[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 22 (Tuesday, February 6, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1597-S1600]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
HONORING OUR ARMED FORCES
California Casualties From Iraq and Afghanistan
Mrs. BOXER. Madam President, today I rise to pay tribute to 37 young
Americans who have been killed in Iraq since November 17, 2006. This
brings to 677 the number of soldiers who were either from California or
based in California that have been killed while serving our country in
Iraq. This represents 22 percent of all U.S. deaths in Iraq.
SFC Tung M. Nguyen, 38, died on November 14, in Baghdad, Iraq, of
injuries sustained from small arms fire. Sergeant First Class Nguyen
was assigned to B Company, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group,
Fort Bragg, NC. He was from Tracy, CA.
LCpl Jeromy D. West, 20, died November 25, while conducting combat
operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. Lance Corporal West was assigned
to the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III
Marine Expeditionary Force, Kaneohe Bay, HI. He was from Aguanga, CA.
Cpl Dustin J. Libby, 22, died December 6, while conducting combat
operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. Corporal Libby was assigned to
the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine
Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, CA.
SPC Micah S. Gifford, 27, died of injuries suffered when an
improvised explosive device detonated near his unit while on patrol
during combat operations in Baghdad, Iraq, on December 7. Specialist
Gifford was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 509th Infantry Regiment,
Airborne, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Fort
Richardson, AK. He was from Redding, CA.
MAJ Megan M. McClung, 34, died December 6, while supporting combat
operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. Major McClung was assigned to I
Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters Group, I Marine Expeditionary
Force, Camp Pendleton, CA.
SPC Nicholas P. Steinbacher, 22, died on December 10, in Baghdad,
Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his military
vehicle. Specialist Steinbacher was assigned to B Company, 2nd
Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, TX.
He was from La Crescenta, CA.
LCpl Clinton J. Miller, 23, died December 11, while conducting combat
operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. Lance Corporal Miller was
assigned to Marine Wing Support Squadron 373, Marine Wing Support Group
37, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine
Corps Air Station, Miramar, CA.
Cpl Matthew V. Dillon, 25, died December 11, while conducting combat
operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. Corporal Dillon was assigned to
Marine Wing Support Squadron 373, Marine Wing Support Group 37, 3rd
Marine Aircraft Wing, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Air
Station, Miramar, CA.
LCpl Budd M. Cote, 21, died December 11, while conducting combat
operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. Lance Corporal Cote was assigned
to Marine Wing Support Squadron 373, Marine Wing Support Group 37, 3rd
Marine Aircraft Wing, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Air
Station, Miramar, CA.
MSgt Brian P. McAnulty, 39, died December 11, when the CH-53
helicopter he was riding in crashed just after takeoff in Al Anbar
province, Iraq. Master Sergeant McAnulty was assigned to the 3rd
Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine
Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, CA.
CPT Kevin M. Kryst, 27, died December 18, from wounds received while
conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. Captain Kryst
was assigned to Marine Light-Attack Helicopter Squadron 267, Marine
Aircraft Group 39, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, I Marine Expeditionary
Force, Camp Pendleton, CA.
LCpl Nicklas J. Palmer, 19, died December 16, while conducting combat
operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. Lance Corporal Palmer was
assigned to the 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I
Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, CA.
LCpl Luke C. Yepsen, 20, died December 14, due to injuries suffered
from enemy action in Al Anbar Province, Iraq. Lance Corporal Yepsen was
assigned to the 1st Tank Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine
Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, CA.
Cpl Joshua D. Pickard, 20, died December 19, while conducting combat
operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. Corporal Pickard was assigned to
the 2nd Assault Amphibian Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine
Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, NC. He was from Merced, CA.
LCpl Ryan L. Mayhan, 25, died December 21, while conducting combat
operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. Lance Corporal Mayhan was
assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine
Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, CA. He was
from Hawthorne, CA.
