Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at:
http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="">ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Om
--- Begin Message --- -Caveat Lector- Soldiers Stuck in Iraq
by Jeffrey Kofman, ABCNEWS.com
FALLUJAH, Iraq (July 16) -- The sergeant at the 2nd Battle Combat Team Headquarters pulled me aside in the corridor. "I've got my own 'Most Wanted' list," he told me.
He was referring to the deck of cards the U.S. government published, featuring Saddam Hussein, his sons and other wanted members of the former Iraqi regime.
"The aces in my deck are Paul Bremer, Donald Rumsfeld, George Bush and Paul Wolfowitz," he said.
He was referring to the four men who are running U.S. policy here in Iraq -- the four men who are ultimately responsible for the fate of U.S. troops here.
Those four are not popular at 2nd BCT these days. It is home to 4,000 troops from the 2nd Brigade of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division.
The soldiers were deployed to Kuwait last September. They were among the first troops in Baghdad during the war. And now they've been in the region longer than other troops: 10 months and counting.
They were told they'd be going home in May. Then in early July. Then late July. Then last week they heard that Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld had mentioned them on Capitol Hill.
"The 2nd Brigade is — the plan is that they would return in August, having been there something like 10 months," said Rumsfeld.
He added: "The services and the Joint Staff have been working with Central Command to develop a rotation plan so that we can, in fact, see that we treat these terrific young men and young women in a way that's respectful of their lives and their circumstances."
Solid words from a solid source. Soldiers called their families. Commanding officers began preparations.
‘I Don’t Care Anymore’
Now comes word from the Pentagon: Not so fast.
The U.S. military command in Iraq said Tuesday it plans to complete the withdrawal of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division by September, but officials said they could make no hard promises because of the unsettled state of security in Baghdad and elsewhere in Iraq.
"If Donald Rumsfeld were sitting here in front of us, what would you say to him?" I asked a group of soldiers who gathered around a table, eager to talk to a visiting reporter.
"If he was here," said Pfc. Jason Punyahotra, "I would ask him why we're still here, why we've been told so many times and it's changed."
In the back of the group, Spc. Clinton Deitz put up his hand. "If Donald Rumsfeld was here," he said, "I'd ask him for his resignation."
Those are strong words from troops used to following orders. They say they will continue to do their job, but they no longer seem to have their hearts in the mission.
"I used to want to help these people," said Pfc. Eric Rattler, "but now I don't really care about them anymore. I've seen so much, you know, little kids throwing rocks at you. Once you pacify an area, it seems like the area you just came from turns bad again. I'd like this country to be all right, but I don't care anymore."
Wondering Why
What they care about is their families. Sgt. Terry Gilmore had to call his wife, Stacey, this week to her that he wouldn't be home in a few weeks to see her and their two little children.
"When I told her, she started crying," Gilmore said, his eyes moistening. "I mean, I almost started crying. I felt like my heart was broken. We couldn't figure out why they do it. Why they can keep us over here right after they told us we were coming home."
Sgt. Felipe Vega, who oversees the platoon, sat alone in the platoon quarters, writing a letter. A photo of his wife, Rhonda, was taped to the wall above him.
It is Vega's job to maintain morale. That's not easy, he told me, when the Army keeps changing the orders.
"They turn around and slap you in the face," he said.
When asked if that's the way it feels, he said, "Yeah, kicked in the guts, slapped in the face."
Losing Faith
The 2nd Brigade originally came to Kuwait for six months of exercises. Then they stayed to fight the war. Like the others, Vega thought that would be the end of it.
"What was told to us in Kuwait," he said, "was the fastest way to go home was through Baghdad. And that's what we did."
But more than three months later they are still here.
"Well it pretty much makes me lose faith in the Army," said Pfc. Jayson Punyhotra, one of the soldiers grouped around the table. "I mean, I don't really believe anything they tell me. If they told me we were leaving next week, I wouldn't believe them."
Fighting words from men who are eager to put down their weapons.
______________________
Tenet Faces Questions on Uranium
by Ken Guggenheim, Assoiated Press
WASHINGTON (July 16) - Senate Democrats insisted Wednesday that the White House was clearly responsible for including false information about Iraq's weapons program in President Bush's State of the Union speech.
Senators spoke after CIA Director George Tenet made a 4 1/2-hour closed-door appearance before the Senate Intelligence Committee. Tenet repeated his statement that he bears responsibility for allowing Bush to include his State of the Union speech a claim that Iraq had sought uranium from Africa for a nuclear weapons program.
But Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., said the issue wasn't why Tenet failed to keep the information out of the speech but who was so determined to put it in and why.
``All roads still lead back to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue,'' he said, referring to the White House address. ``The question is, Who in the White House was so determined to put information in the State of the Union which had been discounted so dramatically by American intelligence sources?''
Durbin and other Democrats said Tenet had named White House officials who had sought to include the information in the speech, but the Democrats declined to identify them, citing the confidentiality of the proceedings.
Responding to a question, committee Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan., said White House officials could possibly be called before the panel to discuss the handling of the intelligence.
He described Tenet as ``very contrite. He was very candid, very forthcoming. He accepted full responsibility.'' Tenet did not speak to reporters, except to describe his appearance as an ``uplifting experience'' as he left.
Roberts said it was clear ``there were mistakes made up and down the chain.'' He said the hearing reaffirmed his belief that ``the handling of this was sloppy.''
Roberts also said he expected to hold open hearings on the Iraq intelligence, probably in September.
Both the Senate and House intelligence committees are holding inquiries on whether prewar intelligence was inaccurate or mishandled to help Bush make the case for war. Democrats have stepped up demands for a formal investigation after the White House acknowledged that the uranium claim was false.
That claim, supported by British intelligence but discounted by U.S. officials, was apparently based on a series of forged documents suggesting that Saddam Hussein sought uranium from the African nation of Niger.
Bush and his national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, blamed Tenet for failing to seek removal of the statement from the speech. Tenet issued a statement accepting responsibility.
But Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said ``the CIA in my judgment was not pushing to have this matter of Niger included in the State of the Union speech.''
``I believe that there was if not a battle royal between the CIA staff and the White House staff, certainly some back and forth,'' he said. ``I believe that in this case, the White House political staff was looking at every rock, every nook and cranny to make their case and I believe the political staff prevailed,'' he said.
A senior law enforcement official said the FBI has opened an investigation into the documents. The focus is on who could benefit from putting false information into U.S. hands.
The official said the FBI is not investigating the U.S. government, but is looking at a variety of foreign entities, from other governments to anti-Saddam groups that favored a U.S. invasion.
The FBI sent a letter last week to Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., saying it had opened the inquiry. Rockefeller had called for such an investigation last spring. A spokeswoman for Rockefeller, Wendy Morigi, said the FBI investigation had actually begun a couple of months ago.
Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., a presidential candidate and member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Bush should take responsibility for the reference to the Niger uranium.
``The responsibility is not the CIA's; it's not anyone else's. It is the president's responsibility. And those 16 words (about the uranium) were spoken by the president and he has to take responsibility for them,'' he said.
Tenet's appearance had been planned before he took responsibility for the uranium information being included in Bush's speech, Roberts said. He had been scheduled to discuss information sharing with U.N. inspectors.
Before the hearing, Roberts also denounced the ``partisan flavor'' of the discussion.
``I think that's to be expected when you have that many presidential candidates,'' he said.
www.ctrl.org DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply.Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at:
http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="">ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Om
--- End Message ---
