[Thanks to David Honish, Veteran, who sent this in.]

 Spc. Says “You Couldn’t Do Much Worse Than The Way Things Are Going Now In Iraq”

 November 08, 2006 By Gordon Lubold, Army Times Staff writer & November 09, 2006 Army Times Staff Report [Excerpt]

 “For us, the civilians and soldiers, it’s fantastic news,” said Spc. Jason Hartley, of the New York National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 69th Infantry Regiment.  “You couldn’t do much worse than the way things are going now in Iraq.”

 Hartley said he’s excited to see how things will move forward, especially now that the elections have shifted the balance of power in Congress. 

“I have a sneaking suspicion that things are going to continue to be horrible in Iraq, but I’m open to any new ideas,” he said.

 “Failing in a new way is at least trying.  The whole ‘staying the course’ thing is not trying.”

 “Had the man [Rumsfeld] listened to his generals we would either A, not have gone to Iraq in the first place, or B, not still be there because we would have committed 400,000 troops from the beginning,” said the officer.

 “Maybe I wouldn’t have had to go there twice and miss the birth of my first child.  Maybe a lot of guys wouldn’t have been blown up.  There is a high price for such arrogance.”

IRAQ WAR REPORTS

Tennessee Soldier Killed In Samarra

U.S. Army 1st Lt. Michael A. Cerrone, 24, of Clarksville, Tenn., who died Nov. 12, 2006, from injuries suffered when a car bomb exploded near his vehicle during combat operations in Samarra, Iraq.  Cerrone was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team of the 82nd Airborne Division out of Fort Bragg, N.C. (AP Photo/U.S. Army)

Florida Soldier Killed In Samarra

U.S. Army Spc. Harry A. Winkler III, 32, of Jacksonville, Fla., died Nov. 12, 2006, from injuries suffered when a car bomb exploded near his vehicle during combat operations in Samarra, Iraq.  Winkler III was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team of the 82nd Airborne Division out of Fort Bragg, N.C. (AP Photo/U.S. Army)

Georgia Marine Killed In “Non-Hostile Incident” 

November 15, 2006 U.S. Department of Defense News Release No. 1161-06

 Lance Cpl. Kristopher C. Warren, 19, of Resaca, Ga., died Nov. 9 from a non-hostile incident in Al Anbar province, Iraq.  He was assigned to 4th Battalion, 14th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division, Chattanooga, Tenn.

 The incident is currently under investigation.

Three Marines, One Soldier Killed In Al Anbar

 Nov. 15, 2006 Multi National Corps Iraq Public Affairs Office, Camp Victory RELEASE No. 20061115-03A

 FALLUJAH, Iraq:  One Soldier assigned to 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division and three Marines assigned to Regimental Combat Team 7 died Tuesday from wounds sustained due to enemy action while operating in Al Anbar Province.

REALLY BAD PLACE TO BE:

BRING THEM ALL HOME NOW

A U.S. soldier at the scene of a car bomb attack in Baghdad October 23, 2006.  (Mahmoud Raouf Mahmoud/Reuters)

2 Baghdad Soldiers Killed By IED

 15 November 2006 Multi National Corps Iraq Public Affairs Office, Camp Victory RELEASE No. 20061115-05

 BAGHDAD:  Two Multi National Division Baghdad Soldiers were killed at approximately 11:30 p.m. Nov. 14 when their vehicle was struck by an improvised-explosive device in northwest Baghdad while conducting combat operations.

British Soldier Wounded In Basra

 15 Nov 2006 Reuters

 British forces killed an insurgent when they came under fire from a house in Basra, said Captain Tane Dunlop, a spokesman for the British forces.  He said a British soldier was wounded by the insurgent.

TROOP NEWS

Joe Hatcher, Jeff Englehart and Garett Reppenhagen: Germany 2005

THIS IS HOW BUSH BRINGS THE TROOPS HOME:

BRING THEM ALL HOME NOW, ALIVE

The casket of Spc. Carl Eason is loaded onto a fire truck during a funeral service, Nov. 2, 2006, in Lovelady, Texas.  Eason, who was killed last month while serving in Iraq, was also a volunteer firefighter in Lovelady.  (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Iraq Attacks:

“Why Did She Have To Die For Such A Silly Cause?”

[Thanks to JM, who sent this in.]

15 November 2006 By Terri Judd and Kim Sengupta, The Independent (UK)

A week ago Ted Elliott opened up a surprise parcel to find a pair of silk-lined gloves, an early Christmas present posted by his daughter as she set off for Iraq.

It was typical of Staff Sergeant Sharron Elliott, 34, her family said yesterday after learning of her death on Sunday in Iraq, to be so thoughtful.  She had noticed that Parkinson's disease had left her father's hand permanently frozen and in the flurry of pre-deployment had remembered to send the present.

"She was just such a lovely girl, so sensible and kind.  We were just waiting to find out her new address so we could send something to her," Mr Elliott's wife said yesterday.

"Ted is utterly heartbroken.  It was his only daughter.  You just don't expect them to go before you.