LCpl Ryan J. Burgess, 21, died December 21, while conducting combat
operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. Lance Corporal Burgess was
assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine
Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, CA.
Hospitalman Kyle A. Nolen, 21, died December 21, in Al Anbar
Province, Iraq, as a result of enemy action. Hospitalman Nolen was
assigned to H Company, 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Division, Regimental
Combat Team 7, I Marine Expeditionary Force Forward, Twentynine Palms,
CA.
LCpl Fernando S. Tamayo, 19, died December 21, while conducting
combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. Lance Corporal Tamayo was
assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine
Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, CA. He was
from Fontana, CA.
SPC Elias Elias, 27, died December 23, in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds
suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle
while on patrol. Specialist Elias was assigned to the 3rd Squadron,
61st Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division,
Fort Carson, CO. He was from Glendora, CA.
SPC Michael J. Crutchfield, 21, died December 23, in Balad, Iraq, of
a non-combat related injury. Specialist Crutchfield was assigned to the
3rd Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, Fort Bragg, NC. He
was from Stockton, CA.
SGT Lawrance J. Carter, 25, died December 29, in Baghdad, Iraq, of
wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his
vehicle during combat operations. Sergeant Carter was assigned to the
1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st
Armored Division, Schweinfurt, Germany. He was from Rancho Cucamonga,
CA.
SPC Luis G. Ayala, 21, died December 28, in Taji, Iraq, of wounds
suffered
[[Page S1598]]
when an improvised explosive device detonated near his unit while on
combat patrol. Specialist Ayala was assigned to the 2nd Squadron, 8th
Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort
Hood, TX. He was from South Gate, CA.
Sgt Aron C. Blum, 22, died December 28, at the Naval Medical Center
in San Diego, California, of a nonhostile cause after being evacuated
from Al Anbar province, Iraq, on December 8. Sergeant Blum was assigned
to Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 352, Marine Aircraft Group
11, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine
Corps Air Station, Miramar, CA.
PFC Ming Sun, 20, died January 9, in Ar Ramadi, Iraq, of wounds
suffered when his unit came in contact with enemy forces using small
arms fire during combat patrol operations. Private First Class Sun was
assigned to the 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade
Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Carson, CO. He was from
Cathedral City, CA.
2LT Mark J. Daily, 23, died on January 15, in Mosul, Iraq, when an
improvised explosive device detonated near his military vehicle.
Lieutenant Daily was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry
Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Bliss, TX. He was from Irvine, CA.
CAPT Brian S. Freeman, 31, died January 20, in Karbala, Iraq, of
wounds suffered when his meeting area came under attack by mortar and
small arms fire. Captain Freeman was assigned to the 412th Civil
Affairs Battalion, Whitehall, OH. He was from Temecula, CA.
SPC Jeffrey D. Bisson, 22, died January 20, in Karma, Iraq, of wounds
sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his
Humvee. Specialist Bisson was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 509th
Infantry, Airborne, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division,
Fort Richardson, AK. He was from Vista, CA.
LCpl Andrew G. Matus, 19, died January 21, from wounds received while
conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. Lance Corporal
Matus was assigned to Battalion Landing Team 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine
Regiment, 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, Special Operations Capable, I
Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, CA.
LCpl Emilian D. Sanchez, 20, died January 21, from wounds received
while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. Lance
Corporal Sanchez was assigned to Battalion Landing Team 2nd Battalion,
4th Marine Regiment, 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, Special Operations
Capable, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, CA.
SSG Jamie D. Wilson, 34, died January 22, in Fallujah, Iraq, from
wounds suffered while conducting security operations in Karmah, Iraq.
Staff Sergeant Wilson was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 509th Infantry
Regiment, Airborne, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division,
Fort Richardson, AK. He was from San Diego, CA.
PFC Michael C. Balsley, 23, died on January 25, in Baghdad, Iraq,
when an improvised explosive device detonated near his military
vehicle. Private First Class Balsley was assigned to the 3rd Squadron,
61st Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Carson, CO. He was
from Hayward, CA.
