Fourteen U.S. Soldiers Killed in a Copter Crash

In the deadliest crash since 2005, all fourteen U.S. soldiers aboard a black hawk plummeted to the ground. The four crew members and 10 passengers who perished were assigned to Task Force Lightning, the military said. It did not release identities pending notification of relatives. The crash is still under investigation.

Also on Wednesday another U.S. soldier was killed and three wounded in fighting in Baghdad. Wednesday's deaths raised to at least 3,722 members of the U.S. military. Elsewhere in northern Iraq, a suicide truck bomber targeted a police agency in northern Iraq, killing at least 27 people and wounding 65, police and hospital officials said. The attack occurred just before noon in Beiji, 155 miles north of Baghdad, according to the officials, who said those killed included 18 policemen and nine civilians, while 20 officers and 45 civilians were wounded.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, meanwhile, lashed out at American criticism a day after President Bush expressed frustration with the Iraqi government's inability to bridge political divisions.

"No one has the right to place timetables on the Iraq government. It was elected by its people," the Shiite leader said at a news conference in Damascus at the end of a three-day visit to Syria.

It seems the government of Iraq is striking back at the criticism of their government from all angles in the states, whether it is Carl Levin, Hillary Clinton or George Bush. A so-called democracy is in place now, but it isn't the one we want so we would like them to resign. Amazing.

Make no mistake about it, the issue is all about the privatization of the Iraqi Oil. This government has already taken a stand against doing so and the Bush administration as well as the corporateers among us are striking back. In my humble opinion.