"When she said she was going to Iraq I said I didn't believe in them being sent over there.  She was just treating it as a job she had to do.  She had been to many difficult places, but I don't think she liked this one.  Why did she have to die for such a silly cause?" added Mrs Elliott.

Sharron Elliott, who was one of four soldiers killed in an attack on a boat on the Shatt al-Arab waterway, bringing the total number of British troops killed since the end of the war to 125, had had a difficult life.  

Her cousin, 22-year-old Judith Pattison, was killed in the 1989 Kegworth air crash when a plane bound for Belfast crashed into the M1. Then her fiancé, also a soldier, died in a motorcycle crash before their wedding.

Before deploying to Iraq, Sgt Elliott had been caring for a close friend suffering from cancer.  Her letters home from Basra were full of concern about her father.

Her mother, Elsie Manning, said at her home in South Shields: "Sharron was the most beautiful, caring person in the world.  She was very strong-minded and very compassionate.

"She had lots of friends and used to look after one of them who had cancer so that her husband could have a break - that is the sort of person she was.  She loved cooking and used to take over the kitchen when she came home, whipping up all kinds of exotic dishes for us all to try.  She was very close to her four stepbrothers and was 'best man' at her stepbrother David's wedding.  She was delighted to become an auntie again last year to her little nephew Bradley.

"Sharron deployed to Iraq just over a week ago.  Her life was the Army and she had served all over the world.  It is of some comfort to the family that she died doing what she loved.

"We all loved her so much - she has left such a big hole in our lives.  She was the most fantastic person, she was just amazing and touched the hearts of everyone she met.  We can never replace her."

The Army had been Sharron's life from the moment she was born and grew up in the small Suffolk town of Hadleigh.  Her father had served in the forces, two of her elder stepbrothers went on to do so, and so did cousins and other relatives.  Ted Elliott was fiercely proud of his girl taking up the mantle.

Neighbours remember a beautifully behaved child growing up among the small group of simple redbrick homes surrounding a green, where she played with her stepbrothers Michael, Gary and David.

She joined the Army at the age of 18.  She spent her early career in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, becoming the first woman in the Army to qualify as an aircraft technician.

Her history teacher, Penny Cook, said last night: "We are devastated by what has happened. What is so poignant is that it also happened on Remembrance Sunday.

"I remember she had a desire to go into the forces.  For many young people it's a career they can get training in and make a living out of."

Sgt Elliott's godmother, 72-year-old Maureen Holland, recalled: "She met her boyfriend on a course where they were learning to repair helicopters.  I saw her when she came back to look for a wedding dress.  But then her fiancé died tragically.  People asked if she would be giving up the Army afterwards, but she said she wouldn't, and she would finish the course because she wanted to do it for him.  She was a very caring person and when her fiancé died, I remember her saying that she was going to stay with his parents to be with them.

"She was very determined and she was the first woman to pass this particular course. She was just so dedicated to her life in the Army.

"She was an absolutely lovely girl.  Her parents must be really proud."

After six years in the Army, Sgt Elliott transferred to the Intelligence Corps, subsequently serving in Northern Ireland and Kosovo before being posted to Iraq.

Part of her training was at the 15 (UK) Psychological Operations Group headquarters at Chicksands in Bedfordshire, where students are encouraged to study the local culture and customs at postings abroad.  Students are also taught to question perceived wisdom and to question policy and disagree with the official view if necessary.

Her commanding officer in Iraq, Lt Col Andrew Park, said she was "never afraid to challenge the status quo, she would always give her opinion.  Dedicated and professional, Staff Sergeant Elliott was an inspiration to all she worked with."

The other victims

* Warrant Officer Lee Hopkins, 35, from Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, was just five weeks into a six-month tour of Iraq, but had already made an "immediate impact", his commanding officer said. Lt-Col Andrew Park also paid tribute to the soldier as a "dedicated family man".  He leaves a wife, Amanda, to whom he was married for 10 years, and a son aged three.  "He led from the front with a quiet authority and paid attention to every detail," Lt-Col Park said.

* Corporal Ben Nowak, 27, of 45 Commando Royal Marines, was described by his uncle as "as an extraordinary soldier and an extraordinary young man".  A promising young footballer, Cpl Nowak, of Speke in Merseyside, had trials with Southampton. But he joined the Royal Marines at 17 and became a rifleman, later qualifying as a physical training instructor. His uncle, Michael McEvatt, added: "He was so proud of what he did."

* Marine Jason Hylton, 33, of 539 Assault Squadron Royal Marines, was a divorced father of two teenage sons who lived with his parents in Swadlincote, Derbyshire. He had volunteered for a tour of duty in Iraq. His brother Daz, 37, said: "He loved the marine life and thoroughly enjoyed his job."  

But Marine Hylton's girlfriend, Sasha Martin, said: "He should never have been sent to Iraq, and it was not even his boat that he was on when he died."

IRAQ RESISTANCE ROUNDUP

Assorted Resistance Action

14 Nov 2006 Reuters & 15 Nov 2006 Reuters

A bomber blew himself up in Tikrit, wounding three policemen and three civilians, according to the Joint Coordination Centre for Iraqi and U.S. security forces.

