Nine American military personnel were killed in a car bombing in Diyala province in Iraq.

BAGHDAD — A homicide car bomber struck a patrol base northeast of Baghdad on Monday, killing nine U.S. soldiers and wounding 20 in one of the deadliest attacks on American ground forces since the war started more than four years ago.

An Iraqi civilian also was wounded in the attack on Task Force Lightning soldiers in Diyala province, a volatile area that has been the site of fierce fighting involving U.S. and Iraqi troops, Sunni insurgents and Shiite militias.

At least 48 Iraqis were killed in seven other bombings, violence that has persisted despite a nearly 10-week-old U.S.-Iraqi security crackdown aimed at pacifying Baghdad.

Of the 20 wounded in the attack on the patrol base, 15 soldiers were treated and returned to duty while five others and the Iraqi were evacuated to a medical facility for further care, the military said.

It was the second bold attack against a U.S. base north of Baghdad in just over two months and was notable for its use of a homicide car bomber. Militants have mostly used hit-and-run ambushes, roadside bombs or mortars on U.S. troops and stayed away from direct assaults on fortified military compounds to avoid U.S. firepower.

American troops are facing increasing danger as they step up their presence in outposts and police stations in the Baghdad area as part of the security crackdown to which President Bush has committed an extra 30,000 troops.

Sunni militants are believed to have withdrawn to surrounding areas such as Diyala province where they have safe haven. The U.S. command also deployed an extra 700 soldiers to the area last month.

A U.S. soldier also was killed Monday in a roadside bombing in Muqdadiyah, about 60 miles north of Baghdad, a predominantly Shiite area that also is in Diyala, the military said in an earlier statement. A British soldier was shot to death while on patrol in the southern city of Basra, officials said.

The deaths raised to 85 the number of U.S. service members who died have in Iraq in April, making it the deadliest month for American troops since December, when 112 died.

I don’t want one more drop of American blood shed over this war, but I have such strong feelings that if we don’t contain them there and walk away it will embolden the Islamofascists to chase us all over the world to get the world’s strongest and best nation and military.

The President needs to make it crystal clear to al-Maliki there are limits beyond which we will not go and Maliki has to understand his role is to see to it his own forces take up the slack and start defending their own country.

We, as a nation, need to speak with one voice to the public and not have every Congresscritter or Senator standing on a soapbox disagreeing with our policy in public daily.

Take those discussions behind closed doors to preserve even a semblance of unity in our country if that is still possible.

Words spoken by our political leaders are read all over the world and that includes in Islamic countries where terrorists are bred.

Why can’t we stop politicizing this war and just do the right thing for the country? I’m weary of the fighting in Washington and I worry how it affects our military on the frontlines.

Will they feel they have died in vain if they die, or will they still think they have served our country? The military are the ones who are taking all the hits and it’s time to make them feel a little good about the jobs they are doing.

I will make no comment but instead send you to the link with the email from Marine Corporal Tyler Rock.

Today, from Corporal Tyler Rock in an outpost in downtown Ramadi. His first sentence is in response to an email from me:

“yeah i know how you feel. its going to be very weird leaving this place and going back to america. weve been here for almost an entire year and have lived in the center of it the whole time. its crazy that when we got here it was so hectic and now its calmed down so much. so it was awesome to be able to see that turn out.

yeah news worth reporting…. well ramadi was once dubbed by everyone as the worst city in the world. but we have done such a great job here that all the families in the area have worked with us on driving out the insurgency and that we work directly with the IA and the IP’s. the city has been cleaned up so well that the IP’s do most of the patrols now and we go out with them to hand out candy and toys to the children. you can tell that the people want us here to protect them from the thugs and gangs (insurgents). granted they would rather have peace and quit but they know that if we arent here they will be thrown around by the insurgents. a good example is this one mission we did. long story short we got blown up in multiple buildings and had to run into a families house. i spent my christmas holidays covered in ash from the mortar fire and the IED’s, sleeping under a dirty rug i found in the house. everyone was sleeping way to close for comfort just to stay warm. anyways. a family was there and they obviously didnt want us there. atleast at first. the daughters were very sick so our corpsman treated them. they didnt have electricity so we got them a generator for power, they were cold so we got them gas heaters, we got them food and water and then we gave them $500. by the end of the week long visit with them we were drinking tea with them. when we left we cleaned their house better than it was when we got there. i even have pictures with the family. they told us that they liked marines and they would help us as much as they could and they gave us some information on the insurgents in the area. we ended up catching a HUGE target down the road from there house because of it.

Now follow the link and read the rest of the email from this Marine.

