Soldier killed, two missing from 101st (soldiers named)

[guruoo]

See original thread, posted @1AM in GD:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=2685912&mesg_id=2685912

My local Clarksville TN (Ft. Campbell) paper
posted this as 'breaking news'(1am):
http://www.theleafchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060619/NEWS01/606190304/1002

Soldier killed, two missing from 101st
Screaming Eagles manned checkpoint where kidnappings happened

One soldier who was killed and two others kidnapped at a checkpoint in Yusufiyah, Iraq, Friday belonged to the 101st Airborne Division’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team.

Spc. David J. Babineau, 25, of Springfield, Mass., was killed after their traffic control checkpoint came under enemy attack, said Fort Campbell Public Affairs spokesman John Minton.

The two missing soldiers are Pfc. Kristian Menchaca, 23, of Houston, Texas, and Pfc. Thomas L. Tucker, 25, of Madras, Ore. All infantrymen were assigned to Company B, 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment. U.S. troops, backed by helicopters and warplanes, fanned out across the “Triangle of Death” south of Baghdad searching for the missing servicemen. At least four raids had been carried out, but the captives were not found, the military said.
White House spokesman Tony Snow said he had no new information about the search and could not confirm reports the two men were abducted.
“We’re still trying to ascertain their whereabouts,” he told CNN’s “Late Edition.” “Obviously, there is a vigorous effort to try to locate them and to bring them back safely.”

For more details, check back with www.theleafchronicle.com or read Monday's The Leaf-Chronicle.

— Chantal Escoto and The Associated Press

[auburngrad82]

1. I'm pretty sure Zarqawi did it

Or to be more precise, "Musab's dad, that guy from Zarqawi".



Liberal bumper stickers

[SpiralHawk]

6. Are you sure it wasn't the bin Laden clan?

These Oil Cronies and infamous Evildoers have a "special" relationship with the Bush clan and the republicons , and so probably had inside information.

[saigon68]

20. Yes they do

[Eugene]

2. AP: 7 Wounded During Hunt for Missing Soldiers

7 Wounded During Hunt for Missing Soldiers


Monday June 19, 2006 11:46 AM

AP Photo BAG109

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - The U.S. military said Monday that seven American troops
have been wounded, three insurgents have been killed and 34 detained during an
intensive search for two missing American soldiers.

Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, a spokesman for U.S. forces in Iraq, said fighter
jets, unmanned aerial vehicles and dive teams had been deployed to find the two men.
The men went missing Friday during an attack on their checkpoint in the volatile
Sunni area south of Baghdad that left one of their comrades dead.

<snip>

Caldwell said more than 8,000 U.S. and Iraqi troops were participating in the search.

"While searching for our soldiers, we have engaged in a number of significant
actions against the anti-Iraqi forces," he said, adding that three insurgents had
been killed and 34 taken into custody.

<snip>

Full article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-5896352,00.html

[Dhalgren]

29. Are they trying to spin it that the IRAQI insurgents are actually

"anti-Iraqi forces"???!! My gods, these assholes know no bounds! They are reaping what they have sown. This is going to be too ugly to even contemplate. There are no gods...

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

3. I worry how these POWs will be treated

of course Rove would say that any incorrect treatment is "savage" and "to be expected"--and not say a thing about how we brought it on with our ignoring of the Geneva Conventions. I just hope and pray that their captors realize what a great PR coup it would be if they do, indeed, follow the Conventions.

[Stella_Artois]

4. Brought it on ?

I may be wide of the mark here, but i don't think people who hack peoples heads off for the camera, and murder people for selling ice were waiting for the US to do anything before acting like they do.

[Amonester]

7. Um... I wonder why these people who hack peoples heads off...

for the camera, and murder people for selling ice were not doing it before when that brutal dictator Saddam Hussein was ruling in Iraq?

Then all of a sudden, once that brutal dictator is gone (and replaced by more brutal, more destructive dictator$) they started doing it. Coincidence?

[Spinoza]

31. Because Saddam

(and his gruesome sons) was doing it for them and on a scale they couldn't begin to match.

[tanyev]

8. And of course there would be absolutely no precedent if photos of

these soldiers show up where they are forced to pose nude in sexually suggestive poses, or with women's underwear on their head, or with dogs going after them, or with electric wires attached to their bodies.

[Bacchus39]

15. that would be preferable to getting your head cut off

don't you think?

[tanyev]

47. There were also detainees who died as a result of "interrogations".

[Bacchus39]

48. yes I know, yet it doesn't excuse the terrorists brutality

either.

[tanyev]

49. Not excusing them, just pointing out that the moral high ground we are

standing on is very shaky indeed.

