people. They want to
see success. And our objective is to put a plan in place that achieves that
success. I'm often asked about public opinion. Of course, I want public
opinion to support the efforts. I understand that. But, Jim, I also
understand the consequences of failure. And, therefore, I'm going to work
with the Iraqis and our military and politicians from both political parties
to achieve success."

As a stark reminder of the dreadful toll we can expect as long as Bush is
allowed to continue with his twisted mission for the Iraq quagmire, here are
the names of the 61 troops we have lost in Iraq in just the first 19 days of
December:

a.. Lance Cpl. Jesse D. Tillery, 19, of Vesper, Wis.,
b.. Spc. Bryan T. McDonough, 22, of Maplewood, Minn.
c.. Spc. Corey J. Rystad, 20, of Red Lake Falls, Minn.
d.. Capt. Kermit O. Evans, 31, of Hollandale, Miss.
e.. Pvt. Troy D. Cooper, 21, of Amarillo, Texas
f.. Pfc. Ross A. McGinnis, 19, of Knox, Pa.
g.. Hospitalman Christopher A. Anderson, 24, of Longmont, Colo.
h.. Lance Cpl. Thomas P. Echols, 20, of Shepherdsville, Ky.
i.. Capt. Shawn L. English, 35, of Westerville, Ohio
j.. Maj. Joseph T. McCloud, 39, of Grosse Pointe Park, Mich.
k.. Cpl. Joshua C. Sticklen, 24, of Virginia Beach, Va.
l.. Pfc. Nicholas D. Turcotte, 23, of Maple Grove, Minn.
m.. Sgt. Keith E. Fiscus, 26, of Townsend, Del.
n.. Spc. Kenneth W. Haines, 25, of Fulton, N.Y.
o.. Sgt. Yevgeniy Ryndych, 24, of Brooklyn, N.Y.
p.. Spc. Jordan W. Hess, 26, of Marysville, Wash.
q.. Staff Sgt. Robert L. Love Jr., 28, of Meridian, Miss.
r.. Spc. Marco L. Miller, 36, of Longwood, Fla.
s.. Lance Cpl. Brent E. Beeler, 22, of Jackson, Mich.
t.. Cpl. Billy B. Farris, 20, of Bapchule, Ariz.
u.. Sgt. Jay R. Gauthreaux, 26, of Thibodaux, La.
v.. Spc. Nicholas R. Gibbs, 25, of Stokesdale, N.C.
w.. Cpl. Dustin J. Libby, 22, of Presque Isle, Maine
x.. Sgt. Jesse J.J. Castro, 22, of Chalan Pago, Guam.
y.. Cpl. Jason I. Huffman, 23, of Conover, N.C.
z.. Spc. Joshua B. Madden, 21, of Sibley, La.
aa.. Cpl. Yari Mokri, 26, of Pflugerville, Texas.
ab.. Pfc. Travis C. Krege, 24, of Cheektowaga, N.Y.
ac.. Capt. Travis L. Patriquin, 32, of Texas.
ad.. Spc. Vincent J. Pomante III, 22, of Westerville, Ohio.
ae.. Staff Sgt. Henry W. Linck, 23, of Manhattan, Kan.
af.. Spc. Micah S. Gifford, 27, of Redding, Calif.
ag.. Staff Sgt. Kristofer R. Ciraso, 26, of Bangor, Maine
ah.. Maj. Megan M. McClung, 34, of Coupeville, Wash.
ai.. Lance Cpl. Cody G. Watson, 21, of Oxford, Ala.
aj.. Staff Sgt. Thomas W. Clemons, 37, of Leitchfield, Ky.
ak.. 1st Lt. Nathan M. Krissoff, 25, of Reno, Nev.
al.. Sgt. Brennan C. Gibson, 26, of Tualatin, Ore.
am.. Spc. Philip C. Ford, 21, of Freeport, Texas
an.. Spc. Shawn M. Murphy, 24, of Fort Bragg, N.C.
ao.. Lance Cpl. Budd M. Cote, 21, of Marana, Ariz.
ap.. Cpl. Matthew V. Dillon, 25, of Aiken, S.C.
aq.. Lance Cpl. Clinton J. Miller, 23, of Greenfield, Iowa
ar.. Master Sgt. Brian P. McAnulty, 39, of Vicksburg, Miss.
as.. Sgt. Brent W. Dunkleberger, 29, of New Bloomfield, Pa.
at.. Spc. Nicholas P. Steinbacher, 22, of La Crescenta, Calif.
au.. Pfc. Albert M. Nelson, 31, of Philadelphia.
av.. Pfc. Roger A. Suarez-Gonzalez, 21 of Miami.
aw.. Pfc. Paul Balint Jr., 22, of Willow Park, Texas
ax.. Lance Cpl. Nicklas J. Palmer, 19, of Leadville, Colo.
ay.. Capt. Kevin M. Kryst, 27, of West Bend, Wis.
az.. Lance Cpl. Matthew W. Clark, 22, of St. Louis, Mo.
ba.. Lance Cpl. Luke C. Yepsen, 20, of Kingwood, Texas.
bb.. Staff Sgt. Henry K. Kahalewai, 43, of Hilo, Hawaii
bc.. Pfc. Joe L. Baines, 19, of Newark, N.J.
bd.. Staff Sgt. David R. Staats, 30, of Pueblo, Colo.
be.. Spc. Matthew J. Stanley, 22, of Wolfeboro Falls, N.H.
bf.. Pfc. Seth M. Stanton, 19, of Colorado Springs, Colo.
bg.. Cpl. Joshua D. Pickard, 20, of Merced, Calif.
bh.. Staff Sgt. Brian L. Mintzlaff, 34, of Fort Worth, Texas
bi.. Spc. Andrew P. Daul, 21, of Brighton, Mich.
In case you're wondering, the average age of those killed is 25 years old.

_______

About author You can read more from Bob at BobGeiger.com [1].

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"A little patience and we shall see the reign of witches pass over, their
spells dissolve, and the people recovering their true sight, restore their
government to its true principles. It is true that in the meantime we are
suffering deeply in spirit,
and incurring the horrors of a war and long oppressions of enormous public
debt. But if the game runs sometimes against us at home we must have
patience till luck turns, and then we shall have an opportunity of winning
back the principles we have lost, for this is a game where principles are at
stake."
-Thomas Jefferson