,Malaysia, Nicaragua,adultery

Sunday, May 27, 2007

 

Lament for Dead Soldiers - One Father's cry from the heart

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"What exactly is a father's duty when his son is sent into harm's way?" Andrew J. Bacevich
Washington Post






Excerpts

Parents who lose children, whether through accident or illness, inevitably wonder what they could have done to prevent their loss. When my son was killed in Iraq earlier this month at age 27, I found myself pondering my responsibility for his death.

Among the hundreds of messages that my wife and I have received, two bore directly on this question. Both held me personally culpable, insisting that my public opposition to the war had provided aid and comfort to the enemy. Each said that my son's death came as a direct result of my antiwar writings.

This may seem a vile accusation to lay against a grieving father. But in fact, it has become a staple of American political discourse, repeated endlessly by those keen to allow President Bush a free hand in waging his war. By encouraging "the terrorists," opponents of the Iraq conflict increase the risk to U.S. troops. Although the First Amendment protects antiwar critics from being tried for treason, it provides no protection for the hardly less serious charge of failing to support the troops -- today's civic equivalent of dereliction of duty.
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Money buys access and influence. Money greases the process that will yield us a new president in 2008. When it comes to Iraq, money ensures that the concerns of big business, big oil, bellicose evangelicals and Middle East allies gain a hearing. By comparison, the lives of U.S. soldiers figure as an afterthought.

Memorial Day orators will say that a G.I.'s life is priceless. Don't believe it. I know what value the U.S. government assigns to a soldier's life: I've been handed the check. It's roughly what the Yankees will pay Roger Clemens per inning once he starts pitching next month.

Money maintains the Republican/Democratic duopoly of trivialized politics. It confines the debate over U.S. policy to well-hewn channels. It preserves intact the cliches of about isolationism, appeasement and the nation's call to "global leadership." It inhibits any serious accounting of exactly how much our misadventure in Iraq is costing. It ignores completely the question of who actually pays. It negates democracy, rendering free speech little more than a means of recording dissent.

This is not some great conspiracy. It's the way our system works.