As Congress continues its’ preening and posturing, General Petraeus forwards the following letter:

Letter From Gen. Petraeus to Families of Deployed Soldiers
Apr 16, 2007
BY Gen. David H. Petraeus

Gen. David H. Petraeus, MNF-I commander Photo by Army
The following is a letter to families of Soldiers serving in Multinational Force-Iraq from Gen. David H. Petraeus, MNF-I commander.

To the families of Soldiers serving in Multinational Force-Iraq:

On April 11, Secretary of Defense Gates announced that the tour of duty for Soldiers serving in Iraq would be extended from 12 to 15 months. This was tough news, I know, for those on the home front - and also tough, of course, for those on the ground here in Iraq. This was particularly difficult news, as a leak of this action meant that the Army was unable to notify you before the extension was reported by the press.

Needless to say, Lt. Gen. Odierno and I would not have requested maintenance of the surge force levels in Iraq - the request which led to the tour extensions - if we did not view the additional forces as being critical to the ability of Multinational Force-Iraq to accomplish its mission. That mission - to help Iraq improve the level of security for its population - is obviously critical to the effort to give Iraq’s leaders an opportunity to resolve the difficult political issues that can enable long-term solutions to Iraq’s problems.

I want to assure you that I understand - and appreciate deeply - the sacrifices that you and your Soldiers have made and will continue to make in the future. My family and I understand the challenge of long deployments. In fact, this tour of duty in Iraq is my fourth year-or-longer deployment since 2001. We know what you and your loved ones have gone through in recent years, and we - and all Americans - are grateful to you. You, too, have been “soldiering” along with your favorite trooper.

Thank you for your sacrifice, and thank you for your tireless support of your Soldier. You truly are America’s unsung heroes. Sincerely,

David H. Petraeus
General, United States Army
Commanding

One sentence speaks volumes and needs no further comment: ” This was particularly difficult news, as a leak of this action meant that the Army was unable to notify you before the extension was reported by the press.”

Thank you General for remembering that a soldier does not serve alone. It would do well for Congress to remember the same.

No matter what your political allegiances, please read this:

April 11, 2007

Honorable Robert C. Byrd
Chairman
Committee on Appropriations
United States Senate
Room S-131 Capitol
Washington, D.C. 20510-6025

Dear Mr. Chairman:

At recent hearings before the Congress, the latest on March 29 before the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, General Pace and I have been asked about the impact that delaying enactment of the supplemental could have on the Department of Defense operations. Considering the importance of this issue to your ongoing deliberations, I want to share our response with you as well as provide additional context.

On September, 2006, the Congress approved the Fiscal Year 2007 Department of Defense base budget and an additional $70 billion for war-related costs. At that time, Department of Defense officials stressed that the $70 billion would be depleted by mid-April or early May of this year and, therefore, a Fiscal Year 2007 Spring Supplemental would be necessary in that timeframe.

As you will recall, last year the Fiscal Year 2006 Spring Supplemental was late and resulted in significant disruption to Army quality of life, training and maintenance accounts. Faced with this delay, the Army began in May to curtail supply orders; cancel non-essential travel, training and conferences; suspend shipments of goods not associated with support to deployed forces; release temporary civilian employees; and freeze new civilian hiring and awarding of new contracts.

While some have suggested that the Army can operate this year until July with existing resources and authorities, in reality there are significant limits, costs and disruptions associated with the budgetary maneuvers necessary to continue Army operations, as we saw last year. The technical and limited ability of the Department to transfer funds should not create a sense of complacency regarding the pressing need for the supplemental.

The overall size of the Department of Defense budget is considerable in the aggregate. However, the Department’s ability to move money between accounts to address emergent problems is limited by the Congress. The Department operates under an annual cap limiting the amount of funds that can be transferred between appropriations accounts. For fiscal year 2007, the Department’s transfer authority is capped at $7.5 billion, of which $1.7 billion has already been proposed, leaving the Department with $5.6 billion in transfer authority for the remainder of fiscal year 2007.

Given the normal transfers required during any fiscal year, this limitation in transfer authority makes it extremely difficult for the Department to adjust to developing needs. Further, under agreed upon reprogramming procedures, any one of the four congressional defense committees can effectively block a proposed reprogramming.

There is an added complication. This year the Department has experienced increases war-related expenditures. A greater number of forces are deployed and the operational tempo of those forces is higher than projected when the $70 billion war supplemental was approved last fall. Spending rates are higher and, therefore, the impact of a delayed Spring Supplemental is occurring earlier and is greater in magnitude.

