BAGHDAD, Iraq — The U.S. military said two U.S. soldiers were killed today when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb south of Baghdad, bringing the American death toll this month to at least 33, two more than were killed in March. According to an Associated Press count, at least 2,361 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003. The figure includes seven military civilians.
No additional details were provided on today's bombing, and names were being held pending notification of kin.
Yesterday, the military reported five deaths, including three yesterday north of Baghdad. A U.S. statement said the three members of Multinational Division Baghdad died in a roadside bombing, but it did not give a precise location.
Another soldier assigned to the 2/28th Brigade Combat Team died Monday of wounds suffered the day before in fighting in Anbar province west of the capital, the military said. A soldier assigned to the 130th Engineer Brigade was killed Sunday in a roadside bombing near Balad. In Washington yesterday, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and his top military leader on issued their strongest rebuttal to date of recent comments by retired generals criticizing Iraq war planning and calling on Rumsfeld to resign.
In particular, Rumsfeld said he didn't recall retired Lt. Gen. Gregory Newbold raising any objections to the war planning when he was working in the Pentagon for the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
"He never raised an issue publicly or privately when he was here that I know of," said Rumsfeld. "An awful lot of people around here were not shy about giving their views. ... But in terms of why he would come up with this now, I just can't speak to that."
Newbold, in Time magazine, said he was outspoken in his criticism before the war, saying the "zealots' rationale for war made no sense." From 2000 until October 2002, Newbold served as director of operations for the Joint Chiefs. The U.S. invaded Iraq in March 2003.
At least two other retired generals have raised similar concerns in recent weeks about the administration's war policies, including Gen. Anthony Zinni, former U.S. Mideast commander.
Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said military leaders, during dozens of prewar meetings, laid out a number of questions and concerns about whether there were enough troops and resources for the invasion.
In the end, he said, "I was very comfortable with the prewar planning. I am comfortable with the way it was executed. ..."
Asked if the U.S. has the resources to fight the war in Iraq and another major conflict — such as a war in Iran — at the same time, Pace said there are about 2 million U.S. service members who are not in the Gulf region now.
"We have sufficient personnel, weapons, equipment, you name it, to handle any adversary that might come along," he said.
Earlier yesterday, Gen. T. Michael Moseley, Air Force chief of staff, said that even as ground forces begin to leave, the Air Force will be needed in Iraq to carry troops and supplies, to perform surveillance and reconnaissance, and to strike targets.
Meanwhile, the acting parliament speaker said today he will convene the Iraqi legislature next week to push forward the formation of a new government stalled over the issue of who will serve as prime minister. Adnan Pachachi, a Sunni Arab, told a press conference he decided to convene the assembly on Monday because "it's my duty to the Iraqi people
source: http://www.yorkdispatch.com/nationworld/ci_3702471 14apr2006
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