On a highway 20 minutes south of Baghdad, a Rhode Island Guardsman reached bloodied hands for his squadmates and screamed: We're under attack.

Shrapnel had cracked into Edmund Aponte's skull, to his brain, and he bled into the sand. The father of three from Providence couldn't work his legs.

His squad from the Rhode Island National Guard 115th Military Police Company carried him from his burning Humvee, which was leaking diesel into a puddle of fire. M-16 rifle ammunition popped and pinged as it cooked off in the flames.

Aponte's body was limp, he was unable to move on his own. The soldiers could not believe how heavy he was. Just 10 steps under the desert sun, and they were exhausted.

The fire spread inside the crippled Humvee. Ammunition cans for the Mark 19 grenade launcher exploded. Smoke grenades blew.

Some of the tractor-trailers the squad had been escorting on the Iraqi highway swerved around the chaos, and grumbled toward Baghdad.

Platoon medic Kyla Cannon made sure Aponte's airway was open, and then dug into her bag for bandages to try to stop the blood.

"They're gonna come," Aponte cried, "and shoot us!"

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On Monday, Sept. 1, 2003, Kyla Cannon wrestled into her body armor, grabbed her Beretta 9 mm handgun and her medic bag stuffed with bandages, gauze, morphine, burn cream, a cervical collar, plastic tubing, needles, a tourniquet and bags of saline for IV drips.

Cannon was assigned to ride with 1st Squad of the 1st Platoon, 115th Military Police Company, Rhode Island National Guard.

Their mission that day was to escort a convoy of trailer trucks down a portion of Main Supply Route Tampa, a key military supply artery from Kuwait.

They were to begin some 50 miles north of Baghdad, and drive about 150 miles south, to a fenced truck stop. There, they would pick up a northbound convoy and retrace their route -- an exhausting 12-hour day in sweltering desert heat.

Convoy escort could be dangerous work, but the 115th had been lucky. The soldiers had survived ambushes, returning to base with bullet holes in their trucks. Just the day before, a roadside bomb had detonated prematurely about 40 yards ahead of the convoy.

No Rhode Island National Guard unit had seen any combat fatalities since the fight for the Philippines, in 1945, near the end of World War II.

The 1st Squad was split into three teams -- Alpha, Bravo and Charlie -- each with three soldiers in a four-wheeled Humvee. The trucks lacked the "up-armor" designed to toughen them against roadside bombs.

The lead truck that day carried five soldiers: the Charlie team, the squad leader and Kyla Cannon, the medic.

Her right side was sore that morning.

She had spent 12 tense hours in the Humvee the day before, on the right-hand side of the truck, leaning to the window and watching for roadside bombs from a metal chair the size and shape of the cheapest seat in a football stadium.

She wanted to abuse her left side for a day.

Her squad leader, Staff Sgt. Joseph Camara, a New Bedford cop, agreed to swap seats.

Cannon climbed in behind Dameon Harrington, the driver, a mortgage broker from West Warwick, R.I.

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Dameon Harrington fidgets in an easy chair in his in-laws' living room, in West Warwick.

He says that since he came back from Iraq, he doesn't sleep. Three, four hours a night is often the best he can manage.

"It's just poof -- I'm up," he explains, as his wife, Tegan, listens. "I get up. I eat something. Go to the bathroom. Lie back down. Go to sleep. Wake up again. It's constant."

Sometimes he can't help waking his wife, who will scold him about snacking in the middle of the night. "They say," she says, "it's the worst time to eat."

Harrington is seeking a medical discharge from the National Guard.

"It's one [health problem] after another," he says, including hearing damage and posttraumatic stress. "I went to the PTSD clinic. I have PTSD and all kinds of stuff.

"I have no memory anymore. I have a Palm Pilot and I write everything down on the calendar. It's the only way to remember stuff. I've talked to doctors and they say it's a common problem."

Harrington is 24. He went to Tollgate High School, Class of 1999, and is working now as a welder at Electric Boat. Tegan is 25. She went to West Warwick High School. They met as teenagers, on the job at McDonald's on Bald Hill Road, and dated eight years before they married last September.

Harrington joined the National Guard in 2001, after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, because it seemed the right time to become an adult. He learned Feb. 7, 2003, that his unit was heading overseas. Two days later, Dameon and Tegan got engaged.

"Ever since the explosion, he says he lost his luck," his wife says. "He used to say he had a horseshoe up his butt, but in the explosion it fell out."

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Kyla Cannon tucked her medic bag in the back, with the rectangular ammunition cans lashed to the Humvee's steel bed, including three cans for a Mark 19 grenade launcher, plus ammunition for the M-249 machine gun and 40 mm grenades for the M-203.

The convoy of trailer trucks, with three Humvee escorts, motored south from Balad, toward the Scania Convoy Support Center. They went around Baghdad, down a three-lane superhighway that reminded the Rhode Islanders of Route 95, except that the median was a strip of sand.

When the trucks were spread out, the convoy was as long as two miles. Harrington drove the lead Humvee, followed by about 30 big rigs. Then came a second escort Humvee, another 30 or so trucks, and then the rear escort Humvee.

The convoy drove down the center of the highway -- to avoid bombs buried in the soft roadside.

The trucks made good time. At Scania, the squad ate lunch and prepared for the return trip with a northbound convoy.

Harrington was beat, from the drive, and from the 115-degree heat. He thought about asking somebody else to drive.

Who could swap?

Not Cannon, he thought; she was the medic.

Camara, who rode in the back next to Cannon, was the squad leader.

Sgt. Todd Caldwell, an investment planner with a new bride back in Attleboro, was the team leader and the front passenger. Also, Caldwell was the acting squad leader that day, getting some on-the-job training from Camara.

That left Edmund Aponte, the gunner.

Aponte, a metal worker at Electric Boat, was in the roof turret, assigned to the belt-fed M-249 machine gun. The gunner sat in a sling, a 2-inch-wide strap looped between hooks on either side of the turret hole. The sling was adjusted to his height, so that the top of his shirt pocket was in line with the top of the truck.

It's only a few more hours, Harrington decided. I'll just drive.

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Margaret Caldwell is a nurse at the West Roxbury Veterans Administration Hospital, in Massachusetts.

"It's weird," she says, quietly. "The guys from Iraq are coming back -- injured or having problems. At first it just freaked me out a little bit. There was this big banner in the lobby: 'Welcome home, Iraqi veterans.' At first that made me cry. But it's okay now."

Her husband, Todd, was a 401(k) planner with Putnam Investments in Norwood, Mass. He joined the National Guard in 1997, originally for tuition to go back to school, to explore an interest in marine biology.

For their first date, Charles "Todd" Caldwell, took Margaret Yasharian to the circus. He had gently and persistently wooed her after they met in a biology class at UMass Boston. He proposed to her in May 2002, on the rocks at the edge of the sea, at Brenton Point, in Newport.

Todd's deployment to Iraq, at age 37, changed their wedding plans.

Back then, Margaret had insisted: You're not going away without us being married.

He answered: I don't want to go without marrying you.

On Feb. 4, 2003, they married in a 10-minute ceremony at Attleboro Town Hall. They stayed half an hour, for pictures. Family joined them at a reception dinner at Marchetti's, in Cranston.

Todd loved the military, and became one of his squad's team leaders.

Margaret recalls, "Todd would say, 'You're not mad at me because I want to go [to the Middle East], are you?' He would check back after every drill to see if it was happening. He wanted to go there and prove what he was trained to do and do a good job. I really can't be mad at that."

"I sent him a mini tape recorder [in Iraq], and I had one," she says. "Those tapes were the best -- they were just an hour of babbling. We were going to get married again, do it all over and have everyone come, have a big party, go to Hawaii.

"He was very romantic. You'd look at him and you wouldn't think that of him. He would come by my work and leave a rose on my windshield. Or leave little notes: 'I'm thinking of you today.'

"I don't think that's ever going to happen for me again."

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The attacker had buried the explosives -- probably a 155-mm artillery shell -- in a hole just off the pavement, on the east side of the highway's northbound lane, next to a short concrete pillar.

