Thread: Iraq

I remember months before September 11th I would be driving to work. My drive takes me past Pearl Harbor (Kam Hwy).One day (I believe it was April or May 2001) I saw an aircraft carrier -the USS John Stennis (brand new)-in port.
The John Stennis's dock is across the the USS Arizona Memorial reception center and not far from the Kam Hwy which I was taking. They had some huge stage being erected on the carriers deck and as it turned this was was for the movie premier ceremony for 'Pearl Harbor' (Starring Ben Affleck....). As the days went by the stage got bigger and more elaborate. They had more news about the movie premier on TV. There were interviews with locals, Navy PR types, Pearl Harbor vets, movie actors etc about how we should be prepared and never let another Pearl Harbor happen again yada yada yada blah blah blah. I personally though it was all a waste of money and resources. But I guess it was great public relations for Hawaii, the Navy, Pearl Harbor etc etc.

As the summer progressed before 9/11 you probably all have forgotten by now what the great national security problem that was being debated. More then enough video tape
was used on it.
Anyone remember?
Why it was the great 'Black Beret' debate.
Should the US Rangers give up their beloved black beret so the regular army types could get it. That move was designed to increase espirt in the regular US Army. I remember some pair of US Rangers were going do some protest march to show their displeasure on trading in their black beret for a tan one.


Now I'm not going to get political here saying who should have done what to whom and when back before 9/11-But what I related to you above are 2 vignettes I remember from my country running through my mind after an old girlfriend called me early 9/11 morning to tell me somebody had crashed a jet airliner into the World Trade Center and I better go turn on the TV etc etc etc.

I thought then as I watched that horror all unfold on 9/11 that all victories and all defeats are TEAM EFFORTS.

And I thought of the movie preimier on the USS John Stennis deck and all those words....("We should always be prepared blah blah blah) and the important Black Beret debate.

A lot of people will go on about who was responsible for 9/11. I have felt then as I feel now more then a few people-past and present -political (both parties) and military and media-had their collective heads in a very dark place.

Damn them and damn Osama Bin Laden to hell.

Here's a MadTV skit ... about the iRack (including blooper)

Originally Posted by Tempest

I remember months before September 11th I would be driving to work. My drive takes me past Pearl Harbor (Kam Hwy).One day (I believe it was April or May 2001) I saw an aircraft carrier -the USS John Stennis (brand new)-in port.
The John Stennis's dock is across the the USS Arizona Memorial reception center and not far from the Kam Hwy which I was taking. They had some huge stage being erected on the carriers deck and as it turned this was was for the movie premier ceremony for 'Pearl Harbor' (Starring Ben Affleck....). As the days went by the stage got bigger and more elaborate. They had more news about the movie premier on TV. There were interviews with locals, Navy PR types, Pearl Harbor vets, movie actors etc about how we should be prepared and never let another Pearl Harbor happen again yada yada yada blah blah blah. I personally though it was all a waste of money and resources. But I guess it was great public relations for Hawaii, the Navy, Pearl Harbor etc etc.

As the summer progressed before 9/11 you probably all have forgotten by now what the great national security problem that was being debated. More then enough video tape
was used on it.
Anyone remember?
Why it was the great 'Black Beret' debate.
Should the US Rangers give up their beloved black beret so the regular army types could get it. That move was designed to increase espirt in the regular US Army. I remember some pair of US Rangers were going do some protest march to show their displeasure on trading in their black beret for a tan one.


Now I'm not going to get political here saying who should have done what to whom and when back before 9/11-But what I related to you above are 2 vignettes I remember from my country running through my mind after an old girlfriend called me early 9/11 morning to tell me somebody had crashed a jet airliner into the World Trade Center and I better go turn on the TV etc etc etc.

I thought then as I watched that horror all unfold on 9/11 that all victories and all defeats are TEAM EFFORTS.

And I thought of the movie preimier on the USS John Stennis deck and all those words....("We should always be prepared blah blah blah) and the important Black Beret debate.

A lot of people will go on about who was responsible for 9/11. I have felt then as I feel now more then a few people-past and present -political (both parties) and military and media-had their collective heads in a very dark place.

Damn them and damn Osama Bin Laden to hell.

GREAT WORDS, THEY NEED TO PAY FOR THEIR ACTIONS!

Will Turkey Invade Northern Iraq?


Reports of Turkish Troop Concentrations on Iraqi Border Spur Debate About Possible Invasion

By CHRISTOPHER TORCHIA Associated Press Writer
ISTANBUL, Turkey Jul 9, 2007 (AP)

Reports that Turkey has massed a huge military force on its border with Iraq bolstered fears that an invasion targeting hideouts of Kurdish rebels could be imminent. But how deeply into Iraq is the Turkish army willing to go, how long would it stay and what kind of fallout could come from allies in Washington and other NATO partners?
All these questions weigh on Turkey's leaders, who have enough on their hands without embarking on a foreign military adventure. Turkey is caught up in an internal rift between the Islamic-rooted government and the military-backed, secular establishment, less than two weeks ahead of July 22 elections that were called early as a way to ease tensions in a polarized society.

http://www.abcnews.go.com/Internatio...ory?id=3360172

Radical Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr ordered his dreaded Shiite militia on Wednesday to stop attacks on US-led forces as part of a six-month suspension of the militant group's activities.

