Does this sound familiar, or is it just me?

U.S. troops kill 75 insurgents in Iraq offensive

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. troops launched an offensive in Iraq's most rebellious province, killing 75 insurgents, following a spate of ferocious bombings designed to undermine the new Iraqi government, the U.S. military said on Monday.

Don't remember, (you're excused if you're under 50.)

Think back now

Up to 24 dead in Afghan battle including 2 Marines

KABUL (Reuters) - U.S. forces battled insurgents for five hours in eastern Afghan mountains and two Marines and up to 23 rebels were killed, the U.S. military said on Monday.

Yes history is repeating its self once again

And the winner is?

May we have a drum roll.

If you don't know the answer go ask a veteran.

Fitting that at the end of this month is memorial day, don't you think?

River

Okay, you've got me. I'm under 50 (41) plus I'm also from Canada. Viet Nam?

Go back to the headlines of the Nixon Administrations...We must have had ten major offenses aimed at knocking the Viet Cong Right out of business. If nothing else we crowed about how we would bomb them back to the stone age.

Nothing changes: It is fitting and just to die for one's country.

Read any of the WWI war poetry of Rupert Brook, Wilfred Owen, or Sigfried Sassoon's poetry. "Base Details" is my favorite and rings as true in 2005 as it did in 1918.

The name of the game of the leaders then and now is hubris.

This story reminds of something that my father said when I was little. Just after World War 2 had ended, he was in a pub, in his Naval uniform, when he got into conversation with a serviceman from the Great War. My father said to him, "You didn't do such a good job, we had to go and finish it."

The old man replied, "Are you sure you've finished it?"

ok go back in your memorys, the 60's with LBJ, hippies, free love, pot, etc. the nightly news always gave a count, most of which LBJ pulled right out of his ass. There was a formula for this, if 20 Americans were killed, then there were 683 Viet Cong.

Viet Nam, changed by the US news service because they never bothered to look up the spelling of the country we were at war with. Today we know it as Vietnam, GI's just called it Nam.

River