| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"Yang, AthD h.c" |
| Date: |
12 Oct 2004 10:48:54 PM |
| Object: |
Iraq War Wife to AWOL: "You Are Responsible!" |
"Secretary Rumsfeld and President Bush, you are responsible"
An open letter from the wife of a soldier who lost his leg in Iraq.
http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2004/10/13/open_letter/index.html
Oct. 13, 2004 | Dear President Bush and Defense Secretary Rumsfeld,
My husband, David Pettigrew, lost his right leg in Iraq on July 7,
2003. During a night patrol with his unit in the Army's 4th Infantry
Division, an RPG round struck his Bradley fighting vehicle. The
armor-penetrating round -- which, according to faulty U.S.
intelligence, the enemy wasn't even supposed to have -- tore straight
through his leg and lodged in the opposite wall of the vehicle.
The next two months of my life were spent at Walter Reed Army Medical
Center, at my husband's side in Ward 57. We were in the same room
where Pvt. Jessica Lynch had gotten some treatment.
I knew what would follow when our troops went to invade Iraq. I knew
that the facts did not add up, but my husband went to do his duty,
even though he believed in no reason for going other than to fulfill
his oath to follow the orders of his commanders. I have a degree in
political science. I am the daughter of an Air Force officer. I knew
the ramifications of occupying a hostile foreign country. I simply do
not understand how the two of you, our president and commander in
chief and our secretary of defense, did not have the same information
that I had. Now, Iraq is a mess.
Secretary Rumsfeld, my husband and I met you at Walter Reed. You asked
my husband only three questions and asked none of me. It wasn't even a
conversation. You wanted to know how David got hurt, whether anyone
else was hurt with him, and whether his unit got the guys that did it.
You did not ask if David needed anything or if there was anything that
you could do to help. Both Paul Wolfowitz, the deputy secretary of
defense, and Anthony J. Principi, the secretary of veterans affairs,
gave David their cards and instructed him to call if there was
anything he needed and was not getting. But you were simply
speechless. You were in a hurry. It seemed like you almost didn't
care. It seemed like you only wanted to know whether the military
forces were being efficient.
My husband David is a very friendly person and a very good speaker.
Even if he felt any kind of hard feeling toward you then, Secretary
Rumsfeld, he didn't show it. But it was a very off-putting encounter,
and I know he was somewhat out of sorts about it. Everyone else he's
talked to about what happened to him has asked all sorts of follow-up
questions because it was remarkable that he didn't die. They gave him
13 pints of blood between when he got hurt and when he was evacuated
to the field hospital -- that's an incredible amount of blood to lose
in 40 minutes.
I'm not sure the American public understands that our soldiers are
being maimed over there. People hear about our soldiers being wounded,
but they're being maimed: They've lost an eye or an arm or a leg.
David and I couldn't feel sorry for ourselves over David's injury --
because the guy in the room next to him in the ICU had lost both legs
and arms and was permanently blinded.
Under the military way of life and thought, a commander is responsible
for errors that occur under his command whether he knew about them or
not. Secretary Rumsfeld and President Bush, you are responsible for
the inaccurate intelligence assessments, inadequate troop strength,
Iraqi prisoner abuses, inadequate logistical support for U.S. forces,
and fraudulent contracting billing for the Iraq reconstruction. And
you should care about every combat death or injury that occurs.
Your behavior has been inexcusable. You have been dishonest about the
support the troops weren't getting and about what's happening on the
ground in Iraq. I only have one vote. And my husband, David, is so
disheartened that he feels his vote will not even matter. He has no
faith left in our current government. I want all those who voted for
you, President Bush, or who failed to vote, to realize that your
actions led to my husband's terrible injury, as well as those of all
the dutiful men and women who fulfilled your demands and have been
maimed or killed in Iraq as a result of the administration's
miscalculations and poor judgment.
I ask anyone else reading this who wants to know how the military
community feels about this administration to take my words to heart.
There is a reason why many lieutenants in the 4th Infantry Division
have resigned their commissions. Many of them got out; they wanted no
part of it. I'm sorry, but if soldiers think they're doing the right
thing, carrying out a mission that's valuable and necessary, they
don't leave. They go back and serve their second tour.
Polls in Colorado, my state, open on Oct. 18. I hope Americans don't
wait until Nov. 2. I hope they vote early and often -- in every
election. I hope all Americans exercise their responsibility and their
right to hold you, Mr. President and Secretary Rumsfeld, accountable
for your actions and the events that have resulted.
-----
Yang
a.a. #28
AthD (h.c.) conferred by the regents of the LCL
a.a. pastor #-273.15, the most frigid church of Celcius nee Kelvin
EAC Econometric Forecast and Sorcery Division
Proudly plonked by Lani Girl and Crazyalec
The Bush 'balanced' budget: 1.2 trillion and worsening
The Bush 'economic' policy: -3 million jobs and counting
The Bush Iraq lie: -1075 GIs, one friend's co-worker's son and mounting
Having Bush ***** up my country: Worthless
.
|
|
|
Related Articles |
Mission Accomplished! 424th GI Killed By Bush's Big Lie. Where Are All You ***** NeoCon Chickenhawks Now?
526th GI Killed By Bush's Big Lie. Where Are All You ***** NeoCon Chickenhawks?
Re: In whose opinion are you a good person
=?ISO-8859-1?Q?You_know_you_are_a_stupid_lib?==?ISO-8859-1?Q?eral_democRAT_homosexual_when=85?=
Re: In whose opinion are you a good person?
Re: In whose opinion are you a good person?
Re: In whose opinion are you a good person? In God's or your own?
RE: Michael Moore: Guns Are Okay For Me, But Not For You
| Re: (",) Do You Want To Know For Sure You Are Going To Heaven?
OT: Are You A Secret Englishman?
Re: I want to ask you the most important question of your life. The question is: Are you saved? It is not a question of how good you are, nor if you are a church member, but are you saved? Are you sure you will go to Heaven when you die? The reason s
Love You, K2a2a, Whoever You Are
Re: Hot lonely girls and boys are waiting for you here...
Are you sick of "BORING / SCARY / SICK" Dreams at night?
MICHAEL GRAY shouldn't even > begin > > to respond to this, as its becoming more and more obvious you are > > ethier a arrogant liberal, coming on to MY site, and insulting us, > > when we are doing nothing to you, not bothering you in the > > sligh
|
|
|
