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Politics : Stockman Scott's Political Debate Porch -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Brasco One who wrote (61209)	10/17/2004 12:28:13 PM
From: sylvester80	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 89467

MILITARY IN DISARRAY BECAUSE OF BUSH LIES & INCOMPETENCE!!!! CHANGE IS NEEDED HERE & NOW!!! SUPPORT OUR TROOPS & VOTE NO TO THE BUSH/CHENEY LYING BIG OIL WHORES!!!!! Reservists refuse convoy mission in Iraq The Associated Press Updated: 6:22 a.m. ET Oct. 16, 2004 WASHINGTON - Relatives of soldiers who refused to deliver supplies in Iraq say the troops considered the mission too dangerous, in part because their vehicles were in poor shape. The Army is investigating up to 19 reservist members of a platoon that is part of the 343rd Quartermaster Company, based in Rock Hill, S.C. The unit delivers food, water and fuel on trucks in combat zones. Convoys in Iraq are frequently subject to ambushes and roadside bombings. Some of the troops’ safety concerns were being addressed, military officials said. But a coalition spokesman in Baghdad said “a small number of the soldiers involved chose to express their concerns in an inappropriate manner, causing a temporary breakdown in discipline.” The coalition said in a statement Saturday that the troops are “not being guarded or detained. They are being interviewed. They’re taking statements.” 'I mean, raise pure hell' But the relatives said they were told the soldiers had been confined. Teresa Hill of Dothan, Ala., who said her daughter, Amber McClenny, was among in the platoon, received a phone message from her early Thursday morning saying they had been detained by U.S. military authorities. “This is a real, real, big emergency,” McClenny said in her message. “I need you to contact someone. I mean, raise pure hell.” McClenny said in her message that her platoon had refused to go on a fuel-hauling convoy to Taji, north of Baghdad. “We had broken down trucks, non-armored vehicles and, um, we were carrying contaminated fuel. They are holding us against our will. We are now prisoners,” she said. Hill said she was later contacted by Spc. Tammy Reese in Iraq, who was calling families of the soldiers. “She told me (Amber) was being held in a tent with armed guards,” said Hill, who spoke with her daughter Friday afternoon after her release. Her daughter said they are facing punishment ranging from a reprimand to a charge of mutiny. Dangerous route The incident was first reported Friday by The Clarion-Ledger newspaper in Jackson, Miss. Family members told the newspaper that several platoon members had been confined. The supply route the soldiers were to have used, is among the most dangerous in Iraq. The military calls it “Main Supply Route Tampa.” Many soldiers have been wounded there by roadside bombs and rifle and rocket-propelled grenade fire. A commanding general has ordered the unit to undergo a “safety-maintenance stand down,” during which it will conduct no further missions as the unit’s vehicles are inspected, the military said. On Wednesday, 19 members of the platoon did not show up for a scheduled 7 a.m. meeting in Tallil, in southeastern Iraq, to prepare for the fuel convoy’s departure a few hours later, the military statement said.

To: Brasco One who wrote (61209)	10/17/2004 12:28:54 PM
From: sylvester80	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 89467

NEWS: U.S. MARINES BLAST BUSH AS A LIAR AND A COWARD msnbc.msn.com "Every day you read the articles in the States where it's like, 'Oh, it's getting better and better,' " said Lance Cpl. Jonathan Snyder, 22, of Gettysburg, Pa. "But when you're here, you know it's worse every day." Pfc. Kyle Maio, 19, of Bucks County, Pa., said he thought government officials were reticent to speak candidly because of the upcoming U.S. elections. "Stuff's going on here but they won't flat-out say it," he said. "They can't get into it." Lance Cpl. Alexander Jones, 20, of Ball Ground, Ga., agreed: "We're basically proving out that the government is wrong," he said. "We're catching them in a lie." A decision to serve Perez said the frustrations inherent in the war became apparent almost immediately after he arrived in Iraq in late July. A Colombian immigrant, he said he decided to join the Marine Corps after attending the funeral of a friend who had died in the Sept. 11 attacks. The friend, Thomas Hetzel, was a volunteer firefighter at the Franklin Square & Munson Fire Department on Long Island, where Perez also volunteered. At the time, Perez was studying criminal justice at Nassau Community College. "While I was at the funeral I was looking at his little daughter cry," he said. "He had a pregnant wife and two kids. I just said, 'All right, this is what I want to do.' " But Perez said he came to think that war in Iraq was unrelated to his anger. "How do I put this?" he said. "First of all, this is a whole different thing. We're supposed to be looking for al Qaeda. They're the ones who are supposedly responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks. This has no connection at all to Sept. 11 because this war started just by telling us about all the nuclear warheads over here." Snyder, who was listening, added: "Pretty much I think they just diverted the war on terrorism. I agree with the Afghanistan war and all the Sept. 11 stuff, but it feels like they left the bigger war over there to come here. And now, while we're on the ground over here, it seems like we're not even close to catching frigging bin Laden."

To: Brasco One who wrote (61209)	10/17/2004 12:29:43 PM
From: sylvester80	Respond to of 89467

U.S. MILITARY HATES BUSH! AL-ASAD AIRBASE, Iraq (AFP) - The US military, which traditionally avoids meddling in politics, is expressing its views about the US presidential race in the one place where a soldier can speak his mind freely: the latrines. <snip> The bathroom wall vents a surprising amount of anger over Bush, considered by many rank-and-file a great wartime president, and heaps a mountain of cynicism on the US presence in Iraq (news - web sites). Much of the bile is dedicated to denigrating Bush's homestate of Texas, the land of cowboys and toughness that has come to define his wartime presidency. Here I sit cheeks a-flexin'. Bout to make another Texan," one rhyme reads, repeated in multiple stalls. "Fuck Texas" reads another slogan, prompting threats of death from a defender of the Lonestar state. Another slogan reads: "Texas = steers and queers," in a crude verbal assault on Texans' code of manhood. One diatribe says: "The only thing Bush cares about is a good fight to make a name for himself. If you think he really cares about us you're out of your fucking mind. If you really believe 9/11 is related to Iraq then you're just as delusional as the hippie that thinks there will ever be world peace. "You're not fighting for America. You're fighting for fucked-up politics. End of story Cinderella." Another pundit opines: "If you are a retard, vote Bush. He is too!" .....