Defending the Truth

The last time 1st Lt. William “Eddie” Rebrook IV saw his body armor, he was lying on a stretcher in Iraq, his arm shattered and covered in blood.

A field medic tied a tourniquet around Rebrook’s right arm to stanch the bleeding from shrapnel wounds. Soldiers yanked off his blood-soaked body armor. He never saw it again.

But last week, Rebrook was forced to pay $700 for that body armor, blown up by a roadside bomb more than a year ago.
http://www.wvgazette.com/section/News/2006020623

Support Our Troops? hey there what's that sound, everybody look.....
------------------------------
My posts may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. I am making such material available in my efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. I believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. For more information please review Title 17, Sec. 107 of the U.S. Code.

ludicrous!

Needless to say, it is civilians who man, run and control the Central Issue Points in the Army. Once upon a time this was run by soldiers, however, soldiers seemed more willing to accept the equipment of soldiers that was sometimes less than standard.

As a result, it was turned over to civilians, who have since made it a living hell for a soldier to return his issue so that he can clear the post or the service. It seems that routine wear and tear does not seem to exist in the Army. Considering that in the 4 years I spent at Fort Bragg, that I was only in garrison for some 195 days, the rest of the time I was in the field, deployed or in a "combat zone" I was surprised when it came time for me to clear and that it took me 6 trips to get them to accept all of my equipment. On the last trip I broke down and bought everything new so that they would accept it.

Is it any wonder that this happened? But it is my understanding that now, this issue has been cleared up and the soldier did not have to pay. He has even appeared on FOX and CNN saying that he believed that this was just a beauracratic screw up.

dmk

I'm so glad I never joined the military. Even after 9/11 only a small minority of young people were inspired to actually go fight. That should tell you something. The soldiers in Iraq have every right to be furious. They are in a war that is doing nothing to protect America and actually making matters much worse for us by destroying our international image and allowing Al Qaeda to get off scotfree. Of course the soldiers are paid peanuts and even charged to pay for their own destruction. That's all you can expect when the war has nothing to do with justice and protecting our liberty and has everything to do with protecting the financial interest of extremely greedy very rich people. What saddens me the most is that I actually believed there would be a genuine war effort after 9/11. But it's nothing but the same old Vietnamarama.

A beauracratic screw up? LOOk deep, Have Eyes that hear and Ears that See!

Justice to the left of you
Justice to the right
Speak when you are spoken to
Don't pretend you're right
This life's not for living
It's for fighting and for war
No matter what the truth is
Hold on to what is yours

Jigsaw puzzle traitors
Set to spill the beans
Constitution screw up
Shattering the dreams
Blood flows in the desert
Dark citadels burning too
Watch! Look over your shoulder
This one is strictly for you

Hold on - Hold on
Wait maybe the answer's
Looking for you

Hold on - Hold on
Wait! Take you time
Think it through
Yes! I can make it through

Hold on - Hold on
Sunshine shine on through
Hold on - Hold on
Sunshine shine on you

See it through

Talk the simple smile
Such platonic eye
How they drown in incomplete capacity
Strangest of them all
When the feeling calls
How we drown in stylistic audacity
Charge the common ground
Round and round and round
We living in gravity

Shake - We shake so hard
How we laugh so loud
When we reach
We believe in eternity

I believe in eternity

Hold on - Hold on
Wait - Take your time
See it through
Hold on - Hold on
Wait - Maybe a chance
Is looking for you

Sunshine shine on through


Sunshine shine on through
Sunshine shine on you


Hold on - Hold on
Hold on - Hold on

Sunshine - Shine on - Shine on you
Sunshine - Shine on through
Sunshine - Shine on - Shine on through
Sunshine - Shine on you

Sunshine - Shine on - Shine on you
Sunshine - Shine on through

Sunshine - Shine on - Shine on through
Sunshine - Shine on you
Hold on - Hold on
Wait - Take your time
See it through
Hold on - Hold on
Wait - Maybe the answer's looking for you


Yes - Hold On

(Rabin/Anderson/Squire)

What I Bolded should ring a bell?

-----------------------
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontl.../etc/cron.html

You know what, for those of you who have never served you wouldn't understand. Military life is a whole different culture. We do and did what we did not for you, but for each other, those we knew in our squad, platoon, unit, battalion, brigade and division. We always recognized that there were two kind of people in the world, us and civilians.

