GI Special C/O 7.16.03 Print It Out. Send It On

GI Special C/o 7.16.03 Print it out. Send it on.

GI SPECIAL #58

(An injured U.S. Army soldier belonging to the 32nd Group U.S. Army Reserve from Puerto Rico gets his injuries treated on a road near the town of Abu Ghraib, west of Baghdad, on Wednesday, July 16, 2003. One soldier was killed and two were injured. after an army truck convoy passed by a booby-trapped wreckage that destroyed two trucks).(AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills)

CONSTANT WAR IN IRAQ;

SOLDIERS’ LETTERS REVEAL ATTACKS ON U.S. FORCES NOT REPORTED BY U.S. PRESS;

'I'm Hurting Right Now, Mom'

By Michael Amsel, The Asbury Park Press, 13 July 2003

Two weeks ago, Richard and Kathleen Cunningham received a letter dated May 9 from Shaun, a 1997 graduate of Toms River High School East. He wrote about a helicopter striking a power line before going down in the Tigris River and told of the trauma he felt putting men into body bags.

"I had blood all over me, and all I could think about was this guy's wife and kids who were in his wallet staring at me," Cunningham wrote. "I'm hurting right now, mom, and I just needed to write and vent my feelings. The war is over? Yeh, tell that to these guys' families."

Spc. Shaun Cunningham always prided himself on his mental toughness. As a chemical operations specialist with an Army field hospital near Baghdad, Cunningham saw the horrific realities of the war, helping retrieve bodies of fallen comrades from the field, shooting several enemy fighters in gunbattles, trying his best not to be shocked at the level of violence he witnessed.

"I had blood all over me, and all I could think about was this guy's wife and kids who were in his wallet staring at me," Cunningham wrote. "I'm hurting right now, mom, and I just needed to write and vent my feelings. The war is over? Yeh, tell that to these guys' families."

The past week has been especially grueling for the Cunningham family. Shaun is with the 21st Combat Support Hospital, A Company, in Balad, just north of Baghdad, and his camp, Anaconda, has been under constant attack.

Friday, a female soldier in his camp committed suicide by shooting herself in the stomach. Shaun e-mailed his parents about the suicide and said his comrades are "getting real scared."

In another e-mail, dated July 8, Shaun wrote: "We have been getting hit with mortars every night, and they are rocking the camp!!!! There was a major gunbattle last night, and I got to take part in it. No one was hurt on our side, but we killed many Iraqi. For the first time since I have been over here, I was a little scared, with all the rounds coming in. Some people are having trouble sleeping and are developing the shakes. Not me, though."

"He said he would trade in all his medals just to come home," Rich Cunningham said.

Kathleen Cunningham said the letters always bring tears to her eyes -- especially the most recent one, dated May 9.

In it, Shaun wrote: "Mom, I'm telling you right now that if something should happen to me, know that you and daddy are the best and I love my family a lot. People are getting killed every day, and the look on their faces will stay with me forever. I'm sure that you will hear about this (helicopter) crash before this letter gets to you. Know that we acted honorably and the doctors did everything they could to bring the men back to life. Say a prayer for them and tell the church to also pray. Good soldiers, good men, now with God."

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IRAQ WAR REPORTS:

MORE SOLDIERS KILLED:

”He was my best friend.”

by Borzou Daraghi, The Associated Press
BAGHDAD, Iraq (July 16) -- A U.S. soldier, an 8-year-old Iraqi child, and a pro-American mayor and his son were killed Wednesday as insurgents unleashed a string of violent attacks on the eve of a recently banned Baath Party holiday.
The soldier was killed in a rocket-propelled grenade attack on a supply convoy west of Baghdad near the Abu Ghraib prison, a U.S. military spokesman said.
The grenade blasted into the soldier's truck, hurling him out, as the 20-vehicle convoy passed along a main highway Wednesday morning. Soldiers at first believed a bomb was remotely detonated as the convoy passed.
CNN showed footage of Iraqis cheering at the attack scene.
Sgt. Diego Baez, who escaped without injury from the truck, wept over his comrade's death.
''We slept next to each other just last night. He was my best friend,'' Baez said.
Meanwhile, the pro-American mayor of Hadithah in western Iraq was shot and killed Wednesday along with one of his nine sons, the U.S. military reported.
The military spokesman said he could offer no other details, but the Arab satellite network Al-Jazeera said Mohammed Nayil al-Jurayfi's car was shot up by unidentified attackers as he drove through the city of about 150,000 about 150 miles northwest of Baghdad.
U.S. soldiers have come under increasingly ferocious attacks by suspected Saddam loyalists in recent weeks - reaching an average of 12 attacks a day