The wire to the detonator stretched from the bomb under the sand, into a field of grass and shrubs and a few trees. The wire zigzagged all over the field, ending behind a dirt berm, about 50 yards from the road.

The berm was good camouflage. Standing behind it, the bomber was mostly hidden, but had clear sight of the convoy of big rigs rumbling up the highway, and the American Humvee in the lead.

When the Humvee reached the concrete pillar, the truck was in line with the bomb.

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Jonathan Issa was still in Iraq when the soldiers and police officers in uniform, in rows of green and blue, filled the church for Joseph Camara's funeral.

Camara was a 21-year veteran of the Rhode Island National Guard, and had been a New Bedford police officer for four years. He was 40, a husband and a father of three.

"I didn't attend any kind of wake or funeral for him," says Issa, 25. "Obviously I was still over there. I have no closure on his death, I have no closure on him. It still haunts me at this day. Every night it's in my dreams. Every day I have daydreams about it. It doesn't stop.

"It feels as if it was 2 seconds ago, like it just happened."

Joe Camara was Issa's boss in the National Guard for seven years, and his friend, too.

Since Issa has returned to Central Falls, he has tried to speak to Camara's wife, but cannot find her. "I've exhausted every lead I've had," he says, "whether it is where they used to live, or old phone numbers or old cell phones, e-mail addresses. You name it, I've tried them all. Nothing, nothing is the same."

In his head, Issa still sees the sudden puff of dust that swallowed Camara's Humvee, which Issa witnessed from the turret of the second escort truck in the convoy. He sees the fire in his dreams, and remembers the exploding ammunition that made it impossible to retrieve his friend's body.

"When I watched his body perish like that, my life pretty much did the same thing," he says. "And, you know, with my family, my friends, my now ex-wife -- I've never been the same since."

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The blast broke Caldwell's neck and he died instantly.

The force of the explosion shoved the Humvee. Shrapnel sheared the gas tank and splashed fire over the passenger's side.

For a split second, Harrington thought a tire had blown. Then dirt and debris rained over the windshield. Smoke poured into the truck.

Harrington had been trained to get his team out of the "kill zone." If the explosion was the first wave of an ambush, the team needed to get out of there.

He steered the burning Humvee down the road for another 10 seconds.

Medic Kyla Cannon reached forward and grabbed Harrington's shoulder.

The ring in her ears from the boom rendered the scene oddly silent.

"We have to get out!" she screamed.

The fire, that diesel fuel, all that ammo lashed down in the back -- they were inside a rolling bomb.

"You have to stop!"

Cannon could not hear her own voice; she only felt the words in her throat.

Harrington stopped the truck and popped open the driver's door. His head pounded. His right ear wasn't working.

Cannon looked over to Sgt. Camara. She screamed to him to climb across the truck, away from the fire that was spreading over the passenger's side.

"Get out! Get out! My side! My side!"

Camara opened his own door, and collapsed into the flames.

Cannon and Harrington ran from the fire. She carried her medic bag.

Looking back, they had the same thought:

Where was Aponte?

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At 35, Edmund Aponte went to his third war.

He had been active duty from 1988-92, and had parachuted into Panama in 1989 as a member of the 82nd Airborne Division taking part in Operation Just Cause, against the regime of Manuel Noriega. In the 1991 Gulf War, Aponte was among the forces guarding the border of Saudi Arabia. Once the war started, his unit moved into Iraq.

After his discharge, he served in the National Guard in Maryland, and then in Puerto Rico. He moved to Mt. Pleasant, in Providence, in 2001, and worked briefly at Kmart before landing a job as a metal fabricator at Electric Boat.

In Rhode Island, Aponte, who has three children, joined the 115th and was deployed in February 2003.

He spent 10 months at Walter Reed Army Medical Hospital after the attack. His family left New England because cold weather gives him headaches.

Aponte speaks slowly, deliberately, over the telephone from his home in Florida. A television is on in the background on his end of the line.

"My skull got fractured in the front -- it got cracked and it got depressed down," he says. "The shrapnel went into my neck, the shrapnel came through the right side of my face, like behind my ear. When it went in, it damaged nerves."

Including nerves to his right ear.

"I lost my balance because of the liquid in my right ear. So I feel dizzy sometimes. And, I dunno, like somebody just spins me a lot. I puke. I feel sick. I puke and then I'm okay.

"I'm deaf in my right ear, for all of my life. They don't think I'm going to get my hearing back. I got posttraumatic stress. And I'm having a rough time with my family, especially my wife. I don't know, I'm like, very aggressive. Arguing, you know? And with my brain injury, I got mood disorder."

His two younger children don't yet understand what happened to their father. "My little boy, he always say that I got bit by a dog in the head," Aponte says. "My teenager, he's 13 when it happened, I don't know what kind of effect it is on him.

"But with my wife -- I think she is the one who is dealing with the toughest. Now instead of having three kids, it's like having four. I mean, I'm a man, I can act. Except that I make little mistakes because of my brain injury. I'm writing a check for $200, I could easily make it for $20 or $2,000. I could leave the stove on. She could say, 'Honey I need you to pick up the kid at this place at this time -- don't forget.' But I don't think she would put me in that situation because I would forget. In 15 minutes, I'd forget.

"I've been reading and learning about head injury. Once you hurt your brain, there is no healing completely. When you lose some brain cells, it's going to be hard to function."

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Aponte never heard the blast.

Something startled him, as if he had been shaken violently from a dream.

He heard the flames. He looked around.

Then he heard voices. "C'mon, Aponte! Get out! Get out!"

Cannon and Harrington were right outside the Humvee, peering in. But to Aponte, they looked far off -- as if he were watching them through the wrong end of a telescope.

"What happened?" Aponte asked. "What's going on?" His own voice sounded like he was talking underwater.

He felt warm liquid run down his forehead.

Oh, [expletive], he thought. I got shot!

Then he reasoned.

No, I didn't get shot, because I can think. How can I be dead if I can think? Maybe the bullet just grazed my head.

Keep calm, he told himself.

If you get scared, you're gonna bleed faster, because your pump is gonna pump faster. Relax. Remember, you have Cannon, who is the medic. Whatever you got in your head, whatever is wrong with me, I know Cannon is going to fix it.

Somebody took him out of the Humvee. He collapsed and grabbed for the vests of the soldiers beside him.

They laid him down.

Cannon started working on his head.

Aponte fretted that the squad was under attack. "Be careful, be careful," he said.

Somebody took his boots.

His right hand burned. He begged for somebody, anybody, to pour water on it. The sun was in his eyes; he asked somebody to block it.

Now someone was taking his pants.

"No," Aponte said, "I don't have no underwear." It was hot; he hadn't worn any.

People were talking to him.

Aponte! Aponte! they said, don't worry, you're going home.

He grew sleepy.

Stay awake, they told him. What kind of food would his wife cook when he got home,they asked. Aponte was in pain. He was grouchy.

"Man," he said, "leave me the [expletive] alone. I don't know what the hell she gonna cook."

He fought sleep. When he thought he couldn't stay awake any longer, he prayed.

Please God, don't let me die. I don't wanna die. I wanna see my family. I wanna see my son grow.

As soon as he had completed the thought, Aponte changed his mind.

You know what, God, I'm sorry, I take that back. I know I'm not gonna die.

Right there he fell asleep.

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Aponte never heard the blast.

Something startled him, as if he had been shaken violently from a dream.

He heard the flames. He looked around.

Then he heard voices. "C'mon, Aponte! Get out! Get out!"

Cannon and Harrington were right outside the Humvee, peering in. But to Aponte, they looked far off -- as if he were watching them through the wrong end of a telescope.

"What happened?" Aponte asked. "What's going on?" His own voice sounded like he was talking underwater.

He felt warm liquid run down his forehead.

Oh, [expletive], he thought. I got shot!

Then he reasoned.

No, I didn't get shot, because I can think. How can I be dead if I can think? Maybe the bullet just grazed my head.

Keep calm, he told himself.

If you get scared, you're gonna bleed faster, because your pump is gonna pump faster. Relax. Remember, you have Cannon, who is the medic. Whatever you got in your head, whatever is wrong with me, I know Cannon is going to fix it.

