GI SPECIAL 5C15:
[Thanks to Katie GY,
The Military Project]
"There Is A Sense Of Betrayal," Said Spc. Linsay
Burnett:
The
Troops Were Feeling "Used And Abused"
"We
Need People To Be Sticking Up For Us, Because Nobody
Else Is"
February 28, 2007 By
LIZETTE ALVAREZ, The New York Times
In a small but growing
sign of dissent, a group of active-duty military
personnel and reservists, including many who have
served in Iraq, is denouncing the war and asking
Congress for the prompt withdrawal of troops.
The service members,
who number more than 1,600, have sent an Appeal for
Redress to their Congressional representatives, a
form of protest permitted by military rules. Most of
those who signed the appeal, at
www.appealforredress.org, are enlisted soldiers in
the Army, from the lowest to the highest ranks.
"There is a sense of betrayal," said Specialist
Linsay Burnett, 26, who recently returned from Iraq
with the First Brigade combat team of the 101st
Airborne Division, based at Fort Campbell, on the
border of Kentucky and Tennessee. The division is
readying for its third deployment.
"These soldiers stand up to fight, to protect their
country, but we are now on the fifth reason as to
why it is we are in Iraq," added Specialist Burnett,
who has served as a public affairs specialist and as
a military journalist focusing primarily on the
infantry.
"How many reasons are we going to come up with for
keeping us over there?"
In a phone call
yesterday with three signatories, including Petty
Officer Hutto, the service members said their
decision to appeal had not been taken lightly. The
military does not allow service members to organize
and frowns on dissent.
"The Army has many
ways to make your life very difficult," Specialist
Burnett said, adding that she had come forward
largely because "there are not many voices out there
for the men on the ground."
Jeff Slocum, a chief
master sergeant of the Air Force who is scheduled to
deploy to Iraq next year, said his high rank was one
reason he had signed the appeal.
"I’m not antiwar, I’m not antimilitary," said Chief
Master Sergeant Slocum, who added that the troops
were feeling "used and abused." That 1,600 service
members have signed the appeal "shows just how much
we are willing to risk," he said.
"We
are trying to raise awareness that we need people to
be sticking up for us, because nobody else is."
Check It Out:
www.appealforredress.org
"The single largest failure of the anti-war
movement at this point is the lack of outreach
to the troops." Tim Goodrich, Iraq Veterans
Against The War
Do you have a friend or relative in the
service? Forward GI Special along, or send us
the address if you wish and we’ll send it
regularly.
Whether in Iraq or stuck on a base in the USA,
this is extra important for your service friend,
too often cut off from access to encouraging
news of growing resistance to the war, inside
the armed services and at home. Send email
requests to address up top or write to: The
Military Project, Box 126 , 2576 Broadway, New
York, N.Y. 10025-5657
IRAQ WAR REPORTS
Three U.S. Soldiers Killed,
9
Wounded In One Diyala Firefight
March 14, 2007 Multi
National Corps Iraq Public Affairs Office, Camp
Victory RELEASE No. 20070314-10
TIKRIT, Iraq – Two
Soldiers died as a result of injuries sustained from
explosions near their vehicles in separate attacks.
Task Force Lightning
Soldiers were attacked while conducting combat
operations in Diyala province Wednesday.
Another Soldier died
as a result of injuries sustained from small arms
fire.
Nine Soldiers were
wounded and taken to a Coalition medical facility
for treatment.
Baghdad IED Kills One U.S. Soldier, Wounds One
3.14.07 Public Affairs
Office, Camp Victory RELEASE No. 20070313-23
March 13, a MND-B unit
struck a roadside bomb while conducting these types
of combined security operations in a northeastern
section of the Iraqi capital, killing one Soldier
and wounding another.
Marine Killed In Anbar
3.14.07 Public Affairs
Office, Camp Victory RELEASE No. 20070314-03
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq –A
Marine assigned to Multi National Force-West was
killed
Mar. 13 while
conducting combat operations in Al Anbar Province.
82nd
Sgt. Killed Near Dawr
Sgt. Daniel E.
Woodcock, 25, was killed this weekend in a bombing
while he patrolled in Iraq, the 82nd Airborne
Division said March 13, 2007. Woodcock died from
wounds he received when a bomb exploded while on
patrol March 11, 2007 near Dawr, Iraq. (AP
Photo/82nd Airborne Division)
Colville Paratrooper Dreamed Of Becoming A Doctor
Mar 9 COLVILLE, Wash.
(AP)
Spc. Ryan Bell joined
the Army hoping to eventually become a doctor. That
dream was cut short this week when a bomb exploded
near the paratrooper’s vehicle in Iraq, killing him
and five other soldiers.
The 21-year-old from
Colville attended the Riverside Military Academy in
Gainesville, Ga. He graduated in 2003 and had many
college scholarship offers, said his father, Michael
Bell of Colville. Instead, the younger Bell decided
to join the Army, hoping his training and GI bill
would help him become a doctor.
"There’s no regrets at
this end," Michael Bell said. "He was a responsible
young man, he was sensible, he knew what he wanted
to do with his life."
