At the Holidays

A special prayer for all those with an empty place at the table this season, on the eve of year 6 of OIF and OEF

Weekly Casualty Lists: Week 51

This update covers all since the last (Dec 5th), which is a period longer than a week.

IBC repors "10 mass graves have been found in the last 2 months containing 206 bodies."

WEEKLY CASUALTY LIST: MNF-IRAQ

-------	Name, Age	Srv Branch	Hometown
	Rank, Unit
	Location; Circumstance of Death
	Juctin R. P. Mcdaniel, 19	U.S. Army	Andover, NH
	Private 1st Class, 524th Combat Service Support BN, 45th Sustainment Brigade, 8th Theater Sustainment Command
	Taji (Camp Taji); 17-Dec-07; Non-hostile - injury
	Austin D. Pratt, 22	U.S. Army	Cadet, MO
	Sergeant, 2nd BN, 30th Infantry Reg, 4th Brigade Combat Team, (Light Infantry) 10th Mountain Division
	Baghdad (Died in Balad); 15-Dec-07; Non-hostile
	Jonathan A. Lowery, 38	U.S. Army	Houlton, ME
	Sergeant 1st Class, 3rd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, III Corps
	Mosul; 14-Dec-07; Hostile - hostile fire - small arms fire
	Daren A. Smith, 19	U.S. Army	Helena, MT
	Private, 3rd Squadron, 89th Cavalry Reg, 4th Brigade Combat Team, (Light Infantry) 10th Mountain Division
	Baghdad; 13-Dec-07; Non-hostile
	Samuel E. Kelsey, 24	U.S. Army	Troup, TX
	Sergeant, 3rd BN, 7th Infantry Reg, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division
	Tunis; 13-Dec-07; Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
	Brynn J. Naylor, 21	U.S. Army	Roswell, NM
	Specialist, 2nd BN, 12th Infantry Reg, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division
	Baghdad (southern part); 13-Dec-07; Hostile - hostile fire - small arms fire
	Stephen Ferguson, 31	British Army	Lanarkshire-UK
	Guardsman, 1st Battalion The Scots Guards
	Selly Oak Hospital, Birmingham, England; 13-Dec-07; Non-hostile - vehicle accident
	Mark T. Carter, 27	U.S. Navy	Fallbrook, CA
	Chief Petty Officer, Navy SEAL
	Iraq - details not released; 11-Dec-07; Hostile - hostile fire
	Johnathan A. Lahmann, 21	U.S. Army	Richmond, IN
	Specialist, 59th Engineer Company, 20th Engineer BN, 36th Engineer Brigade
	Baiji; 10-Dec-07; Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack (suicide vehic
	Randy W. Pickering, 31	U.S. Army	Bovey, MN
	Specialist, Regimental Support Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Reg, 1st Armored Division
	Baghdad; 09-Dec-07; Non-hostile

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WEEKLY CASUALTY LIST: ISAF-AFGHANISTAN

------	Name, Age	Srv Branch	Country
	Rank, Unit
	Location; Circumstance of Death
	Joshua C. Blaney, 25	U.S. Army	Matthews, NC
	Corporal, 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment (Airborne), 173rd Airborne Brigade
	Forward Operating Base Curry; 12-Dec-07; Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
	Michael J. Gabel, 30	U.S. Army	Crowley, LA
	Staff Sergeant, 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment (Airborne), 173rd Airborne Brigade
	Forward Operating Base Curry; 12-Dec-07; Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
	Gregory L. Elam, 39	U.S. Army	Columbus, GA
	Staff Sergeant, 54th Quartermaster Company, 49th Quartermaster Group, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault)
	Kandahar; 11-Dec-07; Non-Hostile - Illness
	Tanner J. O'Leary, 23	U.S. Army	Eagle Butte, SD
	Corporal, 1st BN, 508th Parachute Infantry Reg, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division
	Musa Quala; 09-Dec-07; Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
	Lee Johnson, 33	British Army	Stockton-on-Tees-UK
	Sergeant, 2nd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment (Green Howards)
	Musa Quala (Helmand Province); 08-Dec-07; Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack

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WEEKLY CASUALTY LIST: IRAQI CIVILIAN, counted by large event