The LT took the time to appear on television, and explained what happened. He viewed it as a beauracratic snafu. But considering that the CIP is run by and manned by civilians, I wonder. Maybe it was some asshole trying to make a statement.

I've grown tired of this crap about the war being about money and oil. If it were, we could have just lifted the sanction against Iraq and been able to save money and get the oil. Like it or not, U.S. military intervention in the wrold has always brought one thing, freedom. For those of you who yammer so much you seem so eager to forget, that until the liberation of Iraq and Afghanistan, the people there lived in terror and oppression. In Afghanistan, women were required to cover their faces with veils, couldn't leave the house without a man, couldn't look a man in the eyes. Little girls couldn't go to school. Talking about a glass ceiling, hell theirs was stone.

In Iraq, the dissent you all call so patriotic in this country got you killed, your wife and daughter raped and your sons tortured and prisoned. If you lost a soccer game, you were beat and tortured. People who are free have no idea, yet so many of you wanted Hussein left alone. Thats the problem, you have freedom and screw the rest of the world. Well for many the face of America they see is the US Soldier. THe one who always has a smile for the children, will go out of his way to be nice, reaching into his pocket to give candy whenever he has a chance. Often time that candy is from his MRE or a care package from home. For many in this world that is the only face of America they will ever see. Thankful that we are there, thankful that someone finally cared.

The majority of our soldiers are proud of their service, they see first hand why they are needed. They are the ones that have found the mass graves, have seen the pictures of the torture rooms, and have seen the worst in humanity, yet somehow through it al they keep theirs. Thank god for them and those like them. There are damn to few of us.

dmk

That's so sweet.

My friend Charlie who joined the army last year had to buy his own bullet proof vest, or body armour. I forget which.

At any rate, his mom bought it for him, and paid a small fortune for it. That's just silly. Not everyone can afford it, and it set his family back quite a bit. We should be taking better care of our soldiers. Some of them are my friends.

That being said, I don't really think the army is a positive thing. Soldiers kill. Soldiers are trained to kill. That is their function. We aren't talking about charity workers here. The real question is whether that killing is ethical, reasonable, and justified.

Personally, I don't think so. My friends have other opinions. Everyone should be cool about it, and do what they think is right. I respect my friends for their conviction, and for pursuing what they feel is an expression of patriotism, even if I don't believe in violence on a personal level.

Oh, and Sarge... If you think that we went into Iraq to 'liberate' people, you are incredibly naive.

We are allies with Kuwait, where they put electric drills through people's skulls on a regular basis. We are on friendly terms with China... Well... Do I even have to explain what's wrong with China? We helped fund the ousting of the democratically elected president of Haiti in favor of dictatorial oligarchs.

If the US went into Iraq to fight for freedom, I have a bridge to sell you.

That being said, saying that it is all about oil and money is an oversimplfication.

You know what, those of you that have not studied political science, or foreign policy for that matter wouldn't understand. What I'm sick of is a select few that serve in the military and because so, believe they have all the answers and have the right to talk condescendingly to civilians just because they haven't been indoctrinated that killing is alright and had the chance to shoot someone. So many of our military forget their place in society. I honor those that have served in our military, esspecially those that have sacraficed in just wars against the totalitarian tyranny in Europe, and brutal Japanese Imperialism in the Pacific. But its supposed to be just that, a defensive force, something to defend freedom, democracy, and our way of life as Americans; NOT to force it down the throats of others my friend.

I'm sorry, but once the military has began to go on the offensive, as well as hold its own civilians (those who they are supposed to be protecting) in contempt, then you have a jackboot military state my friend. And its not even the entire military I speak of, there are many out there that understand the societal position, and creating purpose of an Armed Forces that currently serve in ranks. My brother whom is in the Marine Corps is all to aware of this.

