First, Pat Tillman renounced the occupation of Iraq and he was killed ~ supposedly by friendly fire although there were sharpshooters in the area.
Next, we have the magnificent seven military sergeants, Jayamaha, Smith,Roebuck, Mora, Sandmeier, Grey and Murphy who wrote an Op-Ed piece in the New York times on August 19th challenging the overly simplistic press accounts of "progress" in Iraq, and reminded readers that the war had "robbed [Iraqis] of their self-respect" as the Americans had become "an army of occupation."
Sergeants Mora and Grey were both killed on Monday ~ supposedly when their truck overturned in western Baghdad.
Which brings me to the subject of Blackwater ~ Cheney and Bush's elite SS Troops / Praetorian guard which is headed by right wing conservative and Bush bankroller Erik Prince and answers only to Cheney and Bush.
Blackwater's role in Iraq is to protect officials and vital U.S. interests but also to protect any threat to the Cheney/Bush propaganda line. Click on this chilling four minute video ~ where The Nation's Jeremy Scahill describes the rise of Blackwater USA, the world's most powerful mercenary army ~ which is now also operating in the United States.
YouTube - Blackwater: Shadow Army
Is it possible that the deaths of Tillman, Mora and Grey are a signal to the troops that any dissent in the military ranks will be delt with harshly and permanently by the Cheney/Bush SS Troops ( Blackwater ) ~ and could we be just another 9/11 event away from having any organized dissent in the civilian ranks put down harshly by the Cheney/Bush SS Troops( Blackwater ) ~ two rhetorical questions with an obvious yes answer.
The mother of Sgt. Omar Mora, the soldier who co-authored a New York Times op-ed critical of the Bush administration's policies in Iraq, is calling on the Army to explain her son's death. "I want to know all the details of how he died. I want to know the truth," said Olga Capetillo.
The Center for American Progress reports on Mora and Grey's deaths which is followed by an excerpt from their recent article in Common Dreams.
Allen L Roland http://blogs.salon.com/0002255/2007/09/14.html
IRAQ -- TWO OF SEVEN SOLDIERS WHO WROTE NEW YORK TIMES OP-ED DIE IN IRAQ: Two of the seven active duty soldiers in the 82nd Airborne who wrote an Aug. 19 op-ed in the New York Times died in an accident in Iraq on Monday. Sgt. Omar Mora and Sgt. Yance Gray were killed when their vehicle overturned in western Baghdad. News of their deaths reached Washington as Gen. David Petraeus wrapped up his testimony to Congress about the Bush administration's strategy in Iraq. The soldiers' op-ed challenged overly simplistic press accounts of "progress" in Iraq, and reminded readers that the war had "robbed [Iraqis] of their self-respect" as the Americans had become "an army of occupation." The soldiers' courage to speak out about their experiences in Iraq helped change the debate in Washington. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) read from soldiers' op-ed during Tuesday's hearing, and Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE) referred to the column to challenge Petraeus's rosy assessments of the progress in Iraq: "They laid out a pretty different scenario, General, Ambassador, from what you're laying out today." Mora's stepfather said that his son believed the "situation in Iraq was desperate" and was sad that children in Iraq were "having to live" with the war going on. Mora and Gray each leave behind a wife and young daughter.
Seven US Soldiers Speak Out | The Iraq War As We See It
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/08/19/3270
Excerpt:
Four years into our occupation, we have failed on every promise, while we have substituted Baath Party tyranny with a tyranny of Islamist, militia and criminal violence. When the primary preoccupation of average Iraqis is when and how they are likely to be killed, we can hardly feel smug as we hand out care packages. As an Iraqi man told us a few days ago with deep resignation, “We need security, not free food.”
In the end, we need to recognize that our presence may have released Iraqis from the grip of a tyrant, but that it has also robbed them of their self-respect. 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.
Until that happens, it would be prudent for us to increasingly let Iraqis take center stage in all matters, to come up with a nuanced policy in which we assist them from the margins but let them resolve their differences as they see fit. This suggestion is not meant to be defeatist, but rather to highlight our pursuit of incompatible policies to absurd ends without recognizing the incongruities.
We need not talk about our morale. As committed soldiers, we will see this mission through.
Buddhika Jayamaha is a U.S. Army specialist. Wesley D. Smith is a sergeant. Jeremy Roebuck is a sergeant. Omar Mora is a sergeant. Edward Sandmeier is a sergeant. Yance T. Gray is a staff sergeant. Jeremy A. Murphy is a staff sergeant.
Allen L Roland http://blogs.salon.com/0002255/2007/09/14.html
Freelance columnist Allen L Roland is available for comments , interviews and speakingengagements ( allen@allenroland.com )