[Igel]

52. Then you have a precedent for behavior.

As it is, Abu Ghraib, seen simply just as abuse, has its precedent in insurgent behavior.

However, nobody's rushing to seek justification for the soldiers, or even understanding. Abu Ghraib's precedent is more likely behavior in US jails, in any event, so the justification is uncalled for.

But, by the same token, the insurgents' atrocities are home grown. Sadly, we are not to blame for the details of what bad things others do. It would make life much simpler. At best, 'our' responsibility is removing restraints.

[gator_in_Ontario]

12. My favorite

:beer:
STELLLLLLLAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!! lol

[saigon68]

21. Explain this

I GUESS BEATING THEM TO DEATH IS OK ?

[lectrobyte]

50. Well, considering we invaded a sovereign country to create this chaos

where head-chopping and ice-seller-murdering could occur, then I'd have to say, we brought it on.

[Bacchus39]

17. you mean like visits from the Red Cross and receiving mail

do you really think that is going to happen?

[TAPat]

5. Wow - they have names and families and

everything! I thought they were just ########## - or, in this case, "fractions" in the words of a fine DUer yesterday... :(
Godspeed to them :patriot:

[Caoimhe]

30. Yes and one is from my hometown

The media has been crawling all over the place and there are cop cars in front of the family home to keep people out.

I don't know Tommy Tucker but in this little Central Oregon town of 5,000---(Madras - it's pronounced mad riss) this hits home to every one of us. I hope he is alright and is found safe. His family and the family of the other missing soldier are in my thoughts and prayers.

[DemReadingDU]

9. Al-Qaida-linked Web site claims abduction of two GIs in Iraq

just now as a headline on MSNBC.com

[rocktivity]

54. Translations notwithstanding, I'm pretty sure they words they used were

"Taken prisoner."

:(
rocknation

[LizW]

10. What a horror for the families. n/t

[TheCowsCameHome]

11. What will Bush do if their captors trot them out and make demands?

I fear for these guys. This could get very ugly before it's finished.

Thanks George. You've really created a monster.

[Eugene]

13. AP: Group Claims It Kidnapped U.S. Soldiers

Group Claims It Kidnapped U.S. Soldiers


Monday June 19, 2006 2:01 PM

AP Photo LON802

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - An umbrella group that includes al-Qaida in Iraq claimed
in a Web statement Monday that it had kidnapped two U.S. soldiers reported
missing south of Baghdad. There was no immediate confirmation that the statement
was credible, although it appeared on a Web site often used by al-Qaida-linked
groups.

U.S. officials have said they were trying to confirm whether the missing soldiers
were kidnapped.

"Your brothers in the military wing of the Mujahedeen Shura Council kidnapped the
two American soldiers near Youssifiya," the group said in a statement posted on an
Islamic Web site.

The Web site did not name the soldiers.

<snip>

Full article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-5896560,00.html

[Mr. Mojo Risin]

14. This is why the U.S. should never torture

This could get ugly. All in their twenties. Shame.

[Bacchus39]

16. yeah, like it makes any difference to the insurgency

n/t

[Lars39]

18. So lovely to see torture apologia this early in the morning.

[Bacchus39]

19. who is apologizing for torture?

you are naive. the insurgency doesn't give a damn about the Geneva Convention. Are they a signatory? I think not.

[saigon68]

22. Neither do the Bush Criminals and their lackey's

[Bacchus39]

23. no kidding

but the reason that the insurgency cuts peoples' heads off and blows up people has nothing to do with the Geneva Convention.

[saigon68]

24. You are Correct

There is a crotch kicking, eyebrow biting, religious civil war, going on there

ANYTHING GOES (apparently)

[Bacchus39]

25. yes, you are correct. We should have never been there in

the first place.

[truth2power]

28. Thanks for posting these pics, Saigon...

It's good that some DUers can access them when needed.

I sincerely hope that the soldiers are found, alive. If they are treated cruelly, however, we'll have no excuse for being outraged, because the Bush thugs have modeled that behavior.

Too bad the Geneva Conventions are so "quaint".

[Name removed]

26. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[philosophie_en_rose]

56. Abu Ghraib doesn't give the insurgency warm fuzzies either.

If the United States treated detainees (or hell, anyone) with respect, it may not prevent insurgents from kidnapping or using captives. However, it may provide just a little less motivation to twist the knife, figuratively speaking.

[951-Riverside]

27. Bush: Stay the course or the soldiers gets it!

or *snip* *chop* *hack* *hack* Bush: See what happens when we don't stay the course!

Either way he's going to be rubbing it in our faces, stupid jerk.