The toll in Iraq - May 1 - May 26, 2007





Zachary R. Gullett, 20, Army Private 1st Class, May 01, 2007
Johnathan E. Kirk, 25, Marine Lance Corporal, May 01, 2007
Ryan P. Jones, 23, Army 1st Lieutenant, May 02, 2007
Katie M. Soenksen, 19, Army Private 1st Class, May 02, 2007
Astor A. Sunsin-Pineda, 20, Army Specialist, May 02, 2007
Matthew T. Bolar, 24, Army Specialist, May 03, 2007
John D. Flores, 21, Army Private 1st Class, May 03, 2007
Felix G. Gonzalez-Iraheta, 25, Army Sergeant, May 03, 2007
Jerome J. Potter, 24, Army Private 1st Class, May 03, 2007
Colby J. Umbrell, 26, Army 1st Lieutenant, May 03, 2007
Andrew R. Weiss, 28, Army Specialist, May 03, 2007
Kelly B. Grothe, 21, Army Reserve Specialist, May 03, 2007
Coby G. Schwab, 25, Army Reserve Staff Sergeant, May 03, 2007
Christopher N. Hamlin, 24, Army Staff Sergeant, May 04, 2007
Larry I. Guyton, 22, Army Private 1st Class, May 05, 2007
Charles O. Palmer II, 36, Marine Corporal, May 05, 2007
Kenneth N. Mack, 42, Marine Reserve Master Sergeant, May 05, 2007
Matthew L. Alexander, 21, Army Corporal, May 06, 2007
Anthony M. Bradshaw, 21, Army Corporal, May 06, 2007
Robert J. Dixon, 27, Army Specialist, May 06, 2007
Jason R. Harkins, 25, Army Sergeant, May 06, 2007
Christopher S. Kiernan, 37, Army Staff Sergeant, May 06, 2007
Joel W. Lewis, 28, Army Sergeant, May 06, 2007
Virgil C. Martinez, 33, Army Staff Sergeant, May 06, 2007
Michael A. Pursel, 19, Army Corporal, May 06, 2007
Sameer A. M. Rateb, 22, Army Sergeant, May 06, 2007
Vincenzo Romeo, 23, Army Staff Sergeant, May 06, 2007
Kyle A. Little, 20, Army Specialist, May 08, 2007
Dan H. Nguyen, 24, Army Specialist, May 08, 2007
Blake C. Stephens, 25, Army Sergeant, May 08, 2007
Bradly D. Conner, 41, Army Sergeant Major, May 09, 2007
Walter K. O’Haire, 20, Marine Lance Corporal, May 09, 2007
Michael Frank, 36, Army Specialist, May 10, 2007
Roy L. Jones III, 21, Army Private 1st Class, May 10, 2007
Anthony J. Sausto, 22, Army Private, May 10, 2007
Jason W. Vaughn, 29, Army Sergeant, May 10, 2007
Douglas Zembiec, 34, Marine Major, May 10, 2007
William A. Farrar Jr., 20, Army Private 1st Class, May 11, 2007
James David Connell Jr., 40, Army Sergeant 1st Class, May 12, 2007
Daniel Courneya, 19, Army Private 1st Class, May 12, 2007
Christopher E Murphy, 21, Army Private 1st Class, May 12, 2007
Anthony J. Schober, 23, Army Sergeant, May 12, 2007
Andrew J. Bacevich, 27, Army 1st Lieutenant, May 13, 2007
Rhys W. Klasno, 20, Army National Guard Specialist, May 13, 2007
John T. Self, 29, Air Force Staff Sergeant, May 14, 2007
Allen J. Dunckley, 25, Army Sergeant, May 14, 2007
Christopher N. Gonzalez, 25, Army Sergeant, May 14, 2007
Nicholas S. Hartge, 20, Army Private 1st Class, May 14, 2007
Thomas G. Wright, 38, Army National Guard Sergeant, May 14, 2007
Jeffrey D. Walker, 21, Marine Lance Corporal, May 14, 2007
Jesse B. Albrecht, 31, Army Sergeant 1st Class, May 17, 2007
Victor M. Fontanilla, 23, Army Private 1st Class, May 17, 2007
Aaron D. Gautier, 19, Army Private 1st Class, May 17, 2007
Jonathan V. Hamm, 20, Army Private 1st Class, May 17, 2007
Steven M. Packer, 23, Army Sergeant, May 17, 2007
Coty J. Phelps, 22, Army Specialist, May 17, 2007
Ryan J. Baum, 27, Army Sergeant, May 18, 2007
Scott J. Brown, 33, Army Sergeant 1st Class, May 18, 2007
III, Anselmo Martinez, 26, Army Sergeant, May 18, 2007
Marquis J. McCants, 23, Army Specialist, May 18, 2007
Casey W. Nash, 22, Army Specialist, May 18, 2007
Joshua G. Romero, 19, Army Specialist, May 18, 2007
David W. Behrle, 20, Army Specialist, May 19, 2007
Ryan D. Collins, 20, Army Corporal, May 19, 2007
Joseph A. Gilmore, 26, Army Specialist, May 19, 2007
Travis F. Haslip, 20, Army Private 1st Class, May 19, 2007
Jean P. Medlin, 27, Army Sergeant, May 19, 2007
Christopher Moore, 28, Army Staff Sergeant, May 19, 2007
Jason A. Schumann, 23, Army Sergeant, May 19, 2007
Alexander R. Varela, 19, Army Private 1st Class, May 19, 2007
Justin D. Wisniewski, 22, Army Sergeant, May 19, 2007
Brian D. Ardron, 32, Army Sergeant, May 21, 2007
Michael W. Davis, 22, Army Specialist, May 21, 2007
Shannon V. Weaver, 28, Army Staff Sergeant, May 21, 2007
Steve Butcher Jr., 27, Army Staff Sergeant, May 22, 2007
Kristopher A. Higdon, 25, Army Staff Sergeant, May 22, 2007
David C. Kuehl, 27, Army Staff Sergeant, May 22, 2007
Robert J. Montgomery Jr., 29, Army Sergeant, May 22, 2007
Oscar Sauceda Jr., 21, Army Private, May 22, 2007
Robert A. Worthington, 19, Army Private 1st Class, May 22, 2007
Benjamin D. Desilets, 21, Marine Lance Corporal, May 22, 2007
Julian M. Woodall, 21, Marine Corporal, May 22, 2007
Joseph J. Anzack Jr., 20, Army Private 1st Class, May 23, 2007
Daniel P. Cagle, 22, Army Private 1st Class, May 23, 2007
Benjamin J. Ashley, 22, Army Specialist, May 24, 2007
Robert H. Dembowski, 20, Army Private 1st Class, May 24, 2007
Iosiwo Uruo, 27, Army Sergeant, May 24, 2007
Casey P. Zylman, 22, Army Private 1st Class, May 24, 2007
William Lee Bailey III, 0, Army National Guard Specialist, May 26, 2007
David Paul Lindsey, 0, Marine Corporal, May 26, 2007
Copyright by iCasualties.org



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