Counted Civilian Casualties: 254 this week; 271 last week; 307 prior week.
Counted bodies found: 84 this week; 71 last week; 159 prior week.
Tuesday 18 December: 50 dead
Diyala
Baquba:	suicide car bomber kills 2 policemen.
Abbara:	suicide bomber kills 17 in cafe.
Ninewa
Mosul:	gunmen kill 4; roadside bomb kills 2.
Sinjar:	gunmen attack home of Yazidi family, kill 7.
Hadar:	gunmen kill 6 men guarding oil pipeline.
Anbar
Falluja:	US forces shoot and kill 15-year-old driving too close to US army vehicle.
Monday 17 December: 41 dead
Baghdad:	roadside bomb kills 2, Palestine St.; roadside bomb kills 1, Mohammed al-Qasim; roadside bomb kills 2, Karrada; 9 bodies.
Salahuddin
Baiji:	2 policemen killed in clashes.
Dhuluiya:	body found.
Mosul:	suicide truck bomber kills 1 on bridge; US forces shoot and kill civilian after roadside bomb attack on their convoy.
Diyala
Baquba:	gunmen kill 3 in market; 6 bodies.
Balad Ruz:	bomb kills 7.
Mansouriyah:	mortars kill civilian.
Basra:	gunmen kill civilian.
Anbar
Sunday 16 December: 30 dead
Baghdad:	3 bodies.
Diyala:	al-Qaeda attack on villages kills 17 residents.
Karbala:	roadside bomb kills 2 policemen.
Balad Ruz:	2 killed in separate incidents.
Mosul:	Awakening member killed in clashes.
Qalat Diza:	2 killed in Turkish air attacks.
Jalawla:	gunmen kill mayor and companion.
Dojma:	policeman killed in clashes with al-Qaeda fighters.
Baquba:	31 unidentified bodies are buried
Saturday 15 December: 25 dead
Baghdad:	6 killed in bomb attacks and gunfire, New Baghdad, Adhamiya, Bayaa; 4 bodies.
Karbala:	2 children are blown up by cluster bomb left over from 2003 invasion.
Diyala:	3 policemen killed battling insurgents.
Dhuluiya:	Awakening member shot dead at checkpoint.
Al-Biaaj:	Awakening member killed during battle with al-Qaeda forces.
Hdid:	4 bodies.
Mosul:	4 bodies.
Friday 14 December: 4 dead
Baghdad:	2 bodies.
Hayakel:	policeman's body found.
Kirkuk:	man killed in drive-by shooting.
Thursday 13 December: 28 dead
Baghdad:	gunmen kill contractor, Mansour; car bomb kills civilian, Waziriya; 3 bodies.
Shaqraq:	5 (mother and her 4 children) killed in US shelling of village.
Mosul:	gunmen kill woman who ran beauty salon; gunmen kill 4 policemen; 2 policemen killed in clashes with insurgents.
Baquba:	gunmen kill woman; 4 bodies.
Khan Bani Saad:	woman killed by roadside bomb.
Hit:	suicide car bomber kills 2 policemen.
Dour:	2 bodies.
Hawija:	body found.
Wednesday 12 December: 80 dead
Baghdad:	car bomb kills 5, Ghadeer; 2 security forces killed in clashes with insurgents; 5 bodies.
Amara:	28 reported killed in 3 car bomb explosions.
Saydiya:	gunmen kill headmaster and teacher inside school.
Baquba:	2 civilians killed during gunbattle; 3 bodies.
Kirkuk:	roadside bomb kills civilian.
Hit:	suicide bomber blows up car on bridge, kills 5.
Iskandariya:	Awakening council member dies in US shelling.
Khanaqeen:	4 killed by roadside bombs.
Balad:	woman killed by US fire during raid.
Latifiya:	2 bodies.
Mahaweel:	2 bodies.
Dour:	policeman's body found.
Muqdadiya:	mass grave containing 16 bodies (12 decapitated) is found.

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WEEKLY CASUALTY LIST: JOURNALISTS IN IRAQ

Name	Date
Circumstances
None counted this week.

src: MNF-I, MNF-A, journalists from icasualties.org; Iraqi Civiilan: iraqbodycount.org; Afghan events from Bill Roggio, other sources

Gives New Meaning to Being "In Country"

WE ARE NOT COWBOYS ...

