September War Dead the GOP Wants You to Forget

With just six weeks until the 2006 midterm elections, one would never know to look at the media -- or by where the White House or Republican Congress direct their focus -- that the United States is still involved in a bloody war that has continued almost as long as our country's entire involvement in World War II. September 20 marked three years and six months since America invaded Iraq under the pretense of weapons of mass destruction and the imminent threat the Bush administration claimed Saddam Hussein posed to us.

All of that and the contrived links between Iraq and Osama bin Laden have since been proven false and yet no oversight or investigations have been performed by the Republican-led, do-nothing Congress and, to watch the news and the actions of the GOP in Washington, one could easily miss how much American and Iraqi blood is still being shed for nothing.

Almost 2,700 Americans troops have been killed in Iraq and 20,000 have been wounded -- many with limbs missing and life-changing brain injuries -- and Iraqi civilians continue to die at a horrifying clip that I guess, at this point, is just too boring for the American media to cover.

It must be nice for Team Bush to be able to start a war for no reason, be responsible for such hideous, ongoing violence and not be held accountable by Congress or an American press that, amazingly, some idiots still have the nerve to say operates with a liberal bias. Do the American people want to be so numb to all of this that they simply forget our troops are in the middle of a civil war, on a mission that does not have -- nor did it ever have -- a damn thing to do with our national security?

If the corporate media won’t cover it, we in the blog world should and I believe most Americans do care about the horrible losses we continue to sustain.

In the first three weeks of September alone, 44 of our troops have been killed in the Iraq war. That's 44 American families forever changed, wives and husbands who will never again feel the embrace of their spouse and children who will never feel the love of a Mommy or Daddy forever lost.

George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld don’t want you to know who they are -- but I do. Here's all 44 and the sterile, Defense Department explanation for how they died.

Lance Cpl. Cliff K. Golla, 21, of Charlotte, N.C., died September 1 from wounds received while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq.

Staff Sgt. Angel D. Mercado-Velazquez, 24, died in Yusifiyah, Iraq, on September 1 of injuries suffered from mortar fire during dismounted combat operations.

Sgt. Ralph N. Porras, 36, of Merrill, Mich. died in Yusifiyah, Iraq, on September 2 of injuries suffered from mortar fire during dismounted combat operations.

Pfc. Justin W. Dreese, 21, of Northumberland, Pa. died in Yusifiyah, Iraq, on September 2 of injuries suffered from mortar fire during dismounted combat operations.

Staff Sgt. Eugene H.E. Alex, 32, of Bay City, Mich., died on September 2 in Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Landstuhl, Germany, of injuries suffered on Aug 30 in Baghdad, Iraq, when he encountered enemy forces using small arms fire.

Lance Cpl. Shane P. Harris, 23, of Las Vegas, N.M., died September 3 while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq.

Lance Cpl. Philip A. Johnson, 19, of Hartford, Conn., died September 3 while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq.

Sgt. 1st Class Richard J. Henkes II, 32, of Portland Ore., died on September 3 of injuries suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle during combat operations.

Pfc. Nicholas A. Madaras, 19, of Wilton, Conn., died on September 3, in Baqubah, Iraq, of injuries suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his dismounted patrol during combat operations.

Sgt. Jason L. Merrill, 22, of Mesa, Ariz. died on September 3 in Baghdad, Iraq, of injuries suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle during combat operations.

Pfc. Edwin A. Andino II, 23, of Culpeper, Va. died on September 3 in Baghdad, Iraq, of injuries suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle during combat operations.

Pvt. Ryan E. Miller, 21, of Gahanna, Ohio, died September 3 while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq.

Cpl. Jared M. Shoemaker, 29, of Tulsa, Okla., died September 4 while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq.

Lance Cpl. Eric P. Valdepenas, 21, of Seekonk, Mass., died September 4 while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq.

Lt. Col. Marshall A. Gutierrez, 41, of New Mexico, died on September 4 in Camp Virginia, Kuwait, from non-combat related injuries.

Sgt. Germaine L. Debro, 33, of Omaha, Neb., died on September 4 in Balad, Iraq, of injuries suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle during combat operations.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Christopher G. Walsh, 30, of St. Louis, Mo. died September 4 while his unit was conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Al Anbar province, Iraq.

Pfc. Hannah L. Gunterman, 20, of Redlands, Calif., died on September 4 in Taji, Iraq, from injuries suffered when she was struck by a vehicle.

Pfc. Jeremy R. Shank, 18, of Jackson, Mo., died on September 6 in Balad, Iraq, of injuries suffered in Hawijah, Iraq, when he encountered enemy forces using small arms fire during a dismounted security patrol.

Sgt. John A. Carroll, 26, of Ponca City, Okla., died on September 6 in Ar Ramadi, Iraq, of injuries sustained when he came in contact with enemy forces using small arms fire during a dismounted security patrol.

