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dinomac 
Group: Members
Posts: 51
Joined: Sep. 2006
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Posted on: Jul. 15 2007,2:38 pm |
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My Special Forces son who is stationed in Iraq tells me that the U.S. could win the war in Iraq (notice... I didn't say stabilize the country or fix the civil war), IF the people back home would let them. He says that even the colonels and generals hold the soldiers back from effectively doing their jobs, because the lack of desire of the people of the U.S. to win the war. Everyone wants a "sanitary" war with no casualties or losses. Well, because of that... we are losing more guys because we don't adequately "take care of business.".
Make no mistake about it... he says we are doing a GREAT job taking care of the terrorists over there... including iranians (supporting the terrorists). He also says that if we have a wholesale pullout... there WILL be a bloodbath.... which is weird that Americans don't care about thousands dying, as long as they aren't soldiers.
Let's support our troops, by asking our Representatives and Senators to support our President, who in turn can push the military leaders to WIN this war. The soldiers say it can be won fairly quickly if we would just have the will to win!!!!
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Liberal
Group: Moderator
Posts: 11451
Joined: Aug. 2003
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Posted on: Jul. 15 2007,4:20 pm |
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CAMP PENDLETON, Calif.—A Marine corporal testifying in a court-martial said Marines in his unit began routinely beating Iraqis after officers ordered them to "crank up the violence level."
Cpl. Saul H. Lopezromo testified Saturday at the murder trial of Cpl. Trent D. Thomas.
"We were told to crank up the violence level," said Lopezromo, testifying for the defense.
When a juror asked for further explanation, Lopezromo said: "We beat people, sir."
Within weeks of allegedly being scolded, seven Marines and a Navy corpsman went out late one night to find and kill a suspected insurgent in the village of Hamandiya near the Abu Ghraib prison. The Marines and corpsman were from 2nd Platoon, Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Regiment.
Lopezromo said the suspected insurgent was known to his neighbors as the "prince of jihad," and had been arrested several times and later released by the Iraqi legal system.
Unable to find him, the Marines and corpsman dragged another man from his house, fatally shot him, and then planted an AK-47 assault rifle near the body to make it appear he had been killed in a shootout, according to court testimony.
Four Marines and the corpsman, initially charged with murder in the April 2006 killing, have pleaded guilty to reduced charges and been given jail sentences ranging from 10 months to eight years. Thomas, 25, from St. Louis, pleaded guilty but withdrew his plea and is the first defendant to go to court-martial.
Lopezromo, who was not part of the squad on its late-night mission, said he saw nothing wrong with what Thomas did.
"I don't see it as an execution, sir," he told the judge. "I see it as killing the enemy."
He said Marines consider all Iraqi men part of the insurgency.
Lopezromo and two other Marines were charged in August with assaulting an Iraqi two weeks before the killing that led to charges against Thomas and the others. Charges against all three were later dropped.
Thomas' attorneys have said he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury from his combat duty in Fallouja in 2004. They have argued that Thomas believed he was following a lawful order to get tougher with suspected insurgents.
Prosecution witnesses testified that Thomas shot the 52-year-old man at point-blank range after he had already been shot by other Marines and was lying on the ground.
Lopezromo said a procedure called "dead-checking" was routine. If Marines entered a house where a man was wounded, instead of checking to see whether he needed medical aid, they shot him to make sure he was dead, he testified.
"If somebody is worth shooting once, they're worth shooting twice," he said.
The jury is composed of three officers and six enlisted personnel, all of whom have served in Iraq. The trial was set to resume Monday.
http://www.twincities.com/ci_6381859?source=most_viewed
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The people are masters of both Congress and courts, not to overthrow the Constitution, but to overthrow the men who pervert it!
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| Post Number: 3
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Botto 82
Group: Members
Posts: 6293
Joined: Jan. 2005
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Posted on: Jul. 15 2007,4:35 pm |
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That stuff's great for our image abroad, isn't it.
Rock on, Empire of America! Yeah!
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Dear future generations: Please accept our apologies. We were rolling drunk on petroleum.