Oh, my, worse than cowboys, apparently, for some:

Last week, Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX) said on CNN that he did not believe that gang rape in Iraq of former Halliburton/KBR employee Jamie Leigh Jones was “an isolated case of assault.” Poe then encouraged “other victims” to notify his office.

In his prepared testimony for the House Judiciary Committee today, Poe said that his office had been contacted by three women other than Ms. Jones about sexual assaults they sustained while working for KBR in Iraq: -via ThinkProgress

Also:

5th Trial in Iraqi Rape Case Drags On

As Good As It Gets?

Charles at Obsidian Wings finds encouragement in the numbers from Iraq on deaths, suggesting also that they have political consequences for Democrats (who refuse credit and cling to defeat), served with a side-dish of Iranian meddling.

He's only got the beginnings of the story, our just part of the outline.

VIOLENCE NOT A PROXY FOR SURGE, IN THIS CASE

We don't have a true picture of how well new tactics are working. Instead, the overall figures reflect Iraqi's willingness to stop the violence spiral, not American's First seen in al-anbar, in moves unrelated to the surge, and then with Muqtada and his hudna (truce), which continues but could be lifted at any time.

CORRUPTION

The enemies of stability include corruption, both in Afghanistan and in Iraq. This suggests that gains from the surge cannot be consolidated politically, or will take a very long time as political battles are settled.

VIOLENCE AND STOP GAPS

Violence, arguably, continues at levels that are unacceptably high. There is a cumulative impact of violence, too, in counterinsurgency. It's not just what happened last month ... There are some 60,000 people in administrative detention in Iraq, reportedly, as well, from all the sweeps for al-qa'ida.

We continue on a pace of losing ten or more soldiers a week, to bring stability to these parts, and circa 300 a month wounded. Most all Lieutenants in all the areas where COPS are functioning end their talks with reporters by saying that what is most needed, even five years into the effort, are Iraqis to take over.

IRAN, FORESEEABLE, NOT AN EXCUSE FOR DELAY OR FAILURE

It's not conceivable, to me, that Iran would just stand by and NOT try to meddle. Why we are so shocked and appalled that they have done it, when our own CIA does it all the time, including even in this decade in Venezuela, by most reckonings? Their negative involvement ought to have been anticipated, in any plan to stabilize the country with a minimal number of troops.

Weekly Casualty Lists: Week 49

I will update the missing names when they become available from DoD.

WEEKLY CASUALTY LIST: MNF-IRAQ

-------	Name, Age	Srv Branch	Hometown
	Rank, Unit
	Location; Circumstance of Death
	Adam P Snyder	U.S. Army	Fort Pierce, FL
	Captain, Multi-National Division - North
	Salah ad Din Province; 05-Dec-07; Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
	Eric J Hernandez	U.S. Army	Waldwick, NJ
	Seagrent, Multi-National Division - North
	Tikrit; 04-Dec-07; Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
	Dewayne L White	U.S. Army	Country Club Hills, IL
	Private, Multi-National Division – North
	Tikrit; 04-Dec-07; Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
	Kyle Dayton, 22	U.S. Army	El Dorado Hills, CA
	Sergeant, 2nd BN, 504th Parachute Infantry Reg, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborn
	Ashwah; 03-Dec-07; Non-hostile - vehicle accident
	Matthew K. Reece, 24	U.S. Army	Harrison, AR
	Specialist, 1st BN, 504th Parachute Infantry Reg, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division
	Baghdad (eastern part); 01-Dec-07; Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
	Blair William Emery, 24	U.S. Army	Lee, ME
	Corporal, 504th Military Police BN, 42nd Military Police Brigade
	Baqubah; 30-Nov-07; Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack

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WEEKLY CASUALTY LIST: ISAF-AFGHANISTAN

------	Name, Age	Srv Branch	Country
	Rank, Unit
	Location; Circumstance of Death
	Jack Sadler, 21	British Army	Devon-UK
	Trooper, Honourable Artillery Company
	Sangin (Helmand Province); 04-Dec-07; Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
	Mark Visholm, 21	Royal Danish Army	n.a.-Denmark
	Konstabel, 5. Spejdereskadron fra Gardehusarregimentet
	Upper Gereshk Valley; 29-Nov-07; Hostile - hostile fire
	Casper Alexander Cramer, 21	Royal Danish Army	n.a.-Denmark
	Konstabel, 5. Spejdereskadron fra Gardehusarregimentet
	Upper Gereshk Valley; 29-Nov-07; Hostile - hostile fire - small arms fire