LCpl Anthony C. Melia, 20, died January 27, while conducting combat
operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. Lance Corporal Melia was
assigned to Battalion Landing Team 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment,
15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, Special Operations Capable, I Marine
Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, CA. He was from Thousand Oaks, CA.
SPC Carla J. Stewart, 37, died January 28, in Tallil, Iraq, of
injuries suffered when her convoy vehicle rolled over. Specialist
Stewart was assigned to the 250th Transportation Company, El Monte, CA.
She was from Sun Valley, CA.
CWO 3 Cornell C. Chao, 36, died on January 28, in Najaf, Iraq, of
injuries sustained when his helicopter crashed. Chief Warrant Officer
Three Chao was assigned to the 4th Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment,
1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, TX. He was from Orange, CA.
PFC David T. Toomalatai, 19, died on January 27, in Taji, Iraq, when
an improvised explosive device detonated near his military vehicle.
Private First Class Toomalatai was assigned to Headquarters and
Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry
Division, Fort Hood, TX. He was from Long Beach, CA.
LCpl Adam Q. Emul, 19, died January 29, from wounds received while
conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. Lance Corporal
Emul was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine
Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, CA.
SGT William M. Sigua, 21, died on January 31, in Bayji, Iraq, when
his dismounted patrol received small arms fire. Sergeant Sigua was
assigned to C Company, 1st Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry
Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, NC. He was from Los
Altos, CA.
I would also like to pay tribute to the soldier from California who
has died while serving our country in Operation Enduring Freedom since
November 17.
SPC Jeffrey G. Roberson, 22, died on November 28 in Logar,
Afghanistan, from injuries sustained when an improvised explosive
device detonated near his patrol. Specialist Roberson was assigned to
the 230th Military Police Company, Kaiserslautern, Germany. He was from
Phelan, CA.
iraq escalation
When General William Sherman said ``war is hell,'' he certainly knew
what he was talking about. After nearly 4 years in Iraq, I know of no
one today who would argue with that statement. As Members of Congress,
we have an awesome responsibility to decide whether to send America's
sons and daughters into war. I voted against the resolution authorizing
the President to go to war in Iraq because I didn't believe we should
have been rushing to say to the President: Go it alone, you have a
blank check.
This is what I said at the time, October 10, 2002, which is just
before this Senate voted to give the President authority to go to war:
I never have seen a situation where the President of the
United States asked for the ability to go to war alone and
yet has not told the American people what that would mean.
How many troops would be involved? How many casualties would
there be? Would the U.S. have to foot the entire cost of
using force against Iraq? If not, which nations are ready to
provide financial support? Troop support? What will the cost
be to rebuild Iraq? How long would our troops have to stay
there? What if our troops become a target for terrorists?
Obviously, I didn't know the answers to those questions that weighed
on my heart that day, but today I know that there are more than 138,000
troops serving in Iraq, with a big escalation to come, an escalation
that the Republicans would not allow us to vote on. I know that 3,098
soldiers have been killed and more than 23,000 have been wounded. I
know we have spent $379 billion and that doesn't include the
President's latest request. And I know, as we all do, that our troops
are targets for terrorism and that 61 percent of Iraqis think it is OK
to shoot an American soldier. How can this President send more of our
troops into a country he says he is trying to help when 61 percent of
the Iraqi people say it is OK to shoot and kill an American soldier,
and 71 percent of Iraqis want us out of Iraq within a year? We now have
answers to the questions I raised that bleak day--terrible answers. Yet
my Republican colleagues wouldn't allow us to vote on a resolution
opposing an escalation of this war, an escalation of over 40,000
troops, when you consider the support troops.
We know that a majority of Senators oppose this escalation. We know
the majority of the American people oppose this escalation. Yet we
can't vote on it. Many of us have gone further. We have proposed
resolutions and bills to start redeploying our troops out of Iraq. We
have called on the Iraqis--a majority of us last year--to shoulder the
burden of defending their own country.
