.
To President Obama,

For God’s sake stop it!
Bring our troops home now! And not in caskets. But into the arms of their wives, husbands, partners, mates, children, parents and ours

Other Occupation News

U.S. Afghanistan Occupation Casualties

Pictures: Deaths in Afghanistan: A look at the faces of American lives lost

This list includes fatal U.S. government casualties military and civilian in the Occupation Of Afghanistan. Its totals will usually be slightly less than those in media reports because they are based on Defense Department reports of each casualty’s name and other personal details, which are not released until next of kin are notified. The information is cross-checked with reports by the Associated Press and local news media and periodic updates by the Defense Department.

Total To Date:

Killed: 1974

Wounded: Can not find a reliable source.

Names of the Dead:

Recent Confirmations

Color denotes today’s confirmation

Staff Sgt. Israel P. Nuanes, 38, of Las Cruces, N.M., died May 12, in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained during an enemy attack with an improvised explosive device. Nuanes was assigned to 741st Ordnance Company, Fort Bliss, Texas, part of the 84th Ordnance Battalion, 71st Ordnance Group.

Pfc. Richard L. McNulty III, 22, Rolla, Mo…assigned to the 425th Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska…died May 13, in Bowri Tana, Afghanistan, when the enemy attacked their vehicle with an improvised explosive device.

Sgt. Brian L. Walker, 25, of Lucerne Valley, Calif…assigned to the 425th Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska…died May 13, in Bowri Tana, Afghanistan, when the enemy attacked their vehicle with an improvised explosive device.

Spc. Alex Hernandez III, 21, of Round Rock, Texas, died May 12, in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Hernandez was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 25th Aviation Regiment, 25th Combat Aviation Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, Wheeler Army Airfield, Hawaii.

Sgt. Wade D. Wilson, 22, of Normangee, Texas, died May 11 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

1st Lt. Alejo R. Thompson, 30, of Yuma, Ariz., died May 11 in Bagram, Afghanistan, when enemy forces attacked his unit with small-arms fire. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.

Petty Officer Second Class Jorge Luis Velasquez, 35, of Houston, died as a result of a non-combat related incident in Manama, Bahrain. Velasquez was assigned to Commander, Task Force (CTF) 56 in Bahrain, which conducts maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility.

Pfc. Dustin D. Gross, 19, of Jeffersonville, Ky…assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C…died May 7, in Ghazni province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked their unit with an improvised explosive device.

Spc. Chase S. Marta, 24, of Chico, Calif…assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C…died May 7, in Ghazni province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked their unit with an improvised explosive device.

Sgt. Jacob M. Schwallie, 22, of Clarksville, Tenn…assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C…died May 7, in Ghazni province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked their unit with an improvised explosive device.

Spc. Junot M. L. Cochilus, 34, of Charlotte, N.C…died May 2 in Logar province, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained when insurgents attacked their unit with an improvised explosive device. They were assigned to the 7th Engineer Battalion, 10th Sustainment Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y.

2nd Lt. David E. Rylander, 23, of Stow, Ohio…died May 2 in Logar province, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained when insurgents attacked their unit with an improvised explosive device. They were assigned to the 7th Engineer Battalion, 10th Sustainment Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y.

Staff Sgt. Thomas K. Fogarty, 30, of Alameda, Calif., died May 6, in Ahmad-Kheyl, Afghanistan, from injuries sustained when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion (Airborne), 509th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska.

Sgt. John P. Huling, 25, of West Chester, Ohio, died May 6 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 7th Engineer Support Battalion, 1st Marine Logistics Group, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif. Huling’s death was originally reported by the International Security Assistance Force, which characterized it as the result of gunshot wounds inflicted by an individual wearing an Afghan National Army uniform. This incident is under investigation.

Master Sgt. Gregory L. Childs, 38, Warren, Ark., died May 4, in Kabul, Afghanistan. Childs is assigned to Defense Logistics Agency, Fort Belvoir, Va.

Staff Sgt. Zachary H. Hargrove, 32, of Wichita, Kan., died May 3 in Bagram, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 84th Explosive Ordnance Disposal, 1st Sustainment Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kan.

Capt. Bruce K. Clark, 43, Spencerport, N.Y…Clark was assigned to A Company, Troop Command, William Beaumont Army Medical Center, El Paso, Texas.

Afghanistan Occupation Confirmed U.S Casualties – Since June 1, 2009

DOD Identifies Army Casualties

The Department of Defense announced  the deaths of soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Spc. Edwin C. Wood, 18, of Omaha, Neb. died of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to 1st Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.

Pfc. Payton A. Jones, 19, of Marble Falls, Texas…died,  in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered from small arms fire during an attack on their base. He was  assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.

