Soldiers Pissed
Published May 05, 2004
U.S. Army Spc. Joe Roche in Iraq sent a letter to blogger Amy Ridenour:
- about the abuse at the prison. I'm at a place right now where there are thousands of U.S. soldiers. I went to breakfast and dinner at the KBR dining hall here. It is huge, hundreds of soldiers gathered to eat. Around us are large-screen tvs, and yes, the news was mostly about the prison abuse.
Everyone is so angry. I mean, angry! It is as if those soldiers hurt us more than the enemies here in Iraq have. I don't think that if that RPG last week had hit and killed us in my hummwv, there would have been any of the damage done to our cause here that those soldiers have done. I remember when I worked for the University of Minnesota Police Department that when one police officer acted wrong and was captured on camera, anywhere in the U.S., it was as if all police everywhere were made the bad guys, blamed and hurt. Now I'm feeling that here.
I can't tell you of the outbursts by my fellow soldiers at those pictures. For one thing, it is mostly swear words and I don't want to write that to you. Amy, this is a powerful blow to us.
As you know, we have done raids and captured some of the top terrorists in Baghdad over the past months. My sister has some dramatic pictures of at least one raid. In all of those, we handled the enemy w/ respect. Our big bosses always pressed us on the Geneva Convention rules before raids, and we have taken many classes on ROEs (rules of engagement) and on the proper treatment of prisoners. There are rosters w/ all our names on them for these classes because dealing w/ prisoners is major concern of our leadership.
....Let me recount to you a story that [name and unit deleted] told Tom Ricks of the Washington Post when he visited last month. One day one of his best friends and another soldier were hit by an IED in a hummwv in front of him. They got the one soldier out who was badly injured, but the fire was so bad that they couldn't get his friend out. They don't know if he was alive as he burned, but they had to watch. Now, that street that this happened on was one where they had built schools, improved much infrastructure, many many projects to make it a better and safer place. ...When the IED blew, across the street were some of those very same neighborhood people cheering. They cheered as our fellow American burned and the other one was dragged out. Now, these are tankers, and they have big BIG guns, and all were ready to fire. The soldiers, all of them seeing the tragedy of the attack, and seeing the sick group cheering across the street, they all held their composure. No one fired a shot, no one did anything inappropriate. They did exactly as they were trained. They acted more professional and disciplined in a manner that I don't think many other people in the world could have. All because they cheered, those people were not to be engaged or harassed. That is what we live w/ out here. And Amy, our soldiers, your soldiers, they acted supremely better and more heroic for our country in that scene. Those scum will remember the restraint and composure of those Americans, even if today they are still infected w/ this sick hate of us. Contact Mr. Ricks if you can because [the soldier] gave him a powerful quote that he thought well accompanied that experience, and perhaps he can elaborate even more from [his] account.
- Soldiers Pissed
- Published: May 05, 2004
- Type:
- Section: Politics
- Writer: Eric Olsen
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Comments on this articleComments
The way I see it is that we'll have Shrub in the Lake of Fire, meanwhile the missus is waving at him from heaven. She's in an eternal library. What she doesn't know is that she is in charge of the Noam Chomsky Memorial Library.
In an eternal library, how long before a book is overdue?
As Father Jack would say, "That would be an ecumenical question".
"...President Bush told the Arab world on Wednesday that Americans are appalled by the abuse and deaths of Iraqi prisoners at the hands of U.S. soldiers..."
Unfortunately, you left out the part of the story, which I quote below:
"After the televised speech, two hundred million Arabs turned to each other and said, "Did you hear how he mangled the English language?!"
Shark wrote:
"After the televised speech, two hundred million Arabs turned to each other and said, "Did you hear how he mangled the English language?!"
Funny! :-]
Just curious, ya'll: Does anyone else find it peculiar that the media is going into berserker-mode over some photos that show situations that are, if anything, tamer than what a typical fraternity pledge can expect to endure?
And yet this same media almost never goes into detail about the 400,000 or so mass-graves that have been found from Saddam-era Iraq?
Just wondering...
The media is always going to give more coverage to that which more directly affects us here at home. Not that it's right, just that it's the way it is.
Hey, RJ, there's a genocide going on right now in Sudan. What are you doing about it?
Or are you just an ass-hat?
You're right, BCB. Also, the media don't want to get into asking the leftovers from the Reagan Junta who are now working under the Bush Brothers Banana Republic difficult questions about their past alliances. For all their reputed leftist leanings, the media largely are loath to piss off the leaders of the Axis of Evil.
ND:
How in the hell was the Reagan administration a "junta"?
Or is "junta" just easier to type than "elected in a landslide, in both elections, in a democratic manner"?
How about coven? Yeah, fundamentalist coven, that's the ticket.
RJ, media rule #1:
"It isn't news unless there's a picture."
Given a choice between:
1) Photo of mass grave: expanse of desert with bulldozer in foreground.
2) Torture pic: christ figure in a black klan outfit testing out a new form of muscle stimulation made by Westinghouse.
Which would you choose?
(um... assuming you weren't the news editor at FOX)
Amazing how many of you decided to post childish jabs at President Bush than to comment on the article. Anyway, I agree whole-heartedly with the soldier quoted in the article: when news reached us in Baghdad about the abuse and, even worse, some tired-ass excuses about not knowing the rules of the Geneva Convention, I was enraged. These idiots have tarnished the honor of the U.S. Military, and Americans everywhere. And trying cop a plea of ignorance- COME ON! I think any numbskull with half a functioning brain would realize making people stand on a box, naked except for a sheet, blindfolded, and told they were wired with electrical cables was not kosher, in any way, shape or form.