It seems like yesterday when we passed the 1,000 dead mark and then
1,500 dead mark and then the 2,000 dead mark and then the 2,500 dead
mark. Now it is more than 3,000 dead. I remember when we hit the 2,500
dead mark last June. A reporter at the White House press briefing asked
Mr. Bush's press secretary, Tony Snow, if the President had any
reaction. Mr.
[[Page S1599]]
Snow said: ``It's a number, and every time there's one of those 500
benchmarks, people want something.''
What does that even mean? He calls 500 American dead benchmarks? That
was a low point even for this administration that keeps on saying, if
you don't support the war, you don't support the troops. That is
hogwash. How do you support the troops when you send them into the
middle of a civil war where they don't even know who is shooting at
them? How do you support the troops? Three thousand ninety-eight
soldiers dead is not just a number; those are people. That is 3,098
families who are forever changed. To put more of them in harm's way, to
escalate our involvement does not say to me we love them. It says to me
we have not thought this through. We are not listening or this
administration is not listening to the Iraq Study Group. It is not
listening to the military generals who came before us to say this is
wrong. It is not listening to the American people.
Again and again this White House closes its eyes on the reality of
this war. I know they don't want to see the tragic truth. But if you
are going to make a decision to send our soldiers to war, you better be
able to look at the consequences of that decision. They would not even
let us vote on this escalation. The White House doesn't want that vote.
They don't want to be second-guessed. They don't want to be
embarrassed. They don't want to hear what this Democratic Congress has
to say. And guess what. Elections have consequences--how many times has
the President told us that--and this election had consequences. It
means we have to take off the rose-colored glasses.
Let's look at the events of Sunday, January 28, in Iraq, as told by
two Los Angeles Times reporters, Louise Rough and Borzou Daragahi. That
Sunday in America happened to be my wedding anniversary, a day of rest
for many, a day of relaxation, a day for religion, a day for football,
a day for basketball, a day for movies, a day for fun, a day for
family; in Iraq, a day of hell.
The headline of the LA Times, the following Monday, reads: ``Hundreds
Die in Clash near Iraq Holy City.'' Here is the article. I don't know
if this can be seen on the television, but it is a beautiful young
girl, an Iraqi teenage girl. It could be your daughter; it could be
mine. She is leaving school. She is stepping down steps that are
bloodied by the blood of her schoolmates. She is barely looking around,
and no one is helping her. This is a sight that is too often the
reality in Iraq. The child has seen what no child should ever see, what
we would do anything in the world to stop our children from seeing. And
she appears numb.
The reporters write about fighting erupting near holy city of Najaf
on the Shiite holiday of Ashura. There were conflicting reports as to
whether the fighters causing the trouble were Shiite or Sunni militia,
but we know that our soldiers, working with Iraqis, killed several
hundred gunmen in a fierce fight and a helicopter went down, our
helicopter, and we lost our people.
The reporters point out that our forces are fighting ``a complex
patchwork of elusive enemies,'' and the deaths outside of Najaf would
constitute the highest daily casualty toll inflicted by U.S. and Iraqi
forces since U.S. troops arrived in Baghdad shortly after the March
2003 invasion.
This group we wound up fighting, because the Iraqi soldiers couldn't
handle it and they called us in, call themselves Heaven's Army, a
messianic cult who believes in the imminent return of Imam Mahdi, the
last in the line of Shiite saints who disappeared more than 1,000 years
ago.
Nomas, who is a spokesperson for the Iraqis, went on to lament to the
reporters that many Shiites believe the end days are coming, due to all
of the violence. This is what he said:
There's nothing bizarre in Iraq anymore. We've seen the
most incredible things.
People think the end is near, and that is what this President is
sending more troops into.