[ECH1969]

32. Al Qaeda says has abducted two US soldiers

Al Qaeda vowed to hit back after its leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, was killed in a U.S. air strike on June 7.

A group linked to Iraq's al Qaeda said on Monday it had abducted two U.S. soldiers south of Baghdad, according to a statement posted on the Internet. "Your brothers in the military wing of the Mujahideen Shura Council kidnapped two American soldiers near Yusufiya," the Sunni Arab group said. "We will provide you with more details about the incident in the next coming days."

The U.S. military said it was taking the statement seriously.

"We don't have any proof whether it is true or not but the statement is being taken seriously. We will never leave them out there," said Lieutenant Michelle Lunato, a military spokeswoman.

http://www.metronews.ca/reuters_international.asp?id=156381

[bullimiami]

33. were at war with al qaeda i thought? or has the us been kidnapping

people all over the world? oh and torturing them and holding them prisoner.

[daleo]

39. Umbrella group linked to Al-Qaeda

Which could mean almost anything.

[Barrett808]

34. Group claims it kidnapped U.S. soldiers

Group claims it kidnapped U.S. soldiers
By SAMEER N. YACOUB, Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD, Iraq - An umbrella group linked to al-Qaida in Iraq claimed Monday that it had kidnapped two American soldiers reported missing south of Baghdad, where 8,000 Iraqi and U.S. troops were conducting a massive search.

The group, called the Mujahedeen Shura Council, also claimed it had kidnapped four Russian diplomats and killed a fifth in Baghdad on June 3.

The message, which could not be authenticated, appeared on an Islamic Web site known for publishing messages from insurgent groups in Iraq. U.S. officials have said they were trying to confirm whether the two soldiers, who disappeared Friday evening following an insurgent attack that also killed a U.S. soldier, were kidnapped.

During the search for the missing Americans, U.S. spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell also said the military killed three suspected insurgents and detained 34 others in fighting that wounded seven U.S. servicemen.

The Web posting said: "Your brothers in the military wing of the Mujahedeen Shura Council kidnapped the two American soldiers near Youssifiya." It did not identify the soldiers.


(more)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060619/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq

[Veronica.Franco]

35. Thomas Tucker pictured here ...

http://www.ktvz.com/category.cfm?catID=22&nav=home

[bigscott]

36. this will be bad

if they were captured, do you think videotaped beheading as payback for Zarqawi (sp)??? Man, we need to bring these men (and women) home NOW. Call it cutting and running, but I believe these 2502 killed had a lot more to contribute to this world than to fight and die in *'s war for lies.

[Veronica.Franco]

43. Unfortunately, what WE think means little ...

The neo-cons went into this "war" with a number that they considered "acceptable losses" ... warmongers have ways of projecting casualties and I'm guessing 10% is their number ... sick, sad, and predictable ... they want to "win" at any cost ...

Remember, Vietnam? ... we are no were near those losses ... yet ...

[Up2Late]

37. Al Qaeda says has abducted two US soldiers (Reuters)

(Sorry, it just pisses me off how AP panders to the U.S. Government with their headlines and stories.)

Al Qaeda says has abducted two US soldiers

Mon Jun 19, 2006 10:57 AM ET

By Michael Georgy and Ibon Villelabeitia

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A group linked to Iraq's al Qaeda said on Monday it had abducted two U.S. soldiers south of Baghdad, according to a statement posted on the Internet.

"Your brothers in the military wing of the Mujahideen Shura Council kidnapped two American soldiers near Yusufiya," the Sunni Arab group said. "We will provide you with more details about the incident in the next coming days." The U.S. military said it was taking the statement seriously.

"We don't have any proof whether it is true or not but the statement is being taken seriously. We will never leave them out there," said Lieutenant Michelle Lunato, a military spokeswoman.

In Baghdad's fortified Green Zone, Saddam Hussein, whose loyalists make up much of the Sunni insurgency, listened to the chief prosecutor in his trial demand that he be sentenced to death for the killing of 148 Shi'ites in the 1980s.

(more at link)

<http://go.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=12572778&src=rss/topNews>

[Norquist Nemesis]

38. Quite different from the OP headline

"An umbrella group linked to al-Qaida in Iraq" vs. al-Queda vows revenge

I also heard on the news that al-Queda planned a cyanide attack on the New York subways but called it off a few days before it was to happen.

hmmmmm...I'm guessing that we're going to be hearing a string of Red Alerts increasing in numbers between now and November.

