DENVER
AN American army major's final blog has been published online after he was killed in Iraq. Major Andrew Olmsted died on Thursday in a rebel attack near Sadiya.
Olmsted, who began writing for the Rocky Mountain News on May 21, had asked a friend to place what he called his "Final Post" on his website, AndrewOlmsted.com, if he died.
Olmsted, 37, warned against making his death an argument for or against the war.
"My life isn't a chit to be used to bludgeon people to silence on either side," he wrote.
He also quoted Plato as saying "only the dead have seen the end of war".
Olmsted served in the 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division and leaves his wife of 10 years, Amanda Wilson. "Believe it or not, one of the things I will miss most is not being able to blog any longer," he wrote.
"The news is devastating," said News editor John Temple. "The major was a brave man who obviously thrived on sharing his experiences and thoughts on his blog. He provided a perspective on Iraq that would have been impossible for a journalist."
In Iraq yesterday, two suicide bombers struck in a Sunni Arab district of Baghdad on Monday, killing at least 14 people. They included Colonel Riyadh al Samarrai, the leader of a US-backed security patrol.
An apparent stepped-up campaign of suicide bombings has seen large-scale attacks nearly every day for two weeks, even as overall levels of violence have fallen.-AP
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