Our troops have seen things we can hardly imagine, things that may
haunt them throughout their lives. I have worked hard with my
colleagues on both sides of the aisle to try and fashion some
legislation so we have a commission that is set up to look at the
mental health problems of our soldiers. They are deep, the signature
wounds of this war, brain damage and posttraumatic stress.
In other parts of Iraq that Sunday, in addition to that school I
showed and in addition to the fight with Heaven's Army, the messianic
cult, we lost two U.S. soldiers and a marine. In Kirkuk, violence
raged. In Babil Province, mortar rounds killed 10, and 5 bodies were
found in the Tigris River. There was an assassination in Kut, a deadly
car bombing in Fallujah. In western Baghdad, explosives hidden in a
wooden cart killed 4 and injured 18, and an Industry Ministry advisor
and his daughter were shot to death.
On the east side of the Tigris, a bomb exploded on a bus, killing
one. Two other bombs exploded, killing seven. A bank clerk was killed
by gunmen in a car near her home. This was all in this one article.
This is one day, January 28, one day. Fifty-four bodies were found,
including a woman kidnapped 2 days prior.
And finally, in Diyala Province northeast of Baghdad, 1,500
policemen, Iraqis, were charged with absenteeism and fleeing fighting.
And this is what the President is sending more of our American soldiers
into, and they wouldn't let us vote on it here. It is absolutely
outrageous. It is immoral that we cannot vote on whether we agree with
this escalation. Our soldiers gave the Iraqis their freedom, their
Government, a sovereign nation, and now it is the Iraqis' turn to
decide their future.
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the man who knew a thing or two
about being at war said:
In the truest sense, freedom cannot be bestowed; it must be
achieved.
The Iraqis must achieve it. We cannot want it for them more than they
are willing to fight for it themselves. All we are doing by sending
more troops to Iraq is feeding an already out-of-control dependence. So
I believe we must not only speak out against the escalation, but we
should do everything in our power to stop it. We need to convene an
international conference, as the Iraq Study Group called for. We need
to call for a cease-fire. I haven't heard the word out of the Malaki's
lips, ``cease-fire.'' It is his country. His people are killing each
other. ``Cease-fire'' would be a term of art to give people hope that
there can be peace. At this international conference, we can look at
the long-term solutions. Right now our troops have mission impossible,
acting as a police force in the middle of what is, by most accounts, a
civil war.
Nowhere in the resolution this Senate voted on authorizing force is
it stated our soldiers' mission is being in the middle of a shooting
civil war. We ought to ask this President to come back with a new
authorization, if that is what he wants to do.
Senator Warner has said that in the past. He said:
I think we have to examine very carefully what Congress
authorized the president to do in the context of a situation,
if we're faced with all-out civil war.
Well, that time has come. This President should, A, send a signal
that he wants to see us vote on this escalation of his and, B, be
willing to come back with a new authorization that says clearly that it
is fine for our troops to be in the middle of a civil war. Enough is
enough.
Enough is enough. We have to end the paralysis of ``stay the
course.'' This is a time of great challenge for the U.S. Congress. I
have been very proud these past few weeks to see my colleagues on both
sides of the aisle begin to speak out forcefully against this. For me,
it is easy to oppose the President on this war because, as I said, I
voted against it, as did the occupant of the chair at that time. We
didn't have our questions answered. I understand it is harder for
others. But I believe everybody--at least a majority of the Senate--
wants to vote on this escalation. They want to be heard on behalf of
their constituents.
So it is times like these that I recall the words of one of my
heroes, the great Martin Luther King, who said:
The ultimate measure of a man [and I suspect he meant
woman, also] is not where they stand in the moments of
comfort, but where they stand at times of challenge and
controversy.
He also said:
Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about
things that matter.
Well, this escalation matters. We ought to be heard on it.
[[Page S1600]]
I commend my leader, Senator Reid, for holding firm on this issue.
There ought to be an up-or-down vote on this escalation.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Republican leader is recognized.
____________________