Gunmen attacked the convoy of Salama al-Khafagi, a former member of the governing Council, wounding a bodyguard in the western Jamiaa district of Baghdad, an Interior Ministry source said.

Two mortar rounds landed near a police station in the city of Baquba, 65 km (40 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.

The morgue in Mosul received the bodies of two policemen, hospital sources said.

Guerrillas ambushed a vehicle carrying a group of construction workers, killing two and wounding three, who were working at a police station and killed a traffic police officer in the oil city Kirkuk, 255 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad.

Police vehicle destroyed by a resistance car bomb attack, Baghdad, November 15, 2006.  REUTERS/Thaier al- Sudani

FORWARD OBSERVATIONS

“Thousands Of American GIs Who Rebelled Against The Vietnam War, Changing The Course Of U.S. History”

4/2/2006 Unsigned, Back By Popular Demand, Fightbackunitedstates.spaces

I went with a friend of mine, a new friend, to see this movie Sir No Sir, this is a film by David Zeiger, Displaced Films and Balcony Release.

This is a very much suppressed story of the VietNam conflict, (WAR), and the thousands of American GIs who rebelled against the VietNam War, changing the course of U.S. history, and society.

Being a veteran of this war, I was most curious about what it may reveal.  I knew at the time that I was in the military that these events were taking place, but I had no idea of the magnitude of this movement. 

So if you think that the Iraq war is troubled with a new breed of torturous troops, think again, and if you think that the incidents of the Iraq war are isolated incidents, being undertaken for the amusement of the GIs involved, think again, they are all following orders.

War is hell, and if you are fighting a war, for whatever reason, then fight the war, play by the rules of engagement that the enemy plays by, and if you get caught doing inhumane things to captured enemy forces, or suspected enemy forces, be advised that the Commander in Chief, and all subordinates all the way down, and back up the chain of command, are going to deny that those orders were ever issued, so make sure that you have it in writing, and or well documented. Lt. William Calley didn't, and he paid the price.

Sir! No Sir!:

At A Theatre Near You!

To find it: http://www.sirnosir.com/

White House Punks

From: Dennis Serdel

To: GI Special

Sent: November 15, 2006

Subject: White House Punks

By Dennis Serdel, Vietnam 1967-68 (one tour) Light Infantry, Americal Div. 11th Brigade, purple heart, Veterans For Peace, Vietnam Veterans Against The War, United Auto Workers GM Retiree, in Perry, Michigan

               White House Punks

What Kind of war is this ?

Americans have finally voted down

makes you feel kind of proud

old students all remember

another war like this.

It sent a message to our Soldiers,

sent a message to the World,

this war is just like Vietnam

time to end it, bring them home.

What Kind of war is this ?

Can't even get a flak jacket

when you're wounded and you're down

soldiers have to pay for their meals.

What Kind of war is this ?

In a Humvee driving round

soldiers welding extra steel

putting sandbags on the floor.

What kind of war is this ?

Doing tour after tour

a cat just has so many lives

until he's hit and dead.

What Kind of war is this ?

Run by cowards who ran away from war,

hypocrites in the White House

patting dead soldiers on their backs.

What Kind of war is this ?

Criminals making money by the billions

while soldiers on the ground

have targets on their heads.

It's time to end this war

pinch Bush like a pimple off your ass

toss hanging ropes over limbs

hang 'em next to the butcher of Baghdad.

Can You Handle The Truth:

Meeting On Staten Island Will Hear Iraq Veterans, Mothers Of Soldiers Against The War:

2 Vets And 2 Mothers, Including One Who Lost Son

11.13.06 STATEN ISLAND ADVANCE

Two veterans and two mothers, one of whom lost her son in the war in Iraq, will discuss how the Middle East conflict has affected them on Nov. 16 at the College of Staten Island.  The forum, which is free and open to the public, will take place at 7:30 p.m. in CSI’s Center for the Arts, z8oo Victory Blvd., Wilowbrook.

Speakers will explain why they have taken a stand against the war at the forum, titled “The Personal Impact of the War in Iraq: Veterans and Military Family Members Speak Out.”

The panelists include Elaine Brower, mother of a U.S. Marine who recently returned from Fallujah, Iraq; Christian Bustamante, who enlisted in the Army National Guard in 1999 before applying for conscientious objector status due to his personal beliefs against the war in Iraq; Josh Middleton, who completed his enlistment in May, and Celeste Zappala, mother of National Guardsman Sgt. Sherwood Baker, who was killed in Baghdad in April

2004.

The event is sponsored by the CSJ Psychology Department Social Issues Committee, Peace Action of Staten Island and the CSI Program Development Committee.

Rumsfeld?

“He Should Clean Latrines For The Duration Of This War, Until Every Brave Soldier Returns Home”

[Thanks to Alan Stolzer, The Military Project, who sent this in.]

11.10.06 The New York Daily News, By John G. Hallahan

Manhattan: Not that I’m not glad to see him go, but how dare Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld resign from a war he helped start?

After almost 3,000 soldiers have died, and with thousands still in harm’s way, this poor excuse for a human being gets to walk off into the sunset to enjoy his millions of dollars and wait for his cronies to join him on the golf course in two years.