the luminous blog

A Look at U.S. Military Deaths in Iraq

Feb 12, 6:19 PM (ET)

By The Associated Press

As of Saturday, Feb. 12, 2005, at least 1,457 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. At least 1,111 died as a result of hostile action, the Defense Department said. The figures include four military civilians.

The AP count is seven higher than the Defense Department's tally, last updated at 10 a.m. EST Friday.

The British military has reported 86 deaths; Italy, 20; Ukraine, 18; Poland, 16; Spain, 11; Bulgaria, seven; Slovakia, three; Estonia, Thailand and the Netherlands, two each; and Denmark, El Salvador, Hungary, Latvia and Kazakhstan one death each.

Since May 1, 2003, when President Bush declared that major combat operations in Iraq had ended, 1,319 U.S. military members have died, according to AP's count. That includes at least 1,002 deaths resulting from hostile action, according to the military's numbers.

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The latest deaths reported by the military:

- A Marine in Anbar province and a soldier in Babil province were killed in separate vehicle accidents Friday.

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The latest identifications reported by the military:

- No identifications reported.
 

Israel OKs List of Prisoners to Be Freed

Feb 13, 5:50 AM (ET)

By PETER ENAV

JERUSALEM (AP) - Israel's Cabinet on Sunday approved a list of names of 500 Palestinian prisoners to be released in coming days, in line with agreements reached at a Mideast summit last week.

The prisoner release is one of several Israeli gestures to Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. Israel will also allow several dozen Palestinian militants who had been expelled from the West Bank to return to their homes and gradually hand five West Bank towns to Palestinian control.

Later Sunday, Israeli and Palestinian security officials were expected to meet to discuss the details of the transfer of the town of Jericho.

An Israeli official speaking on condition of anonymity said the prisoners to be released had not been involved in violent acts against Israelis, and almost all had completed two-thirds of their sentences.


However, he said, violent offenders could be freed later if a de facto cease-fire between Israel and the Palestinians holds.

"If we see that things are positively developing on the ground, there will be other kinds of prisoners that will be presented to (a Cabinet) committee," the official said.

In line with the agreements reached at last week's Mideast summit in Egypt, Israel is to release an additional 400 Palestinian prisoners within three months. Criteria for these releases - including the issue of whether offenders involved in attacks against Israelis can be included - are expected to be considered by a joint Israeli-Palestinian committee, set up at the summit.

Following Sunday's Cabinet decision, a list of the 500 prisoners to be released was to be published on an Israeli government Web site, and opponents will have 48 hours to lodge objections with the Supreme Court. Past Israeli prisoner releases have generated numerous court challenges.

The prisoners to be released constitute only a small fraction of the estimated 8,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. Palestinians are demanding that all be freed, while Israeli officials insist that with few exceptions, prisoners with "blood on their hands" cannot be considered.

Sunday's meeting between Israeli and Palestinian security commanders on turning over West Bank towns to Palestinian control was expected to concentrate on the transfer of Jericho later in the week. Speaking on condition of anonymity, an Israeli security official said an additional town - either Qalqilya or Tulkarem - will probably follow it several days later.

Other West Bank communities expected to be handed to Palestinian control in coming weeks are Ramallah and Bethlehem.

In another Israeli gesture of support for Abbas, an Israeli official said Saturday that Israel had agreed to repatriate all of the Palestinian militants it expelled to the Gaza Strip and Europe. The majority, 39 of 55, were exiled after a monthlong siege of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem in 2002.

"We promise that they won't be arrested upon their return," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "We are freezing all proceedings against them as long as they refrain from terror activities."
 

Ahh - another satisfied customer here...! ;)

One who sees through the morbid façade that I put up here, in these last two installments of the luminous blog... and knows, thus, that I am just, basically, a loveable kind-hearted softy with a rugged exterior... *LOL*

Or am I...? ;)
 

Bwah-ha-ha...!!!
 

Ah yes... I am an e-card dispensing, trustworthy, dependabel and caring true friend to all of those who do not stab me in the back...!!! *LOL*

So, those of you amongst the elite - the few, the proud, the faithful readers of the luminous blog ... you will excuse me if sometimes this thing reads more like... the lugubrious blog indeed...!!! *LOL*

;)
 

Yikes... even I do typos... DEPENDABLE it is! :)