You're too quick to jump to the propaganda-image of "liberation", where of coarse nothing bad happens. We're over there "spreading freedom dust!", everyone's handing out candy and making the locals smile with joy that their saviors have come! Well its time to face the truth, as well as history my friend. That cover-up has been the excuse of every occupying tyrant in human history. You're too quick to jump on the idea that the Iraqis were under tyranny under Saddam, and now are perfectly unoppressed now that the "God-backed" Americans are here! No, its time to actually face what the Iraqis view on this war. Indeed Saddam was a brutal tyrant, striking down dissent where he could. But you have to remember that it was the Americans that supported this brutal tyrant while he was doing this, you have to remember that it was the Americans that supplied Saddam with weapons including chemical to use on both military and innocent Iranians. You have to remember it was the Americans giving direct aid to the brutal dictator even during and after he massacred his own civilians.

Many Iraqis believe that indeed Saddam was a tyrannt and should have gotten rid of, but they also believe that one tyrant was simply replaced by another. Over 80% of Iraqis want the Americans out of their country. Many Iraqis say the freedom is nice but would rather live under Saddam where it was safe to walk outside knowing a bullet wont fly and strike you in the head. Or where there was running water or electricity, or actual order in the country. You have to face the simple fact that over 90% of insurgents in Iraq are Iraqis as a fighting resistance to American military occupation. You're so quick to forget that that the Iraqis still live in terror and oppression. There are nightly and daily raids, dragging would-be insurgents, innocent men, women, and children all alike against their will to be thrown into a prison where they will be mistreated, or even tortured. Or perhaps flown to some American prison in Eastern Europe or Cuba where there will be subsequent mistreatment or torchure.

I'm sorry sir, but we as an occupying force are not handing out candy where we can to make children smile (perhaps for that occuasional photoshoot). But we're handing out a shitload more of Depleted Uranium, torchure, bullets, bombs, mass arrests, military checkpoints, and military police raids then we ever did candy or "freedom dust". The view that we are there for oil and profits is no where near as oversimplistic as the view that we are there to liberate them. If you were one of the unfortunate soldiers to suffer or to have died with gulf war sydrome then you would understand. I have spoken with a lot of Iraq War veterans, or Afghanistan War veterans, or Gulf War veterans, or even Vietnam veterans to know that your arguement might as well be falling out of Bush's mouth, or the "Ministry of Truth".

And again I say that if you have not studied the political science, and foreign policy that this particular administration takes, you would not understand. This administration has had a history of being in neoconservative organizations, esspecially the vice president, Donald Rumsfuck, and understecratary Paul Wolfowitz whom was completely dazed believing Saddam did 9/11 all along. They describe their own doctrine, not me, to use force to keep American Dominance in the world and to spread its ideals. With a rising "United States of Europe", a recovering Russia, and a rising in-need-of-oil China, the United States had to secure the oil reserves in the Middle East. Its oversimplistic to say that 'why couldn't we have just lifted the sanctions', or 'if it was about oil then why are the gas prices so high?' Because if you knew enough about this administration's true policies, that is neoconservatism, it is not about getting the oil, but rather controlling to oil so the US can throw its weight this way and that way, undermining OPEC, and having a big upper hand against Europe and China.

And it just so happens that the oil companies have record breaking profits. It just 'so happens' that the US forces secured the oil fields before alleged Iraqi chemical, biological, and other WMD 'factories'.

Reality!@

September 08, 2004, 8:48 a.m.
Vietnam — Still
Fighting for the same freedoms, 30 years on.

By Paul Marshall

Since what happened in Vietnam 30 years ago is a hot topic these days, it's worth asking what's happening there now. The answer is not edifying: The Communist government is currently engaged in a massive crackdown on two overlapping bodies, its ethnic minorities and its religious believers.

Proclaiming a new era of openness, on June 18, the national assembly's standing committee passed an "ordinance regarding religious beliefs and religious organizations," due to come into effect on November 15. (Translation here.) The authorities say the ordinance will guarantee "citizens' freedom of belief and religion," and Article 1 does affirm, "The government guarantees the right of freedom of religious beliefs and of having a religion for its citizens. Nobody is permitted to violate this freedom." However, this is followed by 40 articles that gut this guarantee almost completely.
http://www.nationalreview.com/commen...0409080848.asp

It will not happen!
Approximately 58,000 Americans as Cannon Fodder and 3,000,000 Vietnamese and still no change!

More failed foreign policy awaits U.S. in Iraq!
-------------------
“If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy” ---James Madison 4th U.S. president (1809 -1817), and one of the founding fathers of this country. (1751- 1836)

More dead Americans and more dead Iraqi's! Why