A half hour after the blast, the truck was still burning on the road near Abu Ghraib, just west of Baghdad, site of Saddam's most notorious prison. The convoy, made up of reservists from a supply unit based in Puerto Rico, had been heading to a U.S. base near the Jordanian border.
''We need more protection. We've seen enough. We've stayed in Iraq long enough,'' said Spc. Carlos McKenzie, a member of the convoy.
In the attack that killed the Iraqi child, an assailant threw a grenade into a U.S. military vehicle guarding a bank in the upscale al-Mansour neighborhood in west Baghdad. The soldier was injured and taken to a military hospital along with four adult Iraqi bystanders who were also injured, said Maj. Kevin West of the 4th Battalion, 1st Field Artillery.
In the extreme south of Baghdad, an explosion badly damaged a U.S. Humvee and three U.S. casualties were seen taken away by an Iraqi witness. The coalition had no information on that incident.
''We were home when we heard a strong explosion and we came out and we saw a U.S. vehicle on fire,'' said Ameer Jabar, a 22-year-old student.
Also Wednesday, a U.S. Marine died in the southern city of Hilla when he fell from the roof of a building he was guarding, the military said. The soldier was taken to a hospital but died of his injuries.
On Tuesday, the American administrator of Iraq linked the length of the U.S. occupation to Iraq's
Many American soldiers thought they'd be home this summer, but their hopes were dashed in a U.S. Army e-mail to spouses Sunday.

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Missile Fired at U.S. Plane Landing at Baghdad Airport;

Bush, Rumsfeld Unlikely To Visit Soon

BAGHDAD, Iraq, July 16, AP: Insurgents fired a surface-to-air missile at a U.S. military C-130 transport plane as it landed at Baghdad International Airport Wednesday, but missed the target, a coalition military spokesman said.

The attack occurred at 8:45 a.m. The military said it was investigating but would give no further details about whether the plane was carrying passengers or cargo.

Military spokesman Giovanni Llorente said he also could not say where the plane was coming from.

L. Paul Bremer, the top U.S. official in Iraq, had said he wanted to get commercial air service restarted by mid-July, but the coalition has since backed off that date, citing security concerns.

"We are still working with problems related to security, immigration and customs," Bremer said Tuesday. "We're not ready at this time." (No shit.)

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TROOP NEWS

3RD ID ARMY SPOUSES ORGANIZE MILITANT CAMPAIGN TO BRING TROOPS HOME NOW

Army Spouses Protest Endless Gulf War Deployment

Ron Martz and Jingle Davis, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, July 15, 2003

In Fallujah, about 40 miles west of Baghdad, Army Lt. Col. Eric Schwartz, commander of Georgia-based Task Force 1-64, made an announcement Monday afternoon to hushed staff members.

"We were extended in theater. Units will now stay one year," he said.

Schwartz said later, "They know it ripped my heart out to stand up there and tell them we weren't going home."

The news hit especially hard because soldiers with the 3rd Infantry Division (Mechanized) from Fort Stewart were told July 9 that they could start packing this week to come home to Hinesville.

About 10,000 soldiers, including troops in Task Force 1-64, learned Monday their homecoming will be delayed indefinitely. The same day, a 3rd Infantry Division soldier was killed in an ambush near Baghdad and 10 others were wounded, three seriously.

Schwartz told company commanders and staff officers Monday not to set their sights on any specific date for going home. The extension order, expected to be announced by the Pentagon today, will specify that units sent to Iraq or Kuwait will spend "a minimum" of one year, Schwartz said.

Maj. Gen. Buford Blount, the division commander, notified soldiers' families at Fort Stewart of the change in homecoming plans via e-mail over the weekend.

Blount said the decision "was made at the highest levels" because of the "uncertainty of the situation in Iraq and the recent increase in attacks on coalition forces."

The general said he did not know when the troops will be coming home. "I wish I could tell you how long that is, but everything I have told you before has changed," he wrote.

How Many More For Bush’s War?

The news was a blow to many soldiers, who expected to be home within a few weeks. Word of the second official extension since the end of major combat operations began filtering through the ranks Sunday, catching enlisted soldiers and officers by surprise.

Capt. Jason Conroy, commander of the task force's Charlie Company, said "A lot of guys thought that the train was starting and this would really be it," said Conroy, 31, of Appalachian, N.Y.

Many soldiers declined to speak on the record about the extension. But privately they expressed bitterness about the decision-making process that led them to believe they would be among the first home because they were first in the region last year.

Instead, they have watched as units with only a few months in the Persian Gulf region returned home long before them. Several young soldiers said they were thinking about re-enlisting but have since changed their minds and intend to get out when their contracts expire. Even senior enlisted soldiers with just a few years left until retirement said they are seriously considering getting out because of the apparent inability of the Pentagon to make a decision on the length of their stay.

"It would have been easier if someone told us up front we were going to be here for a year. Then we could have prepared for that," Conroy said.