The young man joined
the Army in 2004 and was assigned to the 82nd
Airborne division at Fort Bragg in January 2005. He
was a member of Company C, 2nd Battalion, 505th
Parachute Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat
Team.
His father said he
enjoyed outdoor recreation, singing, dancing and
watching sports. "He was a walking sports
encyclopedia," Michael Bell said.
The two last talked
Saturday. "I let him know how much he meant to us,"
Bell said. "How we were very proud of him and very
pleased with what he was doing with his life."
Since his son’s death
Monday in Iraq’s Salahuddin province, Michael Bell
said he’s heard from staff members at his son’s
military academy, been stopped on the street in town
and even taken a call from Iraq from his son’s
commanding officer.
Bell is survived by
his wife, Terri, of Fayetteville, N.C.; mother
Sheryl Vickery, of Spokane; father, and stepmother
Virginia Bell, of Colville.
A military-style
funeral is planned later this month in Eastern
Washington.
THIS ENVIRONMENT IS HAZARDOUS TO YOUR HEALTH;
TIME TO COME HOME, NOW
A U.S., Army Bradley
vehicle rolls by during an operation in eastern
Baghdad, Dec. 31, 2006. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
Well, So Much For Bush’s Surge:
February Car Bombs Set A New Record
March 15, 2007 REUTERS
BAGHDAD - Car bombs in
Baghdad, at a record high in February, remain a
serious concern despite a month-old United
States-backed crackdown.
[Probably more than
a "serious concern" if you have one detonate in your
immediate vicinity.]
Notes From A Lost War:
"Then There Was An Explosion, But Not The One They
Were Waiting For"
March 14, 2007 By
Christian Berthelsen, Los Angeles Times [Excerpts]
BAGHDAD -- The US-led
convoy had been idling for at least an hour, waiting
for a bomb squad to detonate a sizable haul of
explosives uncovered in raids on the Eskan
neighborhood of south Baghdad, a dense warren of
narrow streets teeming with insurgents and roadside
bombs.
Then there was an
explosion, but not the one they were waiting for.
The convoy was under
attack.
Snipers had thrown a grenade, followed by the loud,
rapid hammer of automatic weapon fire from a rooftop
and from behind a fuel tank. American and Iraqi
soldiers returned fire. No one was hit, and the
snipers melted back into the neighborhood.
So
went another typical day in the joint US-Iraqi
government security crackdown war against an unseen
enemy.
For the more than 30
American soldiers assigned to enter the Eskan
neighborhood on Sunday, the day began at 3 a.m. when
they rolled out of Forward Operating Base Falcon, a
few miles to the south. Their goal was to capture a
sniper who had been wounded in a previous gun battle
with US-led forces and to search for hidden caches
of weapons.
The plan was to meet
their Iraqi counterparts at their base and begin the
raids by 4 a.m., while still under the cover of
darkness.
Once at the Iraqi
national police outpost, however, there were other
priorities.
The Iraqi officers
invited the Americans to join them for a breakfast
of chai tea, flatbread and hard-boiled eggs.
The
informants, who were brought in to review maps and
confirm targets, disagreed on locations.
The original plan was
mostly scrapped, in favor of fewer targets. As a
result, the US asked the Iraqis to reduce the size
of their force, but they demurred. By then it was
nearly 5 a.m.
After a slow crawl
into the crowded neighborhood, the convoy stopped
and the soldiers jumped out of their Humvees,
running low and fast through the street.
They raided two homes, separating wailing women and
girls from frightened and silent men and boys.
No
weapons were found in either household and the
occupants insisted they had done nothing wrong.
AFGHANISTAN WAR REPORTS
A damaged police van
with blood stains on the ground, after an attack in
Khost province, east of Kabul, Afghanistan March 14,
2007. A bomber on foot blew himself up near a
police convoy. (AP Photo/Nashanuddin Khan)
TROOP NEWS
THIS IS HOW BUSH BRINGS THE TROOPS HOME:
BRING THEM ALL HOME NOW, ALIVE
The casket containing
the remains of 19-year-old Marine Pfc. Tarryl Hill,
St. Paul Tabernacle Church, following Hill’s funeral
in Detroit, Michigan February 16, 2007. Hill was
killed in Fallujah. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook
Iraq Veterans Against The War Members To Speak Out
On The Crisis In Military And VA Health Care;
Friday Is Iraq Veterans Day In Watertown, New York
March 14, 2007 Citizen
Soldier
Matt Howard, Drew
Cameron, and Matt Hrutkay, all recent veterans of
combat in Iraq and members of the Iraq Veterans
Against War (IVAW) will speak in Watertown, N Y on
Friday, March 16th at two venues.
12:30 pm, Jefferson
Community College, Jules Center Auditorium
6:00 pm. Reception and
7:00 pm talk at the Different Drummer internet cafe,
12 Paddock Arcade, 1 Public Square , downtown
Watertown
Hrutkay served his
Army tour at Ft Drum before being discharged in
November 2006
Citizen Soldier
(Drummer's sponsor--phone) (212) 679-2250
Different Drummer cafe
(315) 782-0595 www.differentdrummercafe.org
IRAQ RESISTANCE ROUNDUP
Assorted Resistance Action
13 Mar 2007 & 14 Mar
2007 Reuters & Aljazeera
Guerrillas killed two
police officers and wounded another on Tuesday night
in a drive-by shooting in the southern city of
Diwaniya, 180 km (110 miles) south of Baghdad,
police said.
