Cindy: What are we willing to do to stop the inhumanity and war crimes?

http://www.progressiveindependent.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=130&topic_id=204&mesg_id=204

PASS THIS AROUND

This is from a friend of mine whose son is in the Army, stationed in Baghdad.

And the Peace Community is accused of not supporting our troops???
This is fucking barbaric and we are letting this stuff continue in our names. Excuse my launguage, but my friend almost became a Gold Star Mom on the 27th....but for the grace of god or whatever, she didn't.
Our government is creating Gold Star Moms at a very rapid clip and the Iraqi people that they are klling or turning into people who have to fight to survive is obscene.

What are we willing to do to stop the inhumanity and war crimes?

Cindy

**WARNING** FYI.....This is pretty graphic.....
I was thrilled yesterday to wake to an email from Micah. The last
correspondence I had from him was the email on Dec. 26. Then 2 guys in his battalion were killed and one wounded on the 27th (the wounded soldier has since passed away from his injuries). All communications were shut down until notification of their deaths by the Army to their families....but still no word from Micah. I knew that he would contact us as soon as he could...but that didn't make the waiting any easier. He emailed yesterday to reassure me that he was "fine"....which of course I was glad to hear. Then he called me later in the day.....

It was wonderful to hear his voice....be able to talk to him. I asked him about the incident that ended those 3 guys lives.....ages 26, 23, and 20. He said he hadn't planned on telling me about it, but then knew that I already knew about it...aware that I had received the email from the military explaining why we may not be hearing from our soldiers. I asked him if he knew what happened....he hesitantly told me....."Yes".....he was there when it happened! That....I wasn't prepared for. He wanted to spare me the details....but Micah and I can and do talk very frankly about everything.....I knew he needed to talk to someone about it....so I told him not to hold anything back. I told him I already know he is in harms way, I know there are horrible things going on there....things I can't even imagine.....but I wanted to know....and I wanted him to be able to talk about it with me.

He said it was their first mission since arriving in Baghdad. A group of them had to walk through a field to a "destination". He said just in front of him....about 100 yards was an explosion. Someone had stepped on a buried mine that exploded.....they were walking in a mine field! He said nothing was left....except an arm....a leg.....fingers..... They continued walking....then a second explosion.....the next two victims. They radioed for a helicopter that was not to come. So they were instructed to turn back and walk BACK thru the field......9 hours they walked......4 1/2 one way....4 1/2 back....nothing accomplished.....3 lives lost. The tension and fear that your next step, placement of your foot would be you.....your friend at any moment.....

This is our war..........

Why not take a high school class out on the edge of the expressway and have them run back and forth....who gets hit does...who's lucky enough not to....well is just lucky.

It was horrifying knowing he witnessed it, knowing he was filled with fear and images that will stay with him forever.

I asked him about the Iraqis.....the Iraqi soldiers he was with. "Their
crazy" was his reply. He said that morning a dog was running down the
street and an Iraqi man beat it to death with a shovel then threw it on the side of the road. He said, "That's normal here."

I immediately knew when I started talking to him that he had a cold.....he said, "Yeah, I do, but I'm ok." I asked if he was eating good....what did they have for them to eat?....American food....Iraqi food? He said they get ONE meal a day. A "meal" that is either a 6 inch cold pizza, or well, he had 5 cold chicken wings one day, oh and a hotdog one day....well a lone hotdog....no bun. One meal a day!!! Prisoners in this country are required to receive 3 full meals a day in prison or it's infringing on their rights??!!! He said they have 2 microwave ovens that are broken and a toaster oven that doesn't work well....the government is apparently spoiling them! Our sons and daughters are in the U.S. military.....fighting for our country.....have committed no crimes and this is what they feed them??? It's like the Twilight Zone or some parallel universe.....a bad dream that upon waking makes no real sense....

He took his first shower yesterday.....his first since Dec. 20. That was
good he said.

The Army is wondering why no one wants to join??? Why no one wants to go
back??? Are the American people really that dense to think that we are
doing the right thing.....doing good? The government wants to spin this
into that they're protecting us from terrorists.....payback for 9/11. Osama Bin Ladin is no where near Iraq! So is anyone on his trail?

I know they're in harms way.....thousands of miles away from home and family but can they for God's sake treat them better than a prisoner....than an animal? You mistreat an animal in this country and all kinds of organizations are on your back.....you go to jail. Our government is mistreating our soldiers and we stand back and watch......well not really because we don't see THIS on the news. We only see what they want us to see.

Most of the guys that joined were promised to be able to go to college....onthe government...and could start even while in the military. Micah was included in this group. He was met with....you don't have time for college you can go when you get out. But....our prisoners are receiving college degrees while serving their sentences! Is it me or is it just backwards?? Micah is already skinny as a rail.....how do they expect a 20 yr old boy to live on what they are feeding them? Guess it doesn't matter much....why waste food on people you make walk thru mine fields? Doesn't this sound a little like the Holocaust?

So.....Micah says....he's "ok". I'm sorry to vent but THIS HAS TO STOP!!!!

PLEASE!!!!!! Email, write, call your congressmen, state
representatives....etc. Go to some of the websites I have listed
below....read the stories of the people....one after another..... I will
email the links again to find your state officials. EDUCATE YOURSELF!!

I don't want to wait over the next year for a knock at my door....and I
don't want one more mother, wife, family member to either. These Iraqi
people apparently have no regard for life.....theirs, their women and
children, ours, even animals. WHY ARE WE THERE??

And I voted for Bush.....TWICE! You don't see the Bush twins in Iraq.....no manicures or shopping sprees.

Don't want to ruin your day.....just want to get you thinking.....and MAD!!!

Send what you can to our troops....they definitely need it...apparently
especially FOOD!!!

Please feel free to forward this email to anyone and everyone you can! I
feel helpless.....I want to jump on a plane like that 16 yr old from Florida and grab my son and bring him home.....

PLEASE VISIT THESE WEBSITES:

www.bringthemhomenow.org

www.stopthelie.com

www.unitedforpeace.org

Gold Star Families for Peace: www.gsfp.org

Military Families Speak Out: www.mfso.org

www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/world/iraq/casualties/facesofthefallen.htm

WHERE TO SEND PACKAGES TO OTHER SOLDIERS:

www.anysoldier.com

www.give2thetroops.org

www.treatanysoldier.com

once i stop crying. my boys are draft age. i know it's coming. my greatest fear is to have a phone conversation like this with one of my kids.

prisoners are treated better. i'm so angry. we must do something!

are being put thru this. I spend a lot of my spare time when I am not at work doing peace activism. I also go to college part time, and am working to start a student peace action group there. I am also involved with the local peace group here in the city. We have been working to stop this war since before it started, and will continue to work. We are making plans to go to camp Casey at Crawford over Easter weekend. I have sent dozens of emails and letters to congresscritters, and continue to hear back - "we must stay the course." Bull$hit! I support PDA and Afterdowningstreet, MoveOn, Common Cause, NOW, Codepink4peace, UFPJ, InternationalAnswer, John Conyers, Dennis Kucinich, Barbara Boxer, and every other site I come accross that works to to stop this war. I guess we all have to work a little harder. I will never give up or back down to the neocons.