Sunday, May 27, 2007
Lament for Dead Soldiers - One Father's cry from the heart
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. 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 |