Pfc. Vincent M. Frassetto, 21, of Toms River, N.J., died September 7 while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq.

Sgt. Luis A. Montes, 22, of El Centro, Calif., died on September 7 in Brooke Army Medical Center, San Antonio, Texas, of injuries suffered on September 1 in Abu Ghraib, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle during combat operations.

Sgt. David W. Gordon, 23, of Williamsfield, Ohio, died on September 8, in Baghdad, Iraq, of injuries sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV during combat operations.

Pfc. Anthony P. Seig, 19, of Sunman, Ind., died on September 9, in Baghdad, Iraq, of injuries sustained when he encountered indirect fire from enemy forces while on base.

Cpl. Johnathan L. Benson, 21, of North Branch, Minn., died September 9 from wounds suffered on June 17 while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq.

Cpl. Alexander Jordan, 31, of Miami, Fla., died on September 10 in Baghdad, Iraq, of injuries suffered when he encountered enemy forces using small arms fire during combat operations.

Spc. Harley D. Andrews, 22, of Weimar, Calif., died on September 11 in Ar Ramadi, Iraq, of injuries suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle during combat operations.

2nd Lt. Emily J.T. Perez, 23, of Texas, died on September 12 of injuries sustained in Al Kifl, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near her HMMWV during combat operations.

Capt. Matthew C. Mattingly, 30, of Reynoldsburg, Ohio, died on September 13 in Mosul, Iraq, when he encountered enemy forces using small arms fire during combat operations.

Pfc. Jeffrey P. Shaffer, 21, of Harrison, Ark., died of injuries sustained in Ar Ramadi, Iraq, on September 13 when an improvised explosive device detonated near his M2A2 Bradley Fighting Vehicle during combat operations.

Sgt. David T. Weir, 23, of Cleveland, Tenn., died on September 14 in Baghdad, Iraq, of injuries suffered on September 13 when he encountered enemy forces using rocket-propelled grenade and small arms fire during combat operations.

Sgt. Jennifer M. Hartman, 21, of New Ringgold, Pa. died in Baghdad, Iraq, on September 14 of injuries suffered when a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device detonated in the vicinity of a West Baghdad Substation where she was located.

Lance Cpl. Ryan A. Miller, 19, of Pearland, Texas, died September 14 while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Al Anbar province, Iraq.

Sgt. Aaron A. Smith, 31, of Killeen, Texas died in Baghdad, Iraq, on September 14 of injuries suffered when a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device detonated in the vicinity of a West Baghdad Substation where he was located.

Spc. Russell M. Makowski, 23, of Union, Mo., died of injuries suffered in Taji, Iraq, on September 14 when an improvised explosive device detonated near his dismounted patrol during combat operations.

Sgt. Clint E.Williams, 24, of Kingston, Okla., died on September 14 of injuries suffered in Baghdad, Iraq when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle during combat operations.

Cpl. Marcus A. Cain, 20, of Crowley, La. died in Baghdad, Iraq, on September 14 of injuries suffered when a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device detonated in the vicinity of a West Baghdad Substation where he was located.

Petty Officer 2nd Class David S. Roddy, 32, of Aberdeen, Md., died September 16 while his unit was conducting combat operations against enemy forces in the Al Anbar province, Iraq.

Sgt. Adam L. Knox, 21, of Columbus, Ohio, died on September 17 in Baghdad, Iraq, of injuries suffered when his patrol encountered enemy forces using small arms fire during combat operations.

Sgt. David J. Davis, 32, of Mount Airy, Md., died in Baghdad, Iraq, on September 17, of injuries sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his Stryker Armored Vehicle during combat operations in Sadr City, Iraq.

Sgt. James R. Worster, 24, of Broadview Heights, Ohio, died from a non-combat related incident on September 18 in Baghdad, Iraq.

Sgt. Christopher M. Zimmerman, 28, of Stephenville, Texas, died September 20 while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Al Anbar province, Iraq.

Master Sgt. Robb G. Needham, 51, of Vancouver, Wash., died in Baghdad, Iraq, on September 20, of injuries suffered when his patrol came in contact with enemy forces using small arms fire during combat operations.

Cpl. Yull Estrada Rodriguez, 21, of Alegre Lajas, Puerto Rico, died September 20 while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Al Anbar province, Iraq.

Imagine the constant, JonBenet Ramsey-like media coverage that would occur if Al-Qaeda killed 44 Americans by bombing a Burger King in Peoria. And yet the same number of Americans dying for absolutely nothing -- and similar bloodshed guaranteed for next month -- disappears almost entirely from view, garnering less ink and broadcast time than an appearance of Suri Cruise or the box office ranking of 'Jackass Number Two.'

We have an election coming up in six weeks and why these 44 people died, at an average age of 25, is not a "single issue" this campaign season -- it is the only issue.