Democratic Veteran :: Oh, great

July 01, 2006

Oh, great

Soldierly "misconduct" has been around for as long as there have been armies and wars for them to fight in. So it goes from the predecessors of the Centurions of Ancient Rome to the present day. And it never leads to good results. Try as they might, all the lawmakers and all those charged with maintaining "good order and discipline" can only do so much before something bad happens.

Well, it happened at Abu Ghraib, and now it's just getting worse.

The U.S. Army is investigating allegations that American soldiers raped and killed a woman and killed three of her family members in a town south of Baghdad, then reported the incident as an insurgent attack, a military official said Friday.

The alleged crimes occurred in March in the insurgent hotbed of Mahmudiyah. The four soldiers involved, from the 502nd Infantry Regiment, attempted to burn the family's home to the ground and blamed insurgents for the carnage, according to a military official familiar with the investigation, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was providing details not released publicly.

Of course, the wingnuts will be all over this, pointing out that such "bad news" is hurting the morale of the troops. blah blah blah blah blah. What's hurting their morale is being left in a situation by a bunch of self-serving politicians who are enriching themselves and their buddies by running a "war of choice", with no cost to themselves, and no end in sight.

The men who are involved in this need to be brought before the bar, no question. But when are the men who caused this to happen going to answer? The war-mongering chickenhawks who basically whispered in the ears of the troops that Iraq was responsible for 9/11, go get some payback fomented this as surely as if they had been there doing the raping and killing. The dehuminization of the Iraqis as "hajis", and the building mistrust and anti-American sentiment are a natural outgrowth of the lack of foresight and planning that the 1600 Crew is known for a half-decade into their mismanagement of America.

When these men go before a military judge, so should Beloved Leader, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rove, Wolfowitz, Pearle and Powell and explain why they should not be dragged before a military tribunal and charged with violations of federal and military law for crimes against the Constitution and our Nation. Well, I won't hold my breath, but it sure would be good theatre, wouldn't it?

posted by Jo Fish on 07.01.06 at 04:58 PM

Comments:

Dear Sirs/Madams

Here's a letter that I submitted to the Chicago Sun TImes regarding the has been rocker and right wing coward Ted Nugent who toured with pseudo patriot country star Toby Keith. Approximately 2 years ago they met with bereaved family members who lost loved ones in the Iraq War. The country music stations won't talk about this hypocrisy yet they attack the Dixie Chicks for merely speaking their opinions.

Sincerely
Tony Nozzi

Flag-waving coward

Publication: Chicago Sun-Times (IL)
Date: June 8, 2006
Author: Tony Nozzi The Chicago Sun-Times
Section: Editorials/Letters
Edition: Final
Page: 38
Word Count: 235

Another picture of Ted Nugent posing with America's military heroes as if he's one of them [QT column, June 1]? Evidently he's since changed the crusty, urine-soaked pants that he wore to his draft board physical or the National Guardsmen would have been posing with their military-issued gas masks.

Nugent claims he's paid his dues for avoiding the Vietnam draft. How so? By playing his guitar and getting rich while over 58,000 men bled and died for his right to wave his guns around?

Lacking the courage that even conscientious objectors exhibited, he bragged to the Detroit Free Press in 1990 that, "30 days before his draft board physical, he stopped all forms of personal hygiene. The last 10 days he ingested nothing but Vienna Sausages and Pepsi; and a week before his draft board physical, he stopped using bathrooms altogether, virtually living inside pants caked with his own excrement stained by his own urine."

Nugent's flag-waving rhetoric won't change what he did. I'm sure the military men and women with whom he frequently poses are unaware of Nugent's cowardice. As a Vietnam veteran, I am not swayed by his pathetic justification for his hypocrisy.

Why do the country music stations continue to attack the Dixie Chicks and Jane Fonda while Nugent is idolized as a patriot? Jane Fonda and the Dixie Chicks have more guts and cleaner panties than this phony has-been.

Tony Nozzi, Durand, Ill.

PRICING
This archive has a variety of pricing options for purchasing articles.

To allow for flexibility, we offer a day pass and a week pass along with single article purchasing. You will be asked for your credit card information as part of the set up process.

When you are ready to purchase, you can choose from the following options:

Single article:
$2.95
Each single-article purchase is reflected as a single purchase on your credit card.

Day Plan:
$5.95 for 5 articles

Week Plan:
$9.95 for 15 articles

Month Plan:
$14.95 for 30 articles

Month-Plus Plan:
$39.95 for 100 articles

Year Plan:
$149.95 for 360 articles

Year-Plus Plan:
$359.95 for 1200 articles

Having trouble?
If you have any technical difficulties, either with your user name and password or with the payment options, please contact NewsBank at 1-800-896-5587 or by e-mail.

NewsBank will respond within one business day; longer on weekends and holidays.

Visit our online partners:
Daily Southtown Pioneer Press Suburban Chicago Newspapers Post-Tribune
Star Newspapers Jerusalem Post Daily Telegraph

posted by: Tony Nozzi on 07.01.06 at 10:35 PM [permalink]

Dragged in handcuffs and legirons from their offices.... yeah Jo - sounds like a winner to me. I'm in for that, you can bet your ass.

I can think of a few republican lawmakers (and a couple dems, too) you can toss into that mix.

See? Hard for our republican bretheren to comprehend this type of thinking. The little box they try to fit everyone into is either a Democratic or Republican box.

They don't like the box Independent guys like me hang out in. My thinking is way outside their rhelm of comprehension. Totally pisses them off, and they can't figure their way out of it.

Hey.... got a couple of old flags that need to be disposed of... I got plenty of beer - drop by Tuesday & we'll burn them, as per regulation.

Semper Fidelis

posted by: Barndog on 07.02.06 at 04:37 AM [permalink]

You may have read by now that this "woman" was actually 15 years old.

posted by: Susie from Philly on 07.03.06 at 11:13 PM [permalink]

Reports I've read regarding this incident, show a complete lack of, and total breaking down of command and control within the unit.

I've heard it mentioned a couple of times before - they ain't seen nothin' yet... until these soldiers get home and really freak the fuck out.

Then the right's most holy leadership can really stand the fuck by to pay the price for what they've done to them enmass. The ones who've met their demise have got it easy - theres no lasting pain and anguish in death. Only to the ones they've left behind.

Those saddled with the memories of Iraq, IED's, and so forth - these Soldiers, Marines & Sailors will need everything we've got to help them through their pain and suffering... because we already know the right and their minions will leave them behind.

As they always do. We do, and know differently.

Semper Fidelis

posted by: Barndog on 07.05.06 at 04:43 AM [permalink]

About time that someone points the finger of blame where it belongs, at Scrub and the devil, Rumsfeld, and the neo-cons responsible.

posted by: DonQuixote on 07.07.06 at 10:31 AM [permalink]