Written “at the tail end of a 15-month deployment” in Iraq, seven U.S. service members filed a devastating opinion piece in the New York Times last August 19th, headlined “The War as We Saw It.”
Their insightful, nuanced, and intelligent piece countered the simplistic “We’re makin’ progress!” message of the Administration, the Republicans, their Media Talking Heads, and General Petraeus. It began this way…
The troops on the ground concluded that “Four years into our occupation, we have failed on every promise,” adding, “we have substituted Baath Party tyranny with a tyranny of Islamist, militia and criminal violence.”
Yance T. Gray and Omar Mora of the 82nd Airborne Division, two of the service members who wrote the op/ed “at the tail end” of their 15-month deployment, were killed outside of Baghdad on Monday.
According to Editor & Publisher:
They are now, indeed, “heading back home.”
Another of the seven, “Staff Sergeant Jeremy Murphy, an Army Ranger and reconnaissance team leader, was shot in the head while the article was being written. He was expected to survive after being flown to a military hospital in the United States.”
That’s very sad. In addition to their service, I believe that opinion piece will make a difference for our country, perhaps helping to save the lives of their fellow soldiers.
On another topic, purge of voter rolls could swing 2008 election.
– Tom
Sad beyond words.
Wow, really sad. My thoughts are with their families and I hope they know how much we appreciate the honesty, intelligence, integrity and love for their country that your family members have shown. Please protect the remaining authors. Bring all the troops home now. Alive. For the final time.
I thought this was very well spoken, full of first hand facts, and sums it all up to a tee at this moment. The most significant part I take away from this op piece is, “They will soon realize that the best way to regain dignity is to call us what we are “” an army of occupation “” and force our withdrawal”. Right on.
Nobody in Washington has even attempted to take away Cheney’s magic
waroccupation wand. Halliburton et al are chomping at their bits and now taking applications.More “faulty intelligence” and on to destroy Iran next? March on Washington 15 September! It might be time to roll, before it’s too late.
Shit walks while money
talksmurders . . .um…
” I’ll give ya a dose
But it’ll never come close
To the rage built up inside of me
Fist in the air, in the land of hypocrisy
Movements come and movements go
Leaders speak, movements cease
When their heads are flown
‘Cause all these punks
Got bullets in their heads
Departments of police, the judges, the feds
Networks at work, keepin’ people calm
You know they went after King
When he spoke out on Vietnam
He turned the power to the have-nots
And then came the shot.”
-Rage Against The Machine
We’ll find out months from now, it was “suspicious” like the Tillman case…
How can you NOT think of the FALSE Tillman and Jessica Lynch cases, when this one happened? It’s called a “track record of lying”…
Yay you right Big Dan. A track record of lying, top to bottom, stem to stern, the lyingest Administration in history…
shw
Hmmm… Impeachment is off the table cause pelosi don’t wanna swim wit’da fish 2 . . .