Consequently, actions similar to last year are already being initiated by the Army and will accelerate. Specifically, the Army will soon begin to take the following actions:

• Reducing Army quality of life initiatives including the routine upgrade of barracks and other facilities;

• Reducing the repair and maintenance of equipment necessary for deployment training;

• Curtailing the training of Army Guard and Reserve units within the United States, reducing their readiness levels.

The actions of the Department are in consonance with the findings of the March 28, 2007 Congressional Research Service report. That report acknowledges the challenges facing the Army budget and states, “the Amy may very well decide that it must slow down its non-war related operations before money would run out by, for example, limiting the facility maintenance and repairs, delaying equipment overhauls, restricting travel and meetings, and perhaps, slowing down training.”

In addition, the Department shortly will be presenting to the Congress a $1.6 billion reprogramming request that proposes to shift $0.8 billion from both the Navy and Air Force military personnel accounts to the Army Operation and Maintenance accounts.

If supplemental funding is not received by mid-May, the Army will have to consider further actions, to include:

• Reducing the pace of equipment overhaul work at Army depots which will likely exacerbate the equipment availability problems facing stateside units;

• Curtailing training rotations for Brigade Combat Teams currently scheduled for overseas deployment. Such a step would likely require the further extension of currently deployed forces until their replacements were judged ready for deployment.

• Delaying acceleration of additional modularized Army brigades necessary to expand the Army unit rotational pool and reduce the stress on existing units.

We can – and I am certain, will – have a constructive dialogue about the funding options facing the Department in the weeks to come. However, it is a simple fact of life that if the Fiscal Year 2007 supplemental legislation is not enacted soon, the Army faces a real and serious funding problem that will require increasingly disruptive and costly measures to be initiated – measures that will, inevitably, negatively impact readiness and Army personnel and their families.

As always, thank you for your steadfast support to our men and women in uniform, and we stand ready to provide you additional information to assist you in your deliberations.

Sincerely,

Robert M. Gates

It is so vitally important that no matter what our opinion of the Current Administration or the policies set forth that we see that our courageous United States Military and their families are amply provided for.

Read more here.

I received this in my email a few minutes ago from Caleb, who wrote a post about Gen. Petraeus the other day, and I am posting it in its entirety.

From Ramadi, Iraq

I wanted to share an article my son Eddie sent me from Iraq. I was not going to send it out through the usual means; I’m looking to have this published somehow. I just felt after reading it again this morning that I wanted people to begin reading it and begin/continue to pray for our brave men and women in uniform.

I’m not sure how many letters or articles you’ve ever read from the genre of “News from the Front,” but this is one of the best I’ve ever read, including all of America’s wars. As I was reading this, I forgot that it was my son who had written it. My emotions range from great pride to great sorrow, knowing that my little boy (22 years old) has become this man.

He is my hero. Thank all of you for your prayers for him; he needs them now more than ever. God bless.
David Jeffers
**************************************************************

Hope Rides Alone
By Eddie Jeffers

I stare out into the darkness from my post, and I watch the city burn to the ground. I smell the familiar smells, I walk through the familiar rubble, and I look at the frightened faces that watch me pass down the streets of their neighborhoods. My nerves hardly rest; my hands are steady on a device that has been given to me from my government for the purpose of taking the lives of others.

I sweat, and I am tired. My back aches from the loads I carry. Young American boys look to me to direct them in a manner that will someday allow them to see their families again…and yet, I too, am just a boy….my age not but a few years more than that of the ones I lead. I am stressed, I am scared, and I am paranoid…because death is everywhere. It waits for me, it calls to me from around street corners and windows, and it is always there.

There are the demons that follow me, and tempt me into thoughts and actions that are not my own…but that are necessary for survival. I’ve made compromises with my humanity. And I am not alone in this. Miles from me are my brethren in this world, who walk in the same streets…who feel the same things, whether they admit to it or not.

And to think, I volunteered for this…

And I am ignorant to the rest of the world…or so I thought.

But even thousands of miles away, in Ramadi, Iraq, the cries and screams and complaints of the ungrateful reach me. In a year, I will be thrust back into society from a life and mentality that doesn’t fit your average man. And then, I will be alone. And then, I will walk down the streets of America, and see the yellow ribbon stickers on the cars of the same people who compare our President to Hitler.

I will watch the television and watch the Cindy Sheehans, and the Al Frankens, and the rest of the ignorant sheep of America spout off their mouths about a subject they know nothing about. It is their right, however, and it is a right that is defended by hundreds of thousands of boys and girls scattered
across the world, far from home. I use the word boys and girls, because that’s what they are. In the Army, the average age of the infantryman is nineteen years old. The average rank of soldiers killed in action is Private First Class.