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WEEKLY CASUALTY LIST: IRAQI CIVILIAN, counted by large event

Counted Civilian Casualties: 226 this week; 271 last week; 307 prior week.
Counted bodies found: 75 this week; 71 last week; 159 prior week.
Wednesday 5 December: 41 dead
Afghanistan:	A suicide bomber killed 12 and wounded dozens in an attack in Kabul. ISAF confirmed it killed Taliban senior commander Mullah Ikhalas in a strike in the Musa Qala district of Helmand province.
Baghdad:	car bomb kills 18, Karrada; 4 bodies.
Baquba:	car bomb kills 6; another civilian dies in separate bombing.
Kirkuk:	car bomb kills 3.
Mosul:	bombs kill 4.
Kut:	gunmen kill sheikh.
Asriya:	roadside bomb kills civilian.
Tuz Khurmato:	gunmen kill policeman.
Muqdadiya:	gunmen kill policeman.
Dhuluiya:	body found.
Tuesday 4 December: 26 dead
Afghanistan:	Twenty-two civilians were wounded after a suicide bomber targeted an ISAF column in Kabul.
Baghdad:	6 bodies.
Jalawla:	suicide bomber kills 8 at police station.
Mosul:	4 killed in separate incidents; 3 bodies.
Mahaweel:	2 bodies.
Monday 3 December: 27 dead
Afghanistan:	A suicide bomber killed four near a construction site. While a vast majority of Afghans support the Coalition and ISAF efforts, support for the Taliban has grown in Helmand and Kandahar provinces. [Roggio]
Baghdad:	3 killed in separate incidents, 1 by US forces; 5 bodies.
Mosul:	gunmen kill 4 policemen; bomb kills another policeman; 2 bodies.
Kirkuk:	Hawija council member is shot dead with his driver; 4 bodies.
Baquba:	violence in surrounding villages kills 3.
Samarra:	headmaster is shot dead.
Basra:	academic is shot dead.
Hashimiya:	gunmen kill policeman.
Sunday 2 December: 22 dead
Baghdad:	policeman is killed in drive-by shooting, Mansour; bomb under politician's car kills driver, Utaifiya; roadside bomb kills 2 policemen, Mansour; 6 bodies.
Al-bu Aziz:	3 women killed after refusing to marry al-Qaeda men.
Ramadi:	suicide bomber kills 4.
Riyadh:	gunmen kill 4 policemen.
Saturday 1 December: 63 dead
Baghdad:	car and roadside bombs kill 5, Shaab, Salman Pak, Rashid; 5 bodies.
Duwaila:	al-Qaeda attack leaves 16 villagers dead, including 3 children.
Mosul:	gunmen kill 2 policemen; 8 bodies.
Lihaib (near Falluja):	mass grave containing 20 bodies found.
Friday 30 November: 17 dead
Baghdad:	3 bodies.
Hibhib:	mortars kill 3.
Kirkuk:	gunmen kill 2.
Baquba:	roadside bomb kills 3.
Iskandariya:	3 killed in al-Qaeda attack.
Dhuluiya:	suicide bomber kills police captain as he is about to arrest him.
Muqdadiya:	man killed by gunmen.
Khalis:	policeman killed in al-Qaeda attack.
Thursday 29 November: 30 dead
Afghanistan:	Four civilians were killed and eight wounded during bombings in Kandahar province.
Baghdad:	roadside bomb kills 1, Shaab; 6 bodies.
Al-Salam:	mortars kill 12.
Okashat:	2 policemen killed in battle with gunmen near Syrian border.
Bamo:	roadside bomb kills policeman.
Tikrit:	gunmen kill Sheikh's son.
Hawija:	gunmen attack mayor's convoy, kill guard.
Shirqat:	car bomb kills 4 policemen.

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WEEKLY CASUALTY LIST: JOURNALISTS IN IRAQ

Name	Date
Circumstances
None counted this week.

src: MNF-I, MNF-A, journalists from icasualties.org; Iraqi Civiilan: iraqbodycount.org; Afghan events from Bill Roggio, other sources