AS I always said, he's bad news to his fellow humans......need I say more....

Foreign Service employees NOT happy campers today:

From: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071031/...DgOmAVxfeWwvIE

Some US diplomats angry over Iraq posts
By MATTHEW LEE, Associated Press

Several hundred U.S. diplomats vented anger and frustration Wednesday about the State Department's decision to force foreign service officers to take jobs in Iraq, with some likening it to a "potential death sentence."

In a contentious hour-long "town hall meeting" called to explain the step, these workers peppered the official who signed the order with often hostile complaints about the largest diplomatic call-up since Vietnam. Announced last week, it will require some diplomats - under threat of dismissal — to serve at the embassy in Baghdad and in so-called Provincial Reconstruction Teams in outlying provinces.

Many expressed serious concern about the ethics of sending diplomats against their will to serve in a war zone, where the embassy staff is largely confined to the so-called "Green Zone," and the safety outside the area is uncertain while a review of the department's use of private security contractors to protect its staff is under way.

"Incoming is coming in every day, rockets are hitting the Green Zone," said Jack Crotty, a senior foreign service officer who once worked as a political adviser with NATO forces.

Employees directly confronted Foreign Service Director General Harry Thomas, who approved the move to so-called "directed assignments" late last Friday to make up for a lack of volunteers to go to Iraq.

"It's one thing if someone believes in what's going on over there and volunteers, but it's another thing to send someone over there on a forced assignment," Crotty said. "I'm sorry, but basically that's a potential death sentence and you know it. Who will raise our children if we are dead or seriously wounded?"

"You know that at any other (country) in the world, the embassy would be closed at this point," Crotty said to loud and sustained applause from the about 300 diplomats who attended the meeting in a large State Department auditorium.

Thomas responded by saying the comments were "filled with inaccuracies" but did not elaborate until challenged by the head of the diplomats' union, the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA), who like Crotty and others, demanded to know why many learned of the decision from news reports.

Thomas took full responsibility for the late notification but objected when AFSA President John Naland said that a recent survey found that only 12 percent of the union's membership believed Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was "fighting for them."

"That's their right but they're wrong," Thomas said, prompting a testy exchange.

"Sometimes if it's 88 to 12, maybe the 88 percent are correct," Naland said.

"88 percent of the country believed in slavery at one time, was that correct?" shot back Thomas, who is black, in a remark that drew boos from the crowd. "Don't you or anybody else stand there and tell me I don't care about my colleagues. I am insulted," he added.
Rice was not present for the meeting, but her top adviser on Iraq, David Satterfield, did attend.

Other diplomats did not object to the idea of directed assignments but questioned why the State Department had been slow to respond to the medical needs of those who had served in dangerous posts.

"I would just urge you, now that now we are looking at compulsory service in a war zone, that we have a moral imperative as an agency to take care of people who ... come back with war wounds," said Rachel Schnelling, a diplomat who served in Basra, Iraq and said the department had been unresponsive to requests for mental heath care.

"I asked for treatment and I didn't get any of it," she said in comments that were greeted with a standing ovation.

Thomas, who has been in his current job for just a few months, said the department was working on improving its response to stress-related disorders that "we did not anticipate."

Under the new order, 200 to 300 diplomats have been identified as "prime candidates" to fill 48 vacancies that will open next year at the Baghdad embassy and in the provinces. Those notified that they have been selected for a one-year posting will have 10 days to accept or reject the position. If not enough say yes, some will be ordered to go. Only those with compelling reasons, such as a medical condition or extreme personal hardship, will be exempt from disciplinary action.

Diplomats who are forced into service in Iraq will receive the same extra hardship pay, vacation time and choice of future assignments as those who have volunteered.

(There's name behind all that and I believe the name is Rumsfelt)(sp?)

On April 30, 1967, Dr. Martin Luther King delivered a powerful sermon against the War in Vietnam.

"Why I Am Opposed to the War in Vietnam" was delivered at the Riverside Church in New York.

His words spoken in 1967, could easily be heard today, with a substitution of Vietnam with another far-off nation.

Listen to the words- and think about what they mean.

Yes, it was a different war, and it was a different time....

But the words of this great leader resonnate across the boundaries of time.

this---is history.

And is worth listening very carefully to.

http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/videodir...kriverside.ram

What can we learn today from this great American?

Here is the transcript of that message- you can read along as you hear the speech.

http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/paci...ranscript.html

This great American had a distinct character flaw. Not only was he a minister he was also an adulterator. He is on the same wash out level as JFK - niether of whom deserve any of my time as a Vietrnam Veteran. I earned my freedom of speech and I have no fear in stating my opinions.

Originally Posted by Birchtree

This great American had a distinct character flaw. Not only was he a minister he was also an adulterator. He is on the same wash out level as JFK - niether of whom deserve any of my time as a Vietrnam Veteran. I earned my freedom of speech and I have no fear in stating my opinions.

Hey Brother,
Please know that every Vietnam Vet - I've talked to (which is a fairly large number) all agree with the story I'm able to put on my Thread when James and I go to DC to rattle things up.