Somebody took him out of the Humvee. He collapsed and grabbed for the vests of the soldiers beside him.

They laid him down.

Cannon started working on his head.

Aponte fretted that the squad was under attack. "Be careful, be careful," he said.

Somebody took his boots.

His right hand burned. He begged for somebody, anybody, to pour water on it. The sun was in his eyes; he asked somebody to block it.

Now someone was taking his pants.

"No," Aponte said, "I don't have no underwear." It was hot; he hadn't worn any.

People were talking to him.

Aponte! Aponte! they said, don't worry, you're going home.

He grew sleepy.

Stay awake, they told him. What kind of food would his wife cook when he got home,they asked. Aponte was in pain. He was grouchy.

"Man," he said, "leave me the [expletive] alone. I don't know what the hell she gonna cook."

He fought sleep. When he thought he couldn't stay awake any longer, he prayed.

Please God, don't let me die. I don't wanna die. I wanna see my family. I wanna see my son grow.

As soon as he had completed the thought, Aponte changed his mind.

You know what, God, I'm sorry, I take that back. I know I'm not gonna die.

Right there he fell asleep.

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Aponte never heard the blast.

Something startled him, as if he had been shaken violently from a dream.

He heard the flames. He looked around.

Then he heard voices. "C'mon, Aponte! Get out! Get out!"

Cannon and Harrington were right outside the Humvee, peering in. But to Aponte, they looked far off -- as if he were watching them through the wrong end of a telescope.

"What happened?" Aponte asked. "What's going on?" His own voice sounded like he was talking underwater.

He felt warm liquid run down his forehead.

Oh, [expletive], he thought. I got shot!

Then he reasoned.

No, I didn't get shot, because I can think. How can I be dead if I can think? Maybe the bullet just grazed my head.

Keep calm, he told himself.

If you get scared, you're gonna bleed faster, because your pump is gonna pump faster. Relax. Remember, you have Cannon, who is the medic. Whatever you got in your head, whatever is wrong with me, I know Cannon is going to fix it.

Somebody took him out of the Humvee. He collapsed and grabbed for the vests of the soldiers beside him.

They laid him down.

Cannon started working on his head.

Aponte fretted that the squad was under attack. "Be careful, be careful," he said.

Somebody took his boots.

His right hand burned. He begged for somebody, anybody, to pour water on it. The sun was in his eyes; he asked somebody to block it.

Now someone was taking his pants.

"No," Aponte said, "I don't have no underwear." It was hot; he hadn't worn any.

People were talking to him.

Aponte! Aponte! they said, don't worry, you're going home.

He grew sleepy.

Stay awake, they told him. What kind of food would his wife cook when he got home,they asked. Aponte was in pain. He was grouchy.

"Man," he said, "leave me the [expletive] alone. I don't know what the hell she gonna cook."

He fought sleep. When he thought he couldn't stay awake any longer, he prayed.

Please God, don't let me die. I don't wanna die. I wanna see my family. I wanna see my son grow.

As soon as he had completed the thought, Aponte changed his mind.

You know what, God, I'm sorry, I take that back. I know I'm not gonna die.

Right there he fell asleep.

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"Some days," Aponte says from Florida, "with all my trouble, all my problems and my moods, I feel like, damn, why'd I survive? But I know that's wrong, I should feel happy. I am thankful I could see my kids again, and my wife. I know that I owe one to God, a big one.

"So I feel blessed, really. And I feel mad because I know two other guys died. Sometimes I feel bad that I survived and they didn't. And I know Sergeant Camara had kids. So I feel it was unfair. I cannot see kids crying. Just to know that his kids have no father and my kids have a father -- it's a mixture. It's a mixed feeling. I'm glad and I'm not glad. It's hard to understand."

He catches himself complaining.

"I complain about this pain or that, but when I was in Walter Reed, I saw a lot of guys that were worse than me. I saw guys missing an arm, I saw guys missing two legs, an arm and maybe two more fingers. I saw a lot of guys who had brain injuries from Iraq, or from car accidents, and they were nothing compared to me. I mean, I'm talking to you, I know what's going on. These guys were acting like babies. I saw one guy that had diapers. A big Marine had diapers on. He cannot recognize nothing."

Aponte cannot work yet, but looks forward to working again.

"Any job I can get helping other people or animals," he says. "I feel like I have a second chance. I was alive and I died once. And I don't want to waste this second chance just working inside a store, you know? Does that make sense?

"I want to interact with people, as many people as I can. So when I die again, for my real time -- you never know -- when I die again, then I wanna feel like, OK, I did plenty on earth."

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Aponte's windpipe was open and he was breathing. But blood gushed from a gash along his hairline, and from a wound by his right ear. His eyes flicked rapidly side to side, which medic Kyla Cannon took as a sign of neurological damage.

Cannon spoke to him as she worked, to see what sense he could make of his surroundings. What color is the sky? What did you have for breakfast today?

"Cannon, help me help me," Aponte said. "You're my angel."

She wadded gauze and applied a pressure bandage to Aponte's head to control the bleeding. She inserted an IV line into his left forearm and gave him a saline drip to fight shock. She treated the burn on his hand.

One of the tractor-trailer drivers pulled his rig forward to shield them from ammunition firing off the burning Humvee.

A patrol from another unit arrived and helped set up a defensive perimeter.

Sgt. Luke Walker, the team leader in the rear escort Humvee, argued over the radio with a relay operator who didn't seem to understand that a member of the 115th was hurt and bleeding.

"You get that [expletive] copter here now!" Walker screamed into the radio. "Or I'm gonna come there personally, and kill you. We've got two body bags to fill and there's gonna be three if you don't get that copter here NOW!"

Walker waited with a red smoke grenade to signal the evacuation helicopter. The wait felt eternal. He had no confidence in the relay operator, so when two Chinook helicopters passed overhead -- massive transports with two rotors each -- Walker sent up the red smoke to signal that they had somebody wounded, and needed help.

The Chinooks circled two or three times, and then flew off.

Two minutes later, a medevac helicopter swooped in and put down on the highway. Rescuers loaded Aponte on a litter and took him away.

As the helicopter disappeared, the scene fell quiet.

The soldiers who had carried Aponte wore his handprints on their uniforms, in blood.

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KYLA Cannon got out of the National Guard last September.

At a coffee shop inside a Warwick bookstore, she struggles to explain how her 14-month National Guard deployment changed her.

"I wanted to do nursing, and then you go over there and do all that stuff and by the time you come back ..."

She pauses.

"Do you know what I mean when I say my nerves are shot? I can't go through stressful situations anymore. I always had to think on my toes and act on instinct. It wears on you all day, every day, living like that."

After graduating from Narragansett High School in 1997, she served four years of active duty in the Army, which included medic training after boot camp. She joined the Rhode Island National Guard in 2001, for the travel and for college tuition benefits.

"It sounds bad but I don't want the responsibility that comes with nursing, and the lives that you have in your hands. It's hard to explain and it feels like I'm not living my dreams or whatever, but in a way I already did over there.

"I don't want to be responsible for people's lives anymore."

She is studying at the Career Education Institute, in Lincoln, to be a medical assistant. She is 25 years old.

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Staff writer Mark Arsenault can be reached at marsenau [at] projo.com

The "Prayer" was posted three time for a reason.

The reason for the 3 posts of this topic, is because it definately shows the true emotions when a G.I. is near death and his faith is all he has in his mind to rely on.


Please God let me die.

I don't wanna die. I wanna see my family. I wanna see my son grow.

You know God, I'm sorry, I take that back. I know I'm not gonna die.

That there is the confusion and thoughts of near death of an American sent to war based on lies, fraud, power, and profit motives by the "SHRUB" and his Chickenhawk brigade.

You think Edmund Aponte wants to see his son go through what he had to for lies from the man that is his Commander and Chief? I doubt it very much and think Aponte would do anything he could to see that his son did not have to go through this ordeal. That there would be Aponte's support for his son!!

I feel the same and would act the same way if my son did not want to serve for the "SHRUB" in his Iraq fiasco.

Whatever it took to get him from going over to be cannon fodder for "SHRUB" lies, would be done!

