Your Son May Die While Pigs Feed at Trough

[Enceladus]

"The father of a soldier killed in Iraq accused George Bush yesterday of
being responsible for his son's death. Fernando Suarez, whose 20-year-old
son, Jesus, was one of the first fatalities, said: 'My son died because Bush
lied.' Mr Suarez, from Escondido, California, speaking at a press conference
to publicise tomorrow's anti-war demonstrations in eight US cities, said
that about 1,300 parents of troops stationed in Iraq were involved in a
movement against the occupation. 'Neither my wife nor my family want more
children to die in this illegal war. We are no less patriotic for wanting
peace. Bush wants $87bn for this war, but what does he give us for our
schools?' he asked. In another sign of the growing protest movement, the
father of two soldiers serving in Iraq used a full page advertisement in
yesterday's NY Times to demand the sacking of the US defence secretary,
Donald Rumsfeld. The ad accused Bush and his administration of misleading
the public about WMDs."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1050949,00.html

[Richard J]

Post by Enceladus
"The father of a soldier killed in Iraq accused George Bush yesterday of
being responsible for his son's death. Fernando Suarez, whose 20-year-old
son, Jesus, was one of the first fatalities, said: 'My son died because Bush
lied.' Mr Suarez, from Escondido, California, speaking at a press conference
to publicise tomorrow's anti-war demonstrations in eight US cities, said
that about 1,300 parents of troops stationed in Iraq were involved in a
movement against the occupation. 'Neither my wife nor my family want more
children to die in this illegal war. We are no less patriotic for wanting
peace. Bush wants $87bn for this war, but what does he give us for our
schools?' he asked. In another sign of the growing protest movement, the
father of two soldiers serving in Iraq used a full page advertisement in
yesterday's NY Times to demand the sacking of the US defence secretary,
Donald Rumsfeld. The ad accused Bush and his administration of misleading
the public about WMDs."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1050949,00.html

Suarez, like all the others whose lives were lost in battles through the
years, died because he was a member of the armed forces doing their
duty. I speak from experience both as a bet and the father of a son
currently on active duty who just returned from the fighting. In
today's military, there are no draftees. Suarez and my son both were in
because they chose to be soldiers, and dying is an occupational hazard
of the job. A soldier fights because his unit is ordered to do so and
he wants to be part of the men he trained with. The small unit factor
more than any thing else is the force which drives soldiers to go in
harm's way.

In any war, there is propaganda. The Nazis wore belt buckles which said
"Gott Mit Uns". That literally means 'God is with us.'. American
soldiers are told they have God on their side, the best training, and
the best equipment in the World. In truth, I never saw God walking
across a battlefield nor heard him whispering in my ear as the bullets
went zinging by like angry bees. I suspect the training, while good, is
no better than any army of any major industrialized nation receives, and
some of our equipment is not as good as other militaries, although our
level and use of technology is equaled by few troops.

I decry the loss of any young trooper, but that was the risk this young
man took when he raised his hand and took the oath.

Teflon