In Hinesville, soldiers' families had no difficulty expressing their feelings. A group of wives has organized a protest rally for 2 p.m. Saturday at a Hinesville coffee shop, said Kimberly Hernandez, 27. Her husband, Sgt. Carlos Hernandez, is a tank gunner with Charlie Company.

"The soldiers are really depressed about not coming home, and they can't speak for themselves, so we're going to speak for them," Hernandez said. "We're going to tell the world they're being lied to."

She also is organizing a letter-writing campaign, asking friends and relatives to contact their representatives in Congress and the White House.

Susan Conroy, whose husband, Jason, is Charlie Company's commanding officer, called other wives after hearing the bad news.

"Some cried, some cussed, some just thanked me for calling. One wife was so upset she said she was going to come kill me," Conroy said. "I don't like what's happened either, but I will support it. Our guys really need our support now, more than ever."

Shakita Milton, 27, said she was having problems dealing with her husband's long absence even before she heard he won't be home as soon as expected. She and Staff Sgt. Germell Milton, 25, have two children, Shani, 4, and Saquan, 6.

"I'm very frustrated and upset," she said. "About two weeks ago, I really broke and didn't know if I'd have to go into the hospital. My children had never seen me in such a state."

Dominique Marabello, 24, said she's trying to take the news in stride, even though she's been a single mother since the premature birth of her son, Antonio, in October. Her husband, Sgt. Anthony Marabello, 23, flew home from Kuwait and spent two weeks with his wife and child. But since then, he has been in the Middle East.

"When we talked on the telephone last time, he wanted so much to come home. I know this news hurts him even more than it hurts me," Dominique Marabello said. "I want him home, too. I tell him, 'Baby, you just stay in your tank.' "

She had not planned to send her husband any more letters or packages, thinking he would be home soon, but now she'll get together a special shipment to pick up his spirits, she said.

Jim Miklaszewski, NBC News MSNBC,July 14, 2003

The Army said Monday that thousands of 3rd Infantry Division soldiers have had their deployment in Iraq extended, dashing hopes that the troops would be home by September.

“It’s damned obvious why they’re not coming home as promised — there’s no stability in place yet,” in Iraq, an Army official told NBC News’ Jim Miklaszewski.

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What do you think? Comments from service men and women, and veterans, are especially welcome. Send to the E-mail address up top.

Pentagon Shit-Eating Liar Says 3rd I.D. Doesn’t Want To Come Home;

Really Wants to Stay In Iraq

Jonathan Weisman, Washington Post, July 13, 2003

Although Dov Zakheim, the Pentagon's chief financial officer, Zakheim refused to venture how many troops would be in Iraq in a year, Defense Department documents sent to Congress last week indicate the Pentagon "assumes that only a limited number of U.S. forces will remain" there by September 2004.

However, Gen. Tommy R. Franks, the retired commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, told lawmakers last week that troops could be in Iraq as long as four years from now. Many veterans, like me, are still shaking their heads in disbelief over President Bush's recent bluster about the Iraqi opposition killing our troops one by one almost every day. "Bring 'em on," said Bush, sounding like a character out of a bad Hollywood movie or an ad for TV wrestling.

Zakheim strongly dismissed concerns over morale, troop retention and recruiting.

"The people on the ground really seem to want to stay there," said Zakheim, who recently returned from Baghdad. "Even the people I visited in hospital, their number one objective is to get back into theater. People sign up to do just what

(Comment: Easy for this disgusting bean-counting coward to say sitting on his fat ass in the Pentagon.)

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Pentagon Caught Hiding Combat Deaths as “Accidents;” Investigation Underway

by Jen Fish, July 15, 2003 by the Portland Press Herald (Maine)

Time magazine has outlined a new scenario for the death this month in Iraq of an Army reservist from Kennebunk, adding more confusion as the family awaits the results of an official investigation.

The case raises a very troubling question, which is, are combat deaths being disguised as accidents . . . so it would appear less harm is being caused by the Iraqi resistance than is the case?

Congressman Tom Allen (D-Maine) First Sgt. Christopher Coffin, 51, became the fifth soldier with Maine ties to die in Iraq after his vehicle ran into a ditch on July 1. He was a member of the 352nd Civil Affairs Command assisting convoys traveling between Baghdad and Kuwait.

The details of Coffin's death have been mired in confusion since the day it was announced by the military.

Initially, a press release from Coffin's unit stated he died after his vehicle swerved to avoid a civilian vehicle.

But a report from the U.S. Central Command issued a day before said a member of Coffin's unit was killed July 1 when his convoy was hit by "an improvised explosive device."

That report did not name Coffin, but he was the only member of his unit to die that day.

Now a new report from Time, citing "Coffin family members and U.S. government officials looking into the case," says Coffin's vehicle was deliberately run off the road, then surrounded by an angry mob. A Humvee following Coffin stopped to help, but was also overwhelmed and then set on fire.