Like I said before, Americans could care less as long as it does not effect them!

Bring back the Draft, and see how many Americans suddenly care!

Great thread, Bammo.

Right on Bammo, thanks!

The articles you posted create "word pictures" that tell the G.I.'s story...

The "anti-war" movement doesn't capture what you have presented here, IMO.

I reject the political justification for this war, but I don't like the "politics" of the anti-war movement either. Because they do not offer a positive solution to the oil issue.

Thanks for starting this thread... your posts give us the perspective we need - we need to see and feel the "price" our guys are paying with their blood and their lives (and their family’s loss) and hold this up next to the political "rational" for war ... is it worth it?

Veterans need to get behind the energy independence movement, IMHO, so we can stop the next one before it happens...

www.AmericanEnergyIndependence.com

Thanks for the Thumbs Up Big Sky - for sure.

One certain thing I have noticed with this "SHRUB" fiasco and the fad following Magnetic Yellow Ribbon on the Ol' SUV instant patriot sheople crew, supporting this BS.

The large majority have no clue what combat or being in the crosshairs of death or wounds is like. They all talk a good game, but are truly full of BS and will shortly end their new found support for the G.I. that is put in this situation when the fad wears off faster than a hopped up crotch rocket.

Yeah, I see care packages and all kind of BS sites and talk out in the land of Uncle Sammy like a free-kin Brush fire.

One thing Bro', these instant commandos have no idea what effect this fiasco will have not just on the Veteran, but their families and friends for many decades.

Will these Yellow Ribbon packin' fools support these Vets, families, and friends 20-30 years down the road? Yeah, tell me another one - seen it and been there Marine.

They will be forgotten by the pied piper crew as fast as they bought their made in China Yellow Ribbons. Same Ol' - Same Ol' Bro', and it makes this Vet want to barf!

It is free-kin easy to talk the talk for the "SHRUB" fiasco, but to walk the walk is another free-kin story Marine.

You think these so called educated sheople would know better than buying plain, slap in the face propaganda from the Neocon Chickenhawk SOB'S.

Education means nothing Bro', where the he_l is these dumb azz's plain ol' common sense?

Seriously Bro', I wish the he_l that these microwave patriots would wake the fudge up and face reality about where this country and its G.I.'s are heading.

Hang tough Marine, appreciate the post - for sure!

Freedom4all, appreciate your post and glad to see that someone has concern about this situation that faces the G.I. and land we call home.

#1 post and I sure as he_l hope Veterans and non-Vets will read your post and link and see what the he_l the "SHRUB" fiasco is doing to the American G.I., Veteran and our homeland.

Thanks for the post - respect - and hang tough~

Do you really want to support your American G.I.'S??

Quit buying into the "SHRUB" propaganda so he can prolong this blood and death profit and power WAR.

Pull off those yellow fad azz magnetic ribbons and check out this link.

This is not the in fad, but it is true support for our American G.I.'S!!

http://www.bringthemhomenow.org/

Its your choice, support a fashion mean nothing fad, or really support the American G.I. and Veteran of this "SHRUB" idiotic fiasco. Granted, you will not be in fashion, but you will be sincere and a true individual.

The choice is yours. Be in fashion with the current BS fad, or do the right thing!!

Iraq Veterans Against the War

National Day of Action for GI Resisters

We urge you to join us in a "National Day of Action for GI Resisters" on Tuesday May 10, 2005. This is the day before the US military is planning to bring sailor Pablo Paredes and soldier Kevin Benderman before military court martial tribunals for their opposition to the Iraq War. They face forfeiture of pay and benefits, and military jail time.

On December 6, 2004, Navy Petty Officer Pablo Paredes refused to board his ship as it left the San Diego Naval Station in support of the Iraq War and occupation. At the time of his refusal, Pablo said he hoped his protest might inspire other GI's to refuse to take part in the war.

On January 5, 2005, Army Sgt Kevin Benderman refused to deploy for a second tour of duty in Iraq with the Army's Third Infantry Division. At the same time seventeen other soldiers from his unit went AWOL, two tried to kill themselves and one had a relative shoot him in the leg to avoid deploying.

Both men applied for discharge from the US military as conscientious objectors. The military has wrongly rejected both claims.

It's time for us to escalate public pressure and action in support of Pablo, Kevin and the thousands of other courageous men and women who have followed their conscience to uphold international law and to take a principled stand against the unjust, illegal war and occupation of Iraq. It's time we had their backs.

Objection and resistance by military servicepersons is a healthy and important assertion of Democracy in a country where the decisions to invade Iraq, to maintain an occupation, and engage in widespread human right violations and torture were made undemocratically in violation of international law and based on continuing lies and disinformation.

Please join us by organizing a public demonstration, vigil or rally of support on May 10. Every action, no matter how large or small is important.

Also,

Send letters of support and donations to cover legal fees to Pablo and Kevin via their websites listed below.
Come to San Diego, California for Pablo (times and locations listed in the Events Calendar) or Fort Stewart, Georgia for Kevin to show your support during their trials.
Write letters to the editor, and help educate your organization, church, union, school, co-workers and community.
Resisting illegal occupation and war is not a crime! The right to conscientious objection is being systematically violated by the military. Those objectors who are publicly asserting their rights are being singled out for punishment. We demand that military personnel retain their right to follow their conscience, publicly dissent and that their basic democratic rights be respected.

A Real American Value
by Lou Plummer

Cindy Sheehan's eyes showed no fear, only fierce determination. The co-founder of Gold Star Families for Peace stepped forward and a crowd of nearly four thousand people slowly began to follow her up a steep hill and into the nation's consciousness. The mother of Specialist Casey Sheehan, a soldier who now lies in a grave in Vacaville, California, traveled all the way across the country to Fayetteville, NC, the town outside of Ft. Bragg. She came to grieve and to add her righteous anger to a growing sentiment among military families and veterans that the war in Iraq is wasting the lives of yet another generation.


IVAW Statement on the Second Anniversary of the War
Today marks the second anniversary of the invasion and occupation of Iraq, a key milestone in the current U.S. Government’s campaign of lies and deceit common since 9/11. We were first told that there was a link between Iraq and the horrible 9/11 attacks. But there was none. Then we were told that Iraq had Weapons of Mass Destruction; yet only a few old warheads and some dormant bacterial cultures have been found despite rigorous searching. Then finally, we were told that Saddam Hussein was training terrorists to attack the United States, but no terrorist presence seems to have existed in Iraq prior to the massive build-up in early 2003. Post-invasion Iraq, however, has clearly become a hotbed for new terrorist threats.
Read more here


Vermont Towns vote to bring troops home now
In Vermont, 48 town meetings voted last night to condemn the war in Iraq and to call on political leaders to bring home the state's National Guard.

Vermont has lost more soldiers per capita than any state, and has the second highest mobilization rate for its National Guard and reservists.

Read more at The Chicago Tribune or at Democracy Now!

vfguenley, "There it is Bro'" - for sure!

Now that there post of yours is supporting the American G.I. all the free-kin way Bro' !

If action against this "SHRUB" BS in Iraq is not taken quickly Bro', I am afraid it will be to late for supporting the G.I. and America as well.

Dynamite Post Bro' - for sure.
Why is it that Vets that actually seen war close and personal know what needs to be done?

Un-free-kin real, for sure Bro'!

Hang tough and proud to call you a Vietnam Vet Brother VF - Keep the faith and thats the way to "Support the G.I." the right way Bro'!!