[Admin: Comment from Roger Ely of Asheville, NC, deleted.]
no, Truth-Minister. I don't do it as a way of life. I don't put panties on my head, only a jockstrap and only when I go grocery shopping. Panties we reserve for formal occasions.
"This is ridiculous - Bush should unequivocally apologize himself, period. He should say exactly what our man Joe Roche said, that the soldiers themselves are pissed, that this makes their job that much harder and more dangerous, and he should apologize."
What is the hang up with meaningless apologies? If Bush didn't order it, didn't partake in it, didn't cover it up and allow it - what is there for HIM to apologize for? I can't apologize for something that somebody else did and have it mean anything, it's worthless unless the person responsible apologizes.
The only thing I want Bush to do is to order the investigation, see that these idiots are court marshalled and brought up on charges in the Military Code of Justice.
That to me is much more important than an apology from someone that didn't take part in it to begin with.
Hmmmm...apology does imply guilt. Wow, what an interesting observation, Debbie.I shall chew on that awhile.
My thing is this:
Considering how everything else has been fucked up thus far, as IF this is going to be handled correctly.
Whatever. Heads will roll, la-dee-da.
Actually, there has been a UMCJ case underway since late January.
Which seems to get lost in all of the grandstanding going on.
The only thing I want the Shrub to do is to go away. Far, far away. Any apology from him is meaningless anyway: It certainly won't bring back all those killed by his say-so.
What really pisses me off about this whole mess (let's not get into the mass murder and torture of prisoners in Afghanistan) is that it was engineered and carried out by mercenaries, sorry, "contractors", y'know, the guys who deal in death drywall and torture roofing, but US troops are taking the fall.
It gives the term "plausible deniability" a whole new perspective.
And Bush and his junta are not responsible, how?
At least we now know why the Bush junta refused to sign onto the International Criminal Court, not because they didn't trust it to fairly provide justice, but because they really intended to commit war crimes.
As Mark Slackmeyer said about another Prez:
"Guilty, Guilty, Guilty".
RJ, media rule #1:
"It isn't news unless there's a picture."
Very true, Shark. Good point.
"At least we now know why the Bush junta refused to sign onto the International Criminal Court, not because they didn't trust it to fairly provide justice, but because they really intended to commit war crimes."
That's right, Einstein, a few brain dead dildos decide to fuck with some EPWs and are bright enough to take pictures, y'know, to make into Christmas cards, and that qualifies as an Executive level conspiracy to commit war crimes. Do you even think before shooting off at the mouth?
Don't worry, "Cpl. Dilmore" of Iraq, me and a few million other American Einsteins will have you out of there in no time.
We don't want to see you or any more of your contemporaries become "brain-dead dildo" cannon-fodder sacrificed so Bush, Cheney, Rummy, and a bunch of flaccid Neo-cons can go to bed with hard-ons every night over their fake war for fake weapons of mass destruction.
"YANKEE COME HOME!"
[heh]
Hmm, but what about the people who support the war who aren't "a bunch of flaccid Neo-cons can go to bed with hard-ons every night over their fake war for fake weapons of mass destruction."? Or maybe those people don't exist.
"...what about the people who support the war who aren't "a bunch of flaccid Neo-cons can go to bed with hard-ons every night over their fake war for fake weapons of mass destruction."? Or maybe those people don't exist."
Just give it a few months; they're quickly becoming a minority.
YANKEE COME HOME!
"what about the people who support the war who aren't 'a bunch of flaccid Neo-cons can go to bed with hard-ons every night over their fake war for fake weapons of mass destruction.'"
I pray for their souls too.
"Or maybe those people don't exist."
They exist, they've just become so incoherent in their rationale for the war that they are impossible to take seriously.
"Don't worry, "Cpl. Dilmore" of Iraq, me and a few million other American Einsteins will have you out of there in no time."
That's good news- so that becouse some of you lack the will to finish what we started- right or wrong, it's now our responsibility- we can abondon Iraq to implode in the brutal civil war that will inevitably follow if we don't stabilize it from Ba'athist Sunnis, looking to go back to the good ol days of Saddam so they can feed of the corpse of a nation, and the fundamentalist Shiites, who long to see Iraq a theocracy in the vein of Iran or Taliban Afghanistan, and feed off the coprse of a nation. That way, all of my brothers and sisters in arms who sacrificed life and limb will have done so completely in vain, all for the sake of those who feel war must be avoided at all costs, even if that cost is freedom- ours or someone elses. Good luck with that.
"...we can abondon Iraq to implode in the brutal civil war that will inevitably follow if we don't stabilize it from Ba'athist Sunnis... and the fundamentalist Shiites, who long to see Iraq a theocracy in the vein of Iran or Taliban Afghanistan."
Oh, never mind then. I retract all of my previously stated doubts.
This place sounds like it's ripe for a western-style democracy.
Paying little mind to your statements is no problem!
Add your comment, speak your mind
(Or ping: http://blogcritics.org/mt/tb/15409)
Bush can't apologize himself, because Jebus told him that ain't grammatacular, and if Shrub don't present a better image for right wing fuck wits, all the chits from his daddy ain't gonna get him in heaven.
Never mind how he's gotta get his slut daughters into heaven, Jebus, that is a problem.