Bu-lat-lat (boo-lat-lat) verb: to search, probe, investigate, inquire; to unearth facts Volume 3, Number 39 November 2 - 8, 2003 Quezon City, Philippines |
US
Soldiers to America: Bring Us Home Now Interviews
by Jay Shaft
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to Alternative Reader Index
CFTM
Editors Note: I have been getting an extreme amount of hate mail from people
calling me a liar and saying I made these articles up out of thin air. I can
deal with attacks on me and slander directed at me. What I cannot tolerate is
all those who claim to be vets and serving soldiers who attack these brave men,
call them cowards, and smear their names with hate and slander. These men were
extremely brave and I believe they are true heroes for having the courage to
speak out, knowing the military could come after them and make their lives a
living hell. If you want to spout any hatred, then direct it towards me, not
these brave soldiers who are standing up for what they believe is right. I
had the unique opportunity to interview five US military servicemen who just got
back from Iraq, or in the case of two men, corresponded with their wives so that
I could ask questions of these soldiers by mail. When the two I corresponded
with came back just last week, I was able to complete the interviews I started
several months ago with some new details on how the war is actually going. I
was shocked and angered at how bad it really has become when I found out how
many of the service men hate being in Iraq and want nothing to do with
rebuilding and policing the devastated nation. From the conversations I had,
many soldiers never wanted to go over to Iraq and fight, and the ones who had
were now convinced of the awful crime that had been committed against Iraq and
our own troops. I was told very few soldiers now believe in staying in Iraq, or
want to stay in the country and serve any more days. The
following interview is with an enlisted man who has not been in the military
that long. He is not really mad at Bush or the leaders and he does not want to
get out of what he sees as his duty to serve in Iraq. I had to get the voice of
a normal soldier that was for the most part happy with his duty and obligation
to is country. He is mad that his buddies have been killed, and had never seen
any combat death before Iraq. He is upset by reports of poor treatment of
reservists that have been wounded, and is suffering the low morale that is
dominating most of the military in Iraq. He
wanted to get the job done and go back to the school and training the military
was sending him through. Now he is stuck in a combat job he never thought he
would have. He is afraid his career is going to be spent fighting an enemy he
does not know. He has a great hatred for the Iraqis as a people in general, and
in particular hates the ones attacking him and his fellow soldiers. It is not
just a general dislike of the Iraqis, but a true and burning hatred. He
was very honest and open about his feelings and how he got to this point of
frustration and anger at a country that he was told would welcome him with open
arms. He is not nice about what he has to say and I will warn you that it is
very graphic and disturbing to read at times. This
interview is written in his own words and I have tried to leave it as intact as
possible so that his pain and anger can come through to you the reader. I will
warn you that the language is very rough and the grammar is not always correct.
I have changed nothing that he said, and if any editing had to be done, it was
with his knowledge and permission. I
will say that I have taken the liberty of changing some minor personal details
and facts so as to better protect his identity and safeguard his family as well.
He has gone through enough at the hands of the government to get harassed by
anyone who does not like his words or statements. He
has asked to be called MIA in the transcripts and copies of this interview. I
find it ironic that he would choose this name after so many Reservists and
National Guard have said they will not serve in Iraq, but will go AWOL to escape
duty. I do not know if there have been that many who really would go AWOL or not
report for duty, but as more formerly retired and inactive reservists are
brought back it will be interesting to see if there are any that do go AWOL or
refuse to report. (Note:
He said MIA stands for his mind missing in action not the fact that he would go
AWOL or not report. I found his mental state to be most unstable although he
seemed to be unaware of it.) I
have had several reliable reports that there is an Underground Railroad network
being established to safely guide troops who refuse to serve, and their
families, to Canada and other countries that would be safe. I find it a
remarkable sign of the times that this is not just a rumor, but actually a true
fact, and that a railroad would be necessary. During the sixties there were a
number of US men who sought refuge in Canada rather than go off to Vietnam to
that quagmire of death and unnecessary waste of our young men’s lives. Now we
face the possibility that there will be a new generation of men and women who
will refuse to put their life on the line and run to another country for safety
and freedom. It
is a fact that the conscientious objectors that have publicly come out from
within the ranks of the military have been punished and persecuted unmercifully.
There are several cases that are prominent in the media with the cases of being
most in the media. SEE— Most
Americans are still finding it a shock and hard to believe that our military men
would speak this openly and in such an anti-US and Bush manner. It is the awful
truth that many soldiers are realizing that their deaths are really meaningless
and driven by profit and greed of a select group of rich and powerful men. Sadly
most of these men profiting form the war are in power on most of Bush’s
cabinets and advisory committees. Many of the Republican Party’s biggest
contributors have close ties to the White House and have received contracts to
"rebuild" Iraq. Our
own Vice President Dick Cheney is still