Bammo, been missing your sharp wit and commentary. Good to see your alive and still participating in patriotism, and it’s good to see your keeping the faith bro. Coming up on another summer bro, how many more before we see America at “Peace” again?
I had the phone company come and put another line in the house yesterday. The man who showed up to make the installation was a man about my age. As he came into the yard he asked about the back of my Suburban. He was inquiring about my licensee plate, which is a Disabled Veteran plate issued by the state, next to that is a US Army bumper sticker, next to that is a Vietnam Veteran bumper sticker. So Carl the phone man, 33 years with Ma Bell, asks me what I thought about “ol george bush” taking the war to the terrorists. I was a little surprised by the question, coming out of the blue like that. Before I responded I looked Carl in the eye and I asked Carl, and Carl told me he turned 18 in “69” and that he was lucky and always caught a high number in the “draft”.
To make this long story short, I expressed myself to the best of my ability, and with out hesitation, I ended my opinionated statement with “Not only should Bush be impeached, he should be hung for the murder of all the American casualties since he’s been in office”. Now here is a guy, he’s got a “Fish” key chain, a picture of G. Bush hanging in his work truck, and his new found “Hero” just told him the war and the “shrub” are Bogus. I thought this guy was going to cry, how could this be happening.
Carl failed to make the connection where the phone line goes into the house, but I didn’t call him back, I went ahead and hooked it up myself. I was a little worried about Carl, his faith was a little shaken when he left here, but at least he had heard an honest opinion outside his church.

U.S. Casualties in Iraq War

http://icasualties.org/oif/

Click on the link and ask yourself is this supporting the American G.I., Veteran and families ??

Your footing the bill, these G.I.'S are fellow Americans.

Is this what you call support by adding to these numbers for a illegal war based on "SHRUB" lies with your tax dollar!!!

Do whats right, protest, write, object loudly about this BS the "SHRUB" has put our American G.I.'S and country into, for nothing but power and profit based on lies and fraud.

Bro', glad you gave ol' Carl the phone dude the straight scoop! There it free-kin is Bro' - for sure!

Been away on the Bike for a few VF. Did a litte protesting of this "SHRUB" fiasco with a few other Nam Bro's who actually humped a ruck.

Dudes like ol' Carl have a hard time facing the facts Bro'. More of the sheople that follow the yellow ribbon "SHRUB" Chickenhawk brigade BS.

Tell it like it is Bro'. You seen War up close and personal and know exactly what the he_l it is like. Getting greased, whacked, or mind getting rattled for BS - is a definate scar on America thanks to the "SHRUB" and his yellow ribbon patriots.

Thumbs Up Bro' - way to free-kin go!

Hang Tough ~ Will be around for a few Bro' - LOL

Sorry about the long read but did y'all see this article. Glad to see ya back Bammo.

Link
Home from Iraq
Journalist urges Americans to search for truth, freedom'



ABOUT THIS SPEECH

This article is adapted from a speech given by photojournalist Molly Bingham at Western Kentucky University last month. Bingham, a Louisville native, was detained in 2003 by Iraqi security forces and held in Abu Ghraib prison from March 25 to April 2, 2003. Eighteen days after her release, she returned to Iraq to pursue stories for The New York Times, The Guardian of London and others. Taking a short break during the summer of 2003, Bingham had the idea of working on a story to explore who was involved in the nascent resistance that was becoming apparent throughout Iraq. She scanned the papers that summer, looking for an article that would show some journalist had reported the story, had gone deeper to find out the source of the new violence. No one had. So in August 2003, Bingham returned with British journalist Steve Connors and spent the next 10 months reporting the story of the Iraqi resistance. Her account was published in Vanity Fair magazine in July 2004; Connors shot a documentary film on the subject. This speech was a challenge to journalists, and Americans, to speak up and be sure their comments, questions and thoughts are heard, and that the First Amendment is celebrated in all its strengths. Bingham began her career as a photo intern for The Courier-Journal and Louisville Times.





We spent 10 months in Iraq, working on a story, understanding who the people are who are fighting, why they fight, what their fundamental beliefs are, when they started, what kinds of backgrounds they come from, what education, jobs they have. Were they former military, are they Iraqi or foreign? Are they part of al-Qaida? What we came up with is a story in itself, and one that Vanity Fair ran in July 2004 with my text and pictures. [My colleague Steve Connors] shot a documentary film that is still waiting to find a home. But the basic point for this discussion is that we both thought it was really journalistically important to understand who it was who was resisting the presence of the foreign troops. If you didn't understand that, how could you report what was clearly becoming an "ongoing conflict?" And if you were reading the news in America, or Europe, how could you understand the full context of what was unfolding if what motivates the "other side" of the conflict is not understood, or even discussed?

Just the process of working on that story has revealed many things to me about my own country. I'd like to share some of them with you:

Lesson One: Many journalists in Iraq could not, or would not, check their nationality or their own perspective at the door.

One of the hardest things about working on this story for me personally, and as a journalist, was to set my "American self" and perspective aside. It was an ongoing challenge to listen open-mindedly to a group of people whose foundation of belief is significantly different from mine, and one I found I often strongly disagreed with.

But going in to report a story with a pile of prejudices is no way to do a story justice, or to do it fairly, and that constant necessity to bite my tongue, wipe the smirk off my face or continue to listen through a racial or religious diatribe that I found appalling was a skill I had to practice. We would never walk in to cover a union problem or political event without seeking to understand the perspective from both, or the many sides of the story that exist. Why should we as journalists do it in Iraq?

Lesson Two: Our behavior as journalists has taught us very little. Just as in the lead up to the war in Iraq, questioning our government's decisions and claims and what it seeks to achieve is criticized as unpatriotic.

Along these lines, the other thing I found difficult was the realization that, while I was out doing what I believe is solid journalism, there were many (journalists and normal folks alike) who would question my patriotism, or wonder how I could even think hearing and relating the perspective "from the other side" was important.

Certainly, over the last three years I've had to acquire the discipline of overriding my emotional attachment to my country, and remember my sense of human values that transcend frontiers and ethnicity. And with a sense of duty to history, I needed to just get on with reporting the story. My value of human life and rights don't fluctuate depending on which country I'm in. I don't see one individual as more deserving of fair treatment than another. . . .

Now, I realize I'm in Kentucky, a state with many military connections, and there are many of you here who may have served, or have family members who serve, and let me take this moment to say that I have the utmost respect and sympathy for the American soldiers overseas right now, particularly in Iraq. They have been sent on a most difficult mission, to quell a population that will not be quelled, in a land awash with weapons. The American military is being used to find a solution to what is essentially a political problem, an equation that rarely adds up well. As if that were not enough, our soldiers have been sent with insufficient resources to protect themselves. In my mind, that is all inexcusable.

Lesson Three: To seek to understand and represent to an American audience the reasons behind the Iraqi opposition is practically treasonous.

Every one of the people involved in the resistance that we spoke to held us individually responsible for their security. If something happened to them -- never mind that they were legitimate targets for the U.S. military -- they would blame us. And kill us. We soon learned that they had the U.S. bases so well watched that we had to abandon our idea of working on the U.S. side of the story -- that is, discovering what the soldiers really thought about who might be attacking them. There were so many journalists working with the American soldiers that we believed that that story would be well told. More practically, if we were seen by the Iraqis going in and out of the American bases, we would be tagged immediately as spies, informants and most likely be killed.

As terrifying as that was to manage and work through, there was another fear that was just as bad. What if the American military or intelligence found out what we were working on? Would they tail us and round up the people we met? Would they kick down our door late one night, rifle through all our stuff and arrest us for "collaborating with the enemy?" Bear in mind that there are no real laws in Iraq. At the time that we were working, the American military was the law, and it seemed to me that they were pretty much making it up as they went along. I was pretty sure that if they wanted to "disappear" us, rough us up or even send us for an all expenses paid vacation in Guantánamo for suspected al-Qaida connections, they could do so with very little, or even no recourse on our part.

I could go into a long litany of the ways in which the American military has treated journalists in Iraq. Recent actions indicate that the U.S. military will detain and/or kill any journalist who happens to be caught covering the Iraqi side of the militant resistance, and indeed a number of journalists have been killed by U.S. troops while working in Iraq. This behavior at the moment seems to be limited to journalists who also happen to be Arabs, or Arab-looking, but that is only a tangential story to what I'm telling you about here.

The intimidation to not work on this story was evident. Dexter Filkins, who writes for The New York Times, related a conversation he had in Iraq with an American military commander just before we left. Dexter and the commander had gotten quite friendly, meeting up sporadically for a beer and a chat. Towards the end of one of their conversations, Dexter declined an invitation for the next day by explaining that he'd lined up a meeting with a "resistance guy." The commander's face went stony cold and he said, "We have a position on that." For Dexter the message was clear. He cancelled the appointment. And, again, this is not meant as any criticism of the military; they have a war to win, and dominating the "message," or the news is an integral part of that war. The military has a name for it, "information operations," and the aim is to achieve information superiority in the same way they would seek to achieve air superiority. If you look closely, you will notice there is very little, maybe even no direct reporting on the resistance in Iraq. We do, however, as journalists report what the Americans say about the resistance. Is this really anything more than stenography?