[ECH1969]

41. Here is a little history of the group for those that don't know

The Mujahideen Shura Council is a al-Qaeda lead umbrella group of different Sunni Islamic extremist groups in Iraq led by al-Qaeda that Zarqawi set up in January to deflect criticism that the al-Qaeda was a foreign led group doing its own thing in the insurgency. The Mujahideen Shura Council is controlled by al-Qaeda.

[Submariner]

40. With Bush's opting out of the Geneva Convention

and opting to torture Arabs, our Generals have now lost the moral authority they once had to say to the enemy, "Treat the POWs well, as we would treat yours."

Our guys are screwed because of the Coward-in-Chief.

[jazzjunkysue]

42. Well said, true, tragic, America can (should) do better.

[Bacchus39]

45. is Al Qaeda a signatory to the Geneva convention?

sorry, but I don't think it means much to terrorists.

[tabasco]

51. You are exactly right.

That is why our military leadership has ALWAYS supported entering and obeying international conventions on the treatment of prisoners.

IT IS A SAFEGUARD TO OUR TROOPS.

That is - up until the time of Rummy The Dummy and the Pentagon Purges.

Saying that "terrorists don't obey laws" is about as lame an argument as I've ever heard. First of all, the overwhelming majority of the Iraqi insurgency is not terrorists. Most are fighting the US because we are a foreign country with an army on their soil, and we don't seem to be in a hurry to leave. Second, we do not allow the criminal acts of others to establish OUR code of conduct.

Although treating prisoners well does not guarantee the good treatment of our own troops, one thing is certain - -> having a policy of allowing and carrying out torture and mistreatment of our own prisoners is definitely incentive for our enemies to do the same to our troops.

[Roland99]

44. Al Qaeda! Al Qaeda! Al Qaeda! Al Qaeda! .. ARGH! Give it a REST!!!

so SICK of hearing that BS term used for EVERYTHING.

[rocktivity]

55. I seriously doubt Al Qaeda used the word "kidnapped"

It was probably closer to "captured." On the other hand, I also seriously doubt that Zarqawi was an Al Qeada "leader."

As for their posting statements on the Internet, why haven't Bush intelligence wizards been able to track anyone down that way?

:headbang:
rocknation

[VegasWolf]

46. Picture of the captured soldier soon to be beheaded I'm afraid ...

http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/Two_photographs_of_kidnapped_soldier_are_0619.html

[Massachusetts]

53. Bushco results

Bushco chickens are coming home to roost............


May OUR Troops return safe and sound!

[leftchick]

57. Military:7 Wounded During Search for Ft. Campbell Soldiers Missing in Iraq

http://www.volunteertv.com/Global/story.asp?S=5047445


Baghdad, Iraq (AP) - The US military said today that seven American troops have been wounded, three insurgents have been killed and 34 detained during an intensive search for two missing American soldiers.


Major General William Caldwell, a spokesman for US forces in Iraq, said fighter jets, unmanned aerial vehicles and dive teams had been deployed to find the two Fort Campbell soldiers.


The Defense Department identified the missing men as 23-year-old Private Kristian Menchaca of Houston, Texas and 25-year-old Private Thomas Tucker of Madras, Oregon.


It said 25-year-old Specialist David J. Babineau of Springfield, Massachusetts was killed in the attack. The three were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Kentucky

[rocktivity]

58. Missing? MISSING? THEY WERE CAPTURED! THEY WERE TAKEN PRISONER!

What's with all this "kidnapping, abduction, missing" stuff--they're PRISONERS OF WAR?

:headbang:
rocknation

[leftchick]

61. Ssssshhhhh!

musn't mess with the sleeping ameriKan mind!

[1620rock]

59. Hmm, the Geneva convention is a 'quaint document'..this one is....

...is going to come back to bite them in the ass. We torture and kill their POW's wonder what they will do to ours? :scared:

[Warren Stupidity]

60. Captured. Not missing.

I really do not think that the DOD has filed a missing persons report with the local Iraqi police.

[ismnotwasm]

62. I just want them to be found alive and well

I think I'll take the opportunity to say once again I loathe this administration and this war.

Visited with my daughter a bit. She got out of the army in March after 9 years. Every time we talk about her experiences in Afghanistan, or what she knows about Iraq I get sick.

She only has MILD PTSD. She was actually surprised. I wasn't. She was telling me about the broken families, the fucked up soldiers that have returned. And worse things.

She actually feels guilty she's not over there in Iraq and the only thing that convinced her to get out was her son, and the bullshit that army handed her. Even though she knows the war is based on lies, her heart aches. I don't ever try telling her she's already done her duty. It's not enough to cover how much she hurts. She can't watch the news, and there are other issues.

Did I mention how much I loathe this administration and this war?