Insurgents opened fire
on the car of a judge named Omar Abdul Nabi in
Karrada in central Baghdad, killing him and two
other people and wounding one person, a police
source said.
Guerrillas killed
three off-duty policemen just south of Hilla, 100 km
(60 miles) south of Baghdad, a hospital source said
and killed two policemen in the northern city of
Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police
said.
IF YOU DON’T LIKE THE RESISTANCE
END THE OCCUPATION
FORWARD OBSERVATIONS
At a time like this, scorching irony, not
convincing argument, is needed. Oh had I the
ability, and could reach the nation’s ear, I
would, pour out a fiery stream of biting
ridicule, blasting reproach, withering sarcasm,
and stern rebuke. For it is not light that is
needed, but fire; it is not the gentle shower,
but thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind,
and the earthquake. Frederick Douglas, 1852
One day while I was in a bunker in Vietnam, a
sniper round went over my head. The person who
fired that weapon was not a terrorist, a rebel,
an extremist, or a so-called insurgent. The
Vietnamese individual who tried to kill me was a
citizen of Vietnam, who did not want me in his
country. This truth escapes millions.
Mike Hastie
U.S. Army Medic
Vietnam 1970-71
December 13, 2004
AmBush
From: Mike Hastie
To: GI Special
Sent: March 13, 2007
AmBush
Sometimes it takes years for betrayal to surface,
and
start attacking the belief system.
The
Veteran fights if off with denial and anger
that is usually directed at the wrong people.
The
anger builds and builds, until one day something
hits a vulnerable pocket of pain.
Suddenly, a door opens, and all of that suppressed
grief
comes pouring out.
Like a huge red flash, " Looking For A Few Good
Men,"
goes down the drain.
You
can't stop crying.
You
can't stop shaking.
You
can't hold anything back anymore.
In
all of that frightening bereavement,
the
Truth is born.
You
suddenly realize, you were brutally betrayed by your
own
government, and left to die.
I
felt like I walked into an ambush.
It
was like having a lifelong mentor turn on me,
and
become my worst enemy.
The
faces of death I experienced in Vietnam,
surfaced with such vivid detail.
For
What?
The
only glory in war is in the imagination
of
those who were never there.
These lies have been passed down from
generation to generation.
My
grief eventually turned to rage,
as
I saw how War Profiteering and Politics
were behind all of that betrayal.
Door after emotional door kept opening.
The
war was staged from the very beginning.
The
word Patriotism, became a sham to control people.
As
a soldier, being USED for mass consumption,
was
the ultimate wound.
I
was duped.
And,
The
war destroyed the lives of millions of people.
More innocent civilians were killed than combatants.
Empire is so clever.
I
never knew what hit me.
Mike Hastie
U.S. Army Medic
Vietnam 1970-71
March 9, 2007
*************************************
The
Photograph:
This is a picture of a close Vietnam Veteran friend
who is on a brick walkway that is part of the 11
acres of the Oregon Vietnam Veterans Memorial in
Portland.
He
was severely wounded in Vietnam, when he found out
that the radio transmits he was giving to B-52
pilots, were flight co-ordinates over civilian
targets.
On
the day that he finally saw this truth, he walked
into his unit orderly room, and told his commanding
officer that his tour in Vietnam was over.
He
was sent back to the United States, where he was
given a psychiatric discharge.
He
spent the next twenty years recovering from his
guilt and betrayal.
He
is now a very active member of the peace movement in
the Pacific Northwest.
When it comes to bearing witness about the lies of
the Vietnam War, and how it relates
to the war in Iraq, he is relentless.
Photo and caption from the I-R-A-Q (I Remember
Another Quagmire) portfolio of Mike Hastie, US
Army Medic, Vietnam 1970-71. (For more of his
outstanding work, contact at: (hastiemike@earthlink.net)
T)
"My
Lie"
From: Dennis Serdel
To: GI Special
Sent: March 14, 2007
Subject: "My Lie"
By Dennis Serdel,
Vietnam 1967-68 (one tour) Light Infantry, Americal
Div. 11th Brigade, purple heart, Veterans
For Peace 50 Michigan, Vietnam Veterans Against The
War, United Auto Workers GM Retiree, in Perry,
Michigan
************************************************
"My Lie"
Mark sits on the floor, his back against the wall,
he
feels the hippies staring at him with his short
hair,
overhearing beyond the psychedelic music
almost an argument that he is a killer
straight from Vietnam and should leave the party.
He
hears the words "My Lai" and yes, he was there,
yes, he snapped and killed some people
but
the brass didn't do anything to him and he feels
nothing,
only that he was getting even with them for
slaughtering all our guys with booby traps, land
mines,
the
invisible enemy that drives them crazy
and
they wanted revenge.
The
Vietnamese knew where all the land mines were.