And many American journalists often refer to those attacking Americans or Iraqi troops and policemen as "terrorists." Some are indeed using terrorist tactics, but calling them "terrorists" simply shuts down any sense of need or interest to look beyond that word, to understand why indeed human beings might be willing to die in a violent struggle to achieve their goal. Pushing them off as simply "insane, wild Arabs" or "extremist Muslims" does them no service, but even more, it does the U.S. no service. If we as Americans fail to understand who attacks us and why, we will simply continue on this same path, and continue watching from afar as a war we don't understand boils over.

Lesson Four: The gatekeepers -- by which I mean the editors, publishers and business sides of the media -- don't want their paper or their outlet to reveal that compelling narrative of why anyone would oppose the presence of American troops on their soil. Why would anyone refuse democracy? Why would anyone not want the helping hand of America in overthrowing their terrible dictator? It's amazing to me how expeditiously we turn away from our own history. Think of our revolution. Think of our Founding Fathers. Think of what they stood for and hoped for. Think of how, over time, we have learned to improve on our own Constitution and governance. But think, mostly, about the words I just used: It was our decision and our determination that brought us where we are now.

Recall Patrick Henry's famous speech encouraging the Second Virginia Convention, gathered on March 20, 1775, to fight the British, "Give me liberty or give me death!" Why is it that we, as Americans, presume that any Iraqi would feel any differently? If the roles were reversed, do you think for a moment that our men wouldn't be stockpiling arms and attacking any foreign invader with the temerity to set foot on our soil, occupy our buildings of government and write us a new constitution?

Wouldn't we as women be joining with them in any way we could? Wouldn't the divisions between us -- how we feel about President Bush, whether we're Republican or Democrat -- be put aside as we resisted a common enemy?

Then why is it that this story of human effort for self-determination by violent means cannot be told in America? Are we so small, so confused by our own values that we cannot recognize when someone emulates our own struggle? Even if it is the U.S. that they are struggling against? I want to be careful to explain that I am not saying that the Iraqis fighting against us are necessarily fighting for democracy, but they are fighting for their right to decide for themselves what their nation looks like politically.

Lesson Five: What it's like to be afraid of your own country.

Once the story was finished and set to come out on the street, I was rushing back to the States -- mostly because we could no longer work once the story was published -- and I found I was scared returning to my own country. And that was an amazingly strange and awful feeling to have. Again, you could call me paranoid, but the questions about what might happen to me once in America -- where at least I would have more rights -- kept racing through my brain. I'm still here, so you could say that my frantic mental gymnastics about what could happen to me in my own country were paranoid anxieties.

But I would turn that question around:

How many other American journalists, perhaps not as secure in their position as I, have thought to do a story and decided that it's too close to the bone, too questioning of the American government or its actions? How many times was the risk that our own government might come in and rifle through our apartment, our homes or take us away for questioning in front of our children a factor in our decision not to do a story? How many times did we as journalists decide not to do a story because we thought it might get us into trouble? Or, as likely, how often did the editor above us kill the story for the same reasons? Lots of column inches have been spent in the discussion of how our rights as Americans are being surreptitiously confiscated, but what about our complicity, as journalists, in that? It seems to me that the assault on free speech, while the fear and intimidation is in the air, comes as much from us -- as individuals and networks of journalists who censor ourselves -- as it does from any other source.

We need to wake up as individuals and as a community of journalists and start asking the hard and scary questions. Questions we may not really want to know the answers to about ourselves, about our government, about what is being done in our name, and hold the responsible individuals accountable through due process in our legal or electoral system.

We need to begin to be able to look again at our government, our leadership and ourselves critically. That is what the Fourth Estate is all about. That's what American journalism can do at its zenith. I also happen to believe that, in fact, that is the highest form of patriotism -- expecting our country to live up to the promises it makes and the values it purports to hold. The role of the media in assisting the public to ensure those values are reflected in reality is undeniably failing today.

Go ahead, take a hard look in the mirror, ask the questions -- if there is something in our nation that needs repair or change, that is how it will get done, by asking those questions, getting answers and reporting them.

We still have the freedom in this country as individuals and as journalists to defend the rights enshrined in the Constitution, to defend the values that we as individuals still hold dear -- so why aren't we doing it? Are we scared? If we're scared, then who will be there to defend those rights and values when it is proposed that they be taken away?

I still believe in that country that I love so dearly, the place I think of when the words "freedom," "opportunity," "liberty," "justice" and "equality" are spoken on lips, but I want it to be a country I see, hear and feel every day, not one that lives in my imagination.

It's time we looked in the mirror and began to take responsibility for what our country looks like, what our country is and how it behaves, rather than acting like victims before we actually are.

Or do I need to start facing the reality that all I love and believe in is simply self-delusion?

This mirrors my feelings. We can't shut our eyes to the negatives or the positives. We can't make things better when we're in denial.

wliberty


Dynamite post - for sure!

My feelings wliberty, denial leads to ignorance and guess what? Ignorance is sure as he_l florishing well now - in the land of the "SHRUB" !!

Thanks for the post wliberty and you Hang Tough ~

Powerfull article Ace

I don't know how many times I have done this very same thing in telling others... "Just reverse everything... what would you do and how would you feel if invaded?" I usually get the same dumbazz basic response.... 'Well... it's not so why care?" Welcome to 'short on brains' America!

I also scream 'wake up' often! It's all about awareness and acting on such information. To ignore it for life only gets us where we are today. We must push for justice against this criminal regime. It has just been reported on the radio that the pending investigations against Cheney and Halliburton has been dropped by our Bush flavored judges. There it is... more corruption that goes untouched.

Support needs to start with the ppl here and now..... troops must return home ASAP!

June 6th, 2005 4:33 pm
Families' war support falters over troop casualties


By Ron Harris and Philip Dine / Knight Ridder

ST. LOUIS - In the second year after major combat was declared over in Iraq, the number of American troops killed there increased by 43 percent and the number of wounded more than doubled, according to government statistics.

President George W. Bush announced the end of major fighting on May 1, 2003. In the following 12 months, 598 servicemen and women died. The death toll was 852 Americans in the year that ended April 30, 2005. The figures are from Department of Defense information compiled by CNN.com.

The number of Americans wounded in the war increased from 3,732 between May 2003 and April 2004 to 7,748 in the following year, according to the New York Times News Service. Some military experts say the numbers reflect the cost of war and one expert said they would be higher "if things were getting really bad."

Others, along with some members of Congress, blame the increased casualties on the way the war was waged from the beginning.

The mounting numbers of dead and wounded is causing concern for those with loved ones in the regular military, National Guard or Reserve because they fear that the longer the war drags on, the more likely their relatives will end up fighting in it.

Carl McKenzie of St. Louis worries that his son, Matthew, may be required to return to Iraq.

"It scares the living daylights out of me," said McKenzie, whose son served a year and a half there with the Missouri National Guard before returning to the United States last year.

"Those (casualty) numbers tell me what I said before the war started, that it will be 10 years before we get out of there and that these insurgents are getting crazier and crazier," McKenzie, 63, said. "My son has three years to go on his contract. He could be back over there."

Don Kositzke, a St. Louis resident who initially supported the invasion, is starting to have second thoughts.

"I'm beginning to waver as the facts come out," said Kositzke, 53, whose two sons have served in Iraq. One is now on his second tour. "I don't blame the Republican Party, I blame (Secretary of Defense Donald) Rumsfeld and the others. They fired the generals who said they didn't have the manpower, and now we're here."

His wife is just as bothered.

"When you hear the numbers, it doesn't sound like things are getting better," Sandy Kositzke said, "and the longer they're over there, the more discouraging it sounds. It's time for us here in the United States to do some rethinking. Maybe this wasn't the best idea."