- Kurt Vonnegut
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| Post Number: 4
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hymiebravo
Group: Members
Posts: 4989
Joined: Jan. 2006
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Posted on: Jul. 15 2007,5:34 pm |
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| Quote | | My Special Forces son who is stationed in Iraq tells me that the U.S. could win the war in Iraq |
Win it how exactly have the insurgents sign surrender documents on the deck of the Missouri ?
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| Post Number: 5
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hymiebravo
Group: Members
Posts: 4989
Joined: Jan. 2006
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Posted on: Jul. 15 2007,5:36 pm |
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It would be nice if all the loud mouths that started all this BS would take responsibilty for it and quit blaming everyone else.
You know shouting down anyone who said use your head.
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| Post Number: 6
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hymiebravo
Group: Members
Posts: 4989
Joined: Jan. 2006
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Posted on: Jul. 15 2007,5:55 pm |
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And I certainly don't mean ANY disrespect to you or your son either.
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| Post Number: 7
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hairhertz
Group: Members
Posts: 3489
Joined: Dec. 2004
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Posted on: Jul. 15 2007,7:15 pm |
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When was the last time this country tried to win a war? WW2!! Since then it has been all about containment. Sucks!
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metis movement
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irisheyes
Group: Super Administrators
Posts: 3040
Joined: Oct. 2003
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Posted on: Jul. 15 2007,7:42 pm |
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| Quote (dinomac @ July 15 2007,2:38pm) | U.S. could win the war in Iraq (notice... I didn't say stabilize the country or fix the civil war)
The soldiers say it can be won fairly quickly if we would just have the will to win!!!! |
What's our objective than? If anyone sets deadlines, or tries to set a bar for accomplishment, you and many of others will claim we're "not supporting our President, or the troops."
When we've got well over 100,000 troops in the area, many serving their 3rd tour, with mandatory extensions of tour lengths, and nearly half a trillion dollars spent (trillion with a T), when is enough a enough?
| Quote | | Let's support our troops, by asking our Representatives and Senators to support our President, who in turn can push the military leaders to WIN this war. The soldiers say it can be won fairly quickly if we would just have the will to win!!!! |
You don't think we're supporting our troops if we disagree with the President? Would you feel the same way if Kerry were in office right now? I didn't like Kerry any better, but the main difference is that nobody would claim I was being unpatriotic for doing so than.
And lastly, not all the troops agree with you, or your son. I respect your opinion, and his, and what he's doing in Iraq, but not everyone feels the same way about this war, including those in the military.
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You know it's going to be a bad day when you cross thread the cap on the toothpaste.
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| Post Number: 9
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Mamma
Group: Members
Posts: 1474
Joined: Aug. 2003
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Posted on: Jul. 16 2007,7:47 am |
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I suppose I am going to set myself up for an attack....but here I go anyway. I think what this mother was saying is things are not always what they look like. I know the press did the same thing during the Viet Nam war. I have no idea why Liberal posted that article he did. What does that have to do with what that mother was talking about. It really hit a raw nerve with me. I lived through that Viet Nam era and remember the Vietnamese hiding behind women and children....and then the press reporting how our guys had killed children. The Vietnamese were real good at getting things to look lilke they wanted things to look. They had no problem sending 10 and 12 year olds out to kill. Yes...it is still happening in this war! How many people want to listen to the news and see all the good that has taken place in Iraq? Isn't it much more interesting to see how many "boys" George Bush killed today?These are not "boys"...they are MEN...and they are trained to do what they are doing. I am surprised that some Nam vet hasn't been all over this topic. If the press was not slanting this war so badly, there would be much more support for the troops over there. I have talked to countless men that have returned and their spin on what is going on over there is not the same slant the press has presented to the American people.
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A conclusion is simply the place where you got tired of thinking.
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| Post Number: 10
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Liberal
Group: Moderator
Posts: 11451
Joined: Aug. 2003
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Posted on: Jul. 16 2007,9:50 am |
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These neo-con kooks want people to believe that the liberals are stopping soldiers from getting tough on these people, when in fact they're already getting tough, and it hasn't gotten us anywhere.
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I lived through that Viet Nam era and remember the Vietnamese hiding behind women and children....and then the press reporting how our guys had killed children.
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How dare the press report the real story.
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The people are masters of both Congress and courts, not to overthrow the Constitution, but to overthrow the men who pervert it!
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