People like Cindy Sheehan are ignorant. Not just to this war, but to the results of their idiotic ramblings, or at least I hope they are. They don’t realize its effects on this war. In this war, there are no Geneva Conventions, no cease fires. Medics and Chaplains are not spared from the enemy’s brutality because it’s against the rules. I can only imagine the horrors a military Chaplain would experience at the hands of the enemy. The enemy slinks in the shadows and fights a coward’s war against us. It is effective though, as many men and women have died since the start of this war. And the memory of their service to America is tainted by the inconsiderate remarks on our nation’s news outlets. And every day, the enemy changes…only now, the enemy is becoming something new. The enemy is transitioning from the Muslim extremists to Americans. The enemy is becoming the very people whom we defend with our lives. And they do not realize it. But in denouncing our actions, denouncing our leaders, denouncing the war we live and fight,
they are isolating the military from society…and they are becoming our enemy.

Democrats and peace activists like to toss the word “quagmire” around and compare this war to Vietnam. In a way they are right, this war is becoming like Vietnam. Not the actual war, but in the isolation of country and military. America is not a nation at war; they are a nation with its military at war. Like it or not, we are here, some of us for our second, or third times; some even for their fourth and so on. Americans are so concerned now with politics, that it is interfering with our war.

Terrorists cut the heads off of American citizens on the internet…and there is no outrage, but an American soldier kills an Iraqi in the midst of battle, and there are investigations, and sometimes soldiers are even jailed…for doing their job.

It is absolutely sickening to me to think our country has come to this. Why are we so obsessed with the bad news? Why will people stop at nothing to be against this war, no matter how much evidence of the good we’ve done is thrown in their face? When is the last time CNN or MSNBC or CBS reported the opening of schools and hospitals in Iraq? Or the leaders of terror cells being detained or killed? It’s all happening, but people will not let up their hatred of Bush. They will ignore the good news, because it just might show people that Bush was right.

America has lost its will to fight. It has lost its will to defend what is right and just in the world. The crazy thing of it all is that the American people have not even been asked to sacrifice a single thing. It’s not like World War Two, where people rationed food, and turned in cars to be made into metal for tanks. The American people have not been asked to sacrifice anything. Unless you are in the military or the family member of a servicemember, its life as usual…the war doesn’t affect you.

But it affects us. And when it is over, and the troops come home, and they try to piece together what’s left of them after their service…where will the detractors be then? Where will the Cindy Sheehans be to comfort and talk to soldiers and help them sort out the last couple years of their lives, most of which have been spent dodging death and wading through the deaths of their friends? They will be where they always are, somewhere far away, where the horrors of the world can’t touch them. Somewhere where they can complain about things they will never experience in their lifetime; things that the young men and women of America have willingly taken upon their shoulders.

We are the hope of the Iraqi people. They want what everyone else wants in life: safety, security, somewhere to call home. They want a country that is safe to raise their children in. Not a place where their children will be abducted, raped, and murdered if they do not comply with the terrorists demands. They want to live on, rebuild and prosper. And America has given them the opportunity, but only if we stay true to the cause, and see it to its end. But the country must unite in this endeavor…we cannot place the burden on our military alone. We must all stand up and fight, whether in uniform or not. And supporting us is more than sticking yellow ribbon stickers on your cars. It’s supporting our President, our troops and our cause.

Right now, the burden is all on the American soldiers. Right now, hope rides alone. But it can change, it must change. Because there is only failureand darkness ahead for us as a country, as a people, if it doesn’t.

Let’s stop all the political nonsense, let’s stop all the bickering, let’s stop all the bad news, and let’s stand and fight!

Isn’t that what America is about anyway?

From www.whitehouse.gov:

President George W. Bush discusses the emergency supplemental bill with the press Tuesday, April 3, 2007, in the Rose Garden. “Democrat leaders in Congress seem more interested in fighting political battles in Washington than in providing our troops what they need to fight the battles in Iraq,” said the President. “If Democrat leaders in Congress are bent on making a political statement, then they need to send me this unacceptable bill as quickly as possible when they come back. I’ll veto it, and then Congress can get down to the business of funding our troops without strings and without delay.”

President Bush on Tuesday said, ” In a time of war, it’s irresponsible for the… Democratic leadership in Congress to delay for months on end while our troops in combat are waiting for the funds. The bottom line is this: Congress’s failure to fund our troops on the front lines will mean that some of our military families could wait longer for their loved ones to return from the front lines. And others could see their loved ones headed back to the war sooner than they need to. That is unacceptable to me, and I believe it is unacceptable to the American people.”

Hat Tip: The Anchoress and My Pet Jawa

I am humbled.

Hat Tip: Sir Randall