And Another re: lede

There are people in the US military (in fact, they are the majority) who aren't like the cowardly pieces of shit that join groups like IVAW.

Here's a first hand account from one of them:

Everybody thinks there was a conspiracy at Abu Ghraib.

Everybody thinks there was an order from high up, or that somebody in command must have known. Everybody is wrong. Nobody in command knew about the abuse, because nobody in command cared enough to find out. That was the real problem. The entire command structure was oblivious, living in their own little worlds. So it wasn’t a conspiracy—it was negligence, plain and simple. They were all fucking clueless.

There is one group he hasn't forgiven: " I still have a lot of bad feelings toward the press."

But he'll never make headlines - to acknowledge his version of the story the mainstream media would be forced to admit two things they never will:

1. They didn't actually expose the story - they just aided the defense of the criminals involved.

2. Donald Rumsfeld and George Bush weren't the criminals involved. The media's most cherished fabrication in the history of the Iraq war is a lie, and one of the most effective ever perpetrated on the world.

It's ironic that the lie they built around this story is one that is used to add credence to atrocity and fear of repercussion accusations by the cowards in IVAW.

Another Re: Lede

Wow. What a featherweight piece of chickenshit

Good afternoon. My name is Sgt. Matthis Chiroux, and I served in the Army as a Photojournalist until being honorably discharged last summer after over four years of service in Afghanistan, Japan, Europe and the Phillipines. As an Army journalist whose job it was to collect and filter servicemember's stories, I heard many stomach-churning testimonies of the horrors and crimes taking place in Iraq. For fear of retaliation from the military, I failed to report these crimes, but never again will I allow fear to silence me. Never again will I fail to stand.

In February, I received a letter from the Army ordering my return to active duty, for the purpose of mobilization for Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Thanks in great part to the truths of war being fearlessly spoken by my fellow IVAW members, I stand before you today with the strength, clarity and resolve to declare to the military and the world that this Soldier will not be deploying to Iraq.

This occupation is unconstitutional and illegal and I hereby lawfully refuse to participate as I will surely be a party to war crimes. Furthermore, deployment in support of illegal war violates all of my core values as a human being, but in keeping with those values, I choose to remain in the United States to defend myself from charges brought by the Army if they so wish to pursue them. I refuse to participate in the occupation of Iraq.

But my favorite line from the gutless IVAW shitbags is the one they all share. "For fear of retaliation from the military, I failed to report these crimes." AKA: "I am a gutless piece of chickenshit."

Thank God that only a small minority of people who don the uniform are such worthless cowards.

Fellow Iraq vets:

Lt Nixon weighs in here.

CJ sounds off here.

Chuck Z expands the adjective list for Chiroux here.

Answering Email (or Please Don't Spin Me)

After reading a post I did about some proposed legislation dealing with Veterans' Mental Health, a kindly Congressional staffer recently forwarded this Press Release to me... So I wrote the staffer with my thoughts....

Thank you for thinking of me. I admire and am deeply appreciative of the [legislator]'s work on behalf of Veterans. However, I have concerns about straight statistics and the twisting (the magic of bad statistics) that occurs when released (and used inappropriately as in the past.) By that I mean that data is used to promote political bashing rather than reflecting a true and sincere attempt to analyze why and how [fill in the blank] is occurring -- including how to "fix" the problem -- if, in fact, there is a problem and if it is fixable at all.

For example, I'd note that previously released data on the number of suicides within the active military (including Reserve and Guard) looked shocking; however, when compared historically and compared to the rate of suicide within the general populace (soldiers coming from the general population), the rates in every age, gender and ethnicity were the same as or lower than the general population (see, here for just one discussion and quasi-analysis). I suspect that the same might be evidenced in the veterans' suicide numbers.

You didn't think I'd stop there, did you? The rest at Some Soldier's Mom

Re: Lede

Jonathan Aponte comes home:

The door to the doughnut shop swung open. For a moment, the tall young man, every bit a soldier in his bearing, stood with the windy rain of Friday afternoon at his back. A wave of coffee and doughnut humidity slapped him in the face.

His eyes swept across the shop. Then he spotted the older man seated at a table over a cup of decaf. Their eyes locked. The prodigal son had come home. The father rose. They hugged, with lots of thumping on the back instead of words.

He had been to Iraq. But while home on leave last year he decided he didn't want to go back...