Are we there yet?

How many more?

Twelve Americans were killed when a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashed in Iraq early Sunday, the military said.

The helicopter, which was carrying a crew of four and eight passengers, was flying along with another aircraft between bases in the north of the country, according to news releases from the U.S. military.

Rescuers searched for about 12 hours, finding the crash site about noon (4 a.m. ET), some 7.5 miles (12 kilometers) east of Tal Afar. A military release described the area as sparsely populated.

The military didn't say whether any of the 12 dead were civilians.

Tal Afar is just miles from the Syrian border and has been a hotbed of insurgent activity and raids by Iraqi and coalition forces.

According to The Associated Press, 23 helicopters have crashed in Iraq since the March 2003 U.S.-led invasion. Last January, a transport helicopter crashed in bad weather, killing 31 U.S. troops in the deadliest such incident.

The military also announced the deaths of five U.S. Marines in three different Iraqi towns Saturday and Sunday.

Insurgents in Falluja killed three Marines during separate gunbattles Sunday. Falluja is about 35 miles (56 kilometers) west of Baghdad in restive Anbar province.

On Saturday, roadside bombs killed two Marines, one near al-Karma and another near Ferris. Both towns are near Falluja.

Since the war began, 2,198 U.S. service members serving in Iraq have died. That total does not include victims of the Black Hawk crash.

Dick Cheney, June 2005:

"I think we may well have some kind of presence there over a period of time," Cheney said. "The level of activity that we see today from a military standpoint, I think, will clearly decline. I think they're in the last throes, if you will, of the insurgency."

Dick Cheney, December 2005:

“I’m encouraged by the tremendous results of the election,” he said, describing the poll which will deliver Iraq’s first full-term parliament since April 2003 as a “major milestone.”

“The new Iraq will become a democratic model for the Middle East.”

“I think when we look back 10 years hence, we’ll see that the year ’05 was in fact a watershed year here in Iraq,” the vice president added.

What kind of pretzels do you have to twist yourself into these days to believe anything this Administration says anymore?