Retired Brig. Gen. David Grange commanded the 1st Infantry Division in Bosnia, Kosovo and Macedonia. He says the mounting deaths of American soldiers stem in large measure from critical mistakes made right after the invasion of Iraq.

The key failure was not stamping out the insurgency when it was weakest, he said.

"The reality is that the first year was a time when the insurgents were preparing for what they're doing now, when they were building up, they were reorganizing, foreign fighters were coming in," Grange said. "We didn't have a handle on it, which is a shame, because you never let your adversary get a chance to regroup."

He said that the number of U.S. troops was insufficient and that disbanding the Iraqi army caused problems.

"They were hanging around with no jobs, no income, and the terrorists started taking advantage of those gaps. They filled the vacuum. We gave them a chance to breathe for about half a year, and now we're going to have to grind them down - and it's going to take some time."

Some members of Congress argue that Bush, Rumsfeld and others in the administration didn't prepare for the war beyond the initial invasion. Consequently, U.S. soldiers and Marines are mired in an urban guerrilla war that might have been avoided.

"You win a war by winning the peace, and that's what we're there for," Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo., said.

"The fact that we've had so much difficulty after the initial phase reflects a lack of planning. It took three years to plan for the occupation of Germany after World War II. We didn't take three weeks to plan for this war."

Military expert Donald Abenheim said the higher casualty figures reflect the reality of a war that America never intended or was prepared to fight.

"We went into this wanting to fight our kind of war, which was a blitzkrieg," said Abenheim, a Hoover Research Fellow at Stanford University in California.

"The trouble with that kind of war is that it can change into the kind of war you don't want - which we have now - which is an insurgency, a war in which you are defending everything and consequently you are defending very little."

The military's lack of knowledge about the nature of the insurgency has also contributed to the higher casualties, said Loren Thompson, chief operating officer at the Lexington Institute in Arlington, Va.

"The evidence to date suggests that U.S. military officers don't really understand the sources of the insurgency or how to blunt its effects," he said. "For example, every day we hear stories of suicide bombers killing innocent Iraqis, but we have no detailed insight into the recruiting mechanisms or the training to produce suicide bombers in such large numbers."

But the president, many lawmakers and some military analysts say the war is progressing well.

The increase in fatalities was misleading because the numbers were "much lower than they would be if things were getting really bad," Heritage Foundation military expert Jack Spencer said

Given U.S. achievements in Iraq, the duration of the conflict and its nature, the number of fatalities is not high from a historical perspective, he said.

The increased number of dead and wounded also reflect a more active U.S. role in taking on the insurgents, he added.

"When you put yourself at greater risk you will take greater casualties," he said, "but that doesn't mean things are going better or worse."

Retired Lt. Gen. William Odom, director under President Ronald Reagan of the nation's largest intelligence agency - the National Security Agency - said the mounting casualties didn't square with the administration's claim of progress.

"Because we're losing," he said. "We can stay there and take casualties indefinitely, because these are not big enough numbers to drive us out in the way Vietnam did, but the dynamics are more or less the same."

The hard truth is that things may get worse before they get better, said Rep. Todd Akin, R-Mo., a member of the House Armed Services Committee.

"My attitude is that I don't think the war is de-escalating," said Akin, whose son is a Marine serving in Iraq. "I think there's a war going on, period. We're not talking about something that will end in months. We're talking about years.

"It's going to take time to rebuild Iraq, and I'm not sure where those casualty numbers are going to fall in that process. I don't pretend to have any magical answers."

Legislators - Republicans and Democrats - are hoping that efforts to train Iraqi forces to defend their own country will eventually allow U.S. forces to leave, or at least dramatically scale down their presence.

"We have to do our very best to make sure that the Iraqi forces can take over the job of policing their own country," Skelton said. "They are going to have to take the bull by the horn eventually."

Even if successful, that could take a long time.

"I was there two months ago and saw some of that training," Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said. "My impression is that it will take a long, long time to replace those American soldiers."

Some question the military's ability to succeed in training a force capable of maintaining security in Iraq.

"The administration is trying to paint the picture that they're in charge, and they're not," said Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif.

While Americans are hoping that the training of Iraqi forces will mean the end of a major U.S. presence, Abenheim says the plan harkens to a failed strategy in America's last major war.

"It does suggest Vietnamization," he said, speaking of the U.S. policy during the Vietnam War to train the South Vietnamese to protect their own country so American soldiers could slide into the background.

Brad Oversmith, 32, served nine months in Iraq with the Missouri National Guard. He was shot in the leg.

"It doesn't matter how many troops you have there or what they do, you are never going to beat an insurgency like that," said Oversmith, now a police officer in Smithville, Mo.

"In their view, they think they are being conquered. If they think they are being conquered, they'll fight for years and years. Look how long the Vietnamese fought."

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=2900

The Iraq Page

Remembering Those who Lost Their Lives
in the Iraq War of 2003

The War Dead -- Long May We Remember Them


http://www.pigstye.net/iraq/wd.php

I really enjoyed the posts. A very real face to the toll of war. Thanks!

Support the Truth.
After 15 years in the US Army, Dennis Kyne knows the story of war. He has worked on the inside of the world's largest, strongest, and most dangerous military force. He learned the hard way how to Support the Truth.

Dennis Kyne was trained extensively by the US Army - as a battlefield medic, as a Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Weapons specialist, as a drill sergeant, and was eventually nominated to study at the US Military Academy at West Point. In 1991 he was sent to Iraq as a part of Gulf War I - Operation Desert Storm, where he worked as a medic, pulling his comrades from battle and treating the wounds of an army of Americans sent to fight a war on foreign soil.

But it wasn't until Dennis Kyne returned to the US to finish his civilian duty that he learned the most painful lessons of time served in the US Army. It wasn't the heavy combat or the faces of death that hurt him the most, it was his own Military, and his own countrymen who let him down.

Dennis learned that the US Military itself was conducting a series of medical tests on his body, and on the bodies of thousands of American men and women stationed in the Middle East. They were used as guinea pigs, in testing new drugs and nuclear weaponry.

Dennis was shocked to return home and learn about the side-effects of his exposure to Depleted Uranium weapons. He was thankful that he disobeyed orders to swallow Pyridostigmine Bromide tablets; a requirment set forth for all military personnel during Gulf War I. Instead he threw them away, but his comrades who did swallow them are now suffering from "undiagnosable" diseases.

To this day, the US Army refuses to acknowledge the source of a multitude of deaths and diseases that began on the battlefields of Gulf War I.

Dennis notes that the second most painful lesson of serving his country in war, was coming home to an uninformed citizenry. He can see that Americans want or claim to support the troops. But he does not accept that as a genuine feeling.

Dennis Kyne asks you today to Support the Truth
http://www.denniskyne.com/

#1 post Anita, for sure!


Hang Tough ~

This site tells it like it is, don't think there are any yellow ribbons here for you instant patriots. LOL

http://www.militaryproject.org/

Thanks Anita for sharing that site friend! Hang Tough ~ (for some reason, don't think that site is going to go over big in Texass --ya' think???) LOL

Hey Bammo thanks for keeping it realistic!! I appreciate your posts!! Keep on keeping on!!

Support Our Troops
FRA remains strongly committed to the men and women who defend our nation. Shipmates are encouraged to actively demonstrate their support for members of the Armed Forces and their families.

Several existing programs to show support for our troops are listed below. Shipmates are encouraged to take an active role in boosting the morale of our military personnel.

Besides the listed opportunities to extend individual support, FRA notes the following initiatives by its Branches and Units as examples of local events that show support for military families in their communities, especially those with loved ones overseas.

Branches and Units have adopted a ship or unit; furnished refreshments at staging areas for deploying troops; organized yellow ribbon and flag displays in their local communities; sponsored babysitting and home repair services through local/base Family Services agencies; held carnivals for children of deployed service members; offered to video tape messages from families to their military member; and held "welcome home" celebrations for returning troops.