For God’s sake stop it! Bring our troops home now! And not in caskets. But into the arms of their wives, husbands, partners, mates, children, parents and ours.

Bring em home – Bruce Springsteen

The McGlynn: “We cannot fight wars by polls. If we do that we’re in deep trouble,” Panetta told reporters at a press conference.

Panetta, ten and one-half years! We are already deep in trouble and have been for years. My God, what in the hell is in that brain? of yours?

You’d think a ten-and-a-half year war would be a major issue in a presidential campaign — especially a war going as badly as the one in Afghanistan. And especially in the wake of Sen. Jay Rockefeller publicly urging President Obama to speed up the withdrawal of U.S. troops. Maybe if the administration proposed funding a Planned Parenthood clinic in Kandahar, the war might get the place it deserves in the national conversation.

Our political and media establishments seem to regard being in a constant state of war as simply part of the “new normal” (to go along with over 8 percent unemployment). Things continue to go from bad to worse, yet we continue to be wedded to plans for a gradual withdrawal that will leave troops in Afghanistan until some point in 2014.

But even though our leaders don’t seem to feel any sense of urgency, plenty of others here at home do — indeed, the vast majority does. There are, of course, many issues on which our leaders are out of sync with the country at large (too big to fail, punishing those who caused the economic crisis, continued tax breaks for the rich, etc.), but this one is especially egregious, given the toll it continues to take in terms of lives lost, money squandered, and Afghan hatred of us increased.

According to a recent New York Times/CBS News poll, support for the war has hit a historic low, at 23 percent, with 69 percent saying we should no longer be in Afghanistan. And the sentiment that the war is going badly is one of the few bipartisan things in this campaign: 68 percent of Democrats and 60 percent of Republicans say the war is going somewhat or very badly. What is more, according to a Washington Post/ABC News poll, 60 percent of Americans believe the war has not even been worth fighting.

The situation in Afghanistan is a nightmare.

The surge has not
worked. As we escalated the war, the insurgency fought harder and grew in
numbers. Western troops are seen as foreign occupiers in the Afghan homeland,
and now have murdered 16 civilians, including little children, in the middle of
the night in Kandahar province. The surge has produced a record number of
coalition and Afghan deaths, injuries and lost limbs. The surge has not stopped
the momentum of the insurgency; just last year there were over 16,000 IED
attacks against U.S. troops – a record number.  And the cost of an average IED
is just $30.Bring our troops home.  Call your
member of Congress toll-free at 877-429-0678 or click
here to send
an e-mail.Afghan outrage over Koran burnings and murders is yet another vivid
reminder of what has gone very wrong in Afghanistan.  American troops do not
speak Afghan languages and are not familiar with Afghan culture.  They are not
able to build Afghanistan – that must be done by Afghans, and they can begin as
soon as U.S. troops withdraw.  As of March 4, 25% of 2012 coalition troop deaths
have come at the hands of Afghan security forces – the very people we are
supposedly there to help.

Lt. Col. Daniel
Davis, a highly respected military officer, who recently returned from
Afghanistan, has written a declassified report detailing the actual state of
affairs in Afghanistan.   He states:  “Senior ranking U.S. military
leaders have so distorted the truth when communicating with the U.S. Congress
and the American people in regards to conditions on the ground in Afghanistan
that the truth has become unrecognizable.  This deception has damaged America’s
credibility among both our allies and enemies, severely limiting our ability to
reach a political solution to the war in Afghanistan.”

This insanity must
end, and quickly.  Going into our 11^th year of war, we know that more
time, money, and resources will not change the realities in Afghanistan.

Bring our troops home now.  Call
your member of Congress toll-free at 877-429-0678 or click
here to send
an e-mail.

Along with Lt. Col.
Davis, we call on the House and Senate Armed Services Committees to conduct an
investigation and public hearings into the facts about Afghanistan calling the
senior and former generals referred to in Davis’ report to provide their version
of events under oath.

Contact your Member
of Congress to co-sponsor H.780, Barbara Lee’s bill, which limits funding for
the Afghanistan war to providing for the safe and orderly withdrawal from
Afghanistan of all members of the Armed Forces and Department of Defense
contractor personnel who are in Afghanistan.   Read
the text of the bill and see the list of cosponsors.

Click
here to send
an e-mail to your
Member of Congress asking him or her to support H.780 or call their office
toll-free at 877-429-0678.  (Thanks to Friends Committee on National Legislation
for providing the toll-free number!)  Please report back results to SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Afghanistan is a nightmare.", url: "http://themcglynn.com/2012/03/afghanistan-is-a-nightmare" });