Army Emergency Relief at http://www.aerhq.org/
Navy/Marine Relief Society at http://www.nmcrs.org/
Air Force Aid Society at http://www.afas.org/
Coast Guard Mutual Assistance at http://www.cgmahq.org/

Donate to "Operation USO Care Package" at http://www.usometrodc.org/care.html

Support the American Red Cross Armed Forces Emergency Services at http://www.redcross.org/services/afes/

Donate Commissary Gift Certificate(s) to Military Families via the Defense Commissary Agency (DECA)

Donate via the Armed Forces Relief Trust

Care Packages For The Troops Operation Gratitude

The Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund SemperFi Fund

Marine Stories: Dustin, Lance Corporal, USMC, Michigan



Dustin, a Lance Corporal from Michigan, was severely injured during his service overseas in Iraq. He was riddled with shrapnel and was on a ventilator in the ICU. The shrapnel caused the loss of one eye, and possibly his remaining eyesight in the other. One of his legs was severely burned with an open fracture and major tissue damage. His right hand was badly damaged, and two of his fingers on his right hand were amputated.
When Dustin arrived at Bethesda Naval Hospital, his mother and father flew from Michigan to be at their son's bedside. His father works in a factory, and took great pains to leave work and their other children behind during this difficult time for the entire family. His father said he would stay as long as it took for his son to recover. His mother had to return to Michigan to take care of the other children, and so she wouldn’t lose her job.

It has become difficult for Dustin’s family to make ends meet at home. His father’s jeopardized income has made it difficult to keep up all the traveling, transportation, and living expenses that have added up during this time. For his family, every little bit counts. The Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund came to this family’s assistance, and with their IMSFF Grant, they were able to pay their bills at home.


How You Can Help

The Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund relies on the generosity of its donors. You can help make a difference for the injured Marines, sailors, and their families by making a donation to the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund. Your support will help provide the much needed financial assistance — such as lodging, food, and childcare — so desperately needed by these families.
Your gift means a great deal to the organization, but even more to the injured Marines and families. This is one of the most difficult times of their lives. Your help ensures they can focus on physical and emotional recovery during this extraordinarily trying time.

In addition to individual giving, many companies offer matching gift programs that can increase the power of your donation. Contact your personnel office to see if your business or organization participates in matching gift programs. All donations are tax deductible.

Donations
To support the fund, you can donate by check or credit card. To send a check, please fill out this donation form. For credit card donations, follow the Donate Now link located on the right column.

Thank you for your support.

http://www.semperfifund.org/

Who would support a constitutional amendment to prohibit the waging of war as an instrument of foreign policy?

Band Marine trades music for combat arms
Submitted by: 2nd Marine Division
Story by: Computed Name: Sgt. Stephen D'Alessio

Story Identification #: 20057186928




CAMP BLUE DIAMOND, AR RAMADI, Iraq(July 18, 2005) -- Sergeant Bartholomew, a percussionist with the 2nd Marine Division Band, was content banging on the drums until he deployed for Operation Iraqi Freedom. Now, he’s found a new profession in the Marines and it has changed his life.

Benjamin Alan Bartholomew, a 22-year-old Mason City, Iowa native is now in charge of a small force of Marines with the camp’s guard force who ensure the security within the camp. They also patrol outside the walls of the camp searching for insurgent hideouts or weapons caches in the town.

Headquarters Battalion has charged him and his band member counterparts with being the camp’s ready reaction force during their deployment here. Now, after about six months on the job here, he’s found that the profession of arms was not only a break from his job as a musician, but a turning point in his life.

“The hardest part was getting here and training our augments to become a reaction force,” said the 2001 Mason City High School graduate. “We have the band here, but we also have people from different units augmenting the force. If they don’t know each other, they can’t train effectively.”

Bartholomew received a Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal before he deployed for his part in training nearly 1,000 Marines and sailors in the Enhanced Marksmanship Program and Security and Stability Operations. He taught everything from how use the rank structure in the guard force to how to shoot straight in a close quarters combat environment. The six-day training for battalion personnel was just a portion of what he and his Marines strived for many months before they deployed. He also had to teach his own Marines to instruct their augments in the same way upon deploying here.

“We’ve applied a decent amount of our training already,” said Bartholomew. “From vehicle and personnel searches to security patrols outside the camp in the orchards and neighborhoods, it’s been going well.”

His dedication to the job is unquestionable. Bartholomew extended past his end of active service date to stay deployed here. He figured that if he trained with these Marines and deployed with them, he should stay with them until the end – which for him, has come and past.

“My EAS was a month ago,” said Bartholomew. “I felt I needed to stay on with the rest of the guys. Being the internal force is a tough job. It wears on you mentally. We’re running 16 hour days some days.”

He seems to love it despite the tough times. Bartholomew plans to permanently change his profession from being a band member after the deployment. His experience as a troop leader has opened new doors.

“After I get out, I’m applying for the state highway patrol,” said Bartholomew. “I’ve learned how important the people around me are especially if you take contact. Your people are the only ones there. And if you don’t trust them, you’re gonna’ be lost.”

http://www.marines.mil/marinelink/mcn2000....65?OpenDocument

Thank you for joining millions of your fellow Americans in wanting to find ways to show support for our military. Whether you want to send a care package to a soldier, donate airline miles to help reunite returning military men and women with their families, support scholarship funds or send support to wounded service members, on this page you will find over 150 non-profit organizations dedicated to helping our troops and their families.

If you know of a non-profit organization in your community focused on helping our soldiers, sailors, airmen, Coast Guardsmen, Marines and National Guardsmen that is not currently listed, please contact America Supports You today to have them join the team.

http://www.americasupportsyou.mil/

I’ll share with you how I’m supporting our troops.
I donate to Iraqi Veterans Against the War, to help with the high cost of psychological casualties amongst the Iraqi War Vets. I work with all the resources I can muster in an effort to declare a victory in Iraq and begin withdrawing our soldiers. I am working with my local politicians in an effort to elect only politicians who are smart enough to think for themselves, an effort to put an end to “sheople in American politics”
As my peers rightfully did back during the Vietnam War, I will protest every chance I get, and as my peers rightfully did in the late sixties and into the seventies, we will help the American populace see the truth and help guide our beloved nation back into her rightful place in the world community, where we can better fight terror and help keep America safer.

Hospitalmen’s Rich Legacy Growing in Iraq

Friday, July 08, 2005

By Lance Cpl. Ray Lewis and Sgt. Monroe Seigle - Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton
CAMP PENDLETON, Calif - The essence of a hospital corpsman? No need to explain it to Hospitalman Paul T. Alba.
The 2-inch scar on his neck, coupled with the Purple Heart he collected for his trouble, underscore his credentials as a torch bearer for a 107-year heritage marked by faithful healing and heroism.
Alba, 20, with 1st Medical Battalion, was riding in a convoy when his camp was ambushed in the early stages of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
That’s when he and a comrade heard the distinct whistle of a 122 mm rocket - actually, two rockets. The pair missed him and hit the nearby mess hall, he said.
“Since it hit the chow hall, I went back inside telling everyone what happened, and within 15-30 seconds a third (rocket) hit the doorway of the clinic - killing the two Army guys by the door,”Alba recalled.
Sharp shards of shrapnel whizzed throughout the room. One piece lodged in Alba’s neck - just above his jugular vein.
Despite the wound and resulting numbness, he didn’t stop trying to help.
“The adrenaline was pumping,” Alba said. “I knew I got hit, but others did too.”
As Alba feverishly worked the room, a fellow corpsman noticed the wound during a “blood sweep,” where the corpsman checks his body.
While most corpsmen will wind up treating a serious injury or two - and many more during what amounts to guerrilla war - few actually wind up wounded while treating the wounded.
But Alba says that’s no big deal.
“Yeah, I got a Purple Heart, but it’s the one award you don’t want to get,” he said.
Alba marvels at how some Marines relish danger.
“I know some Marines that come to clinic saying, ‘I’m gonna get a Purple Heart for this,’ and are ready to go back out to the fight,” Alba said.
Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Jamar D. Williams has seen such bravado. He treats Marines being whisked away from the battlefield aboard “medevac” vehicles. They carry lifesaving medical supplies - including IV bags, oxygen and defibrulators.
Williams says a high-tech era with higher-echelon care near the front lines and faster response times results in more happy endings for corpsmen bent on saving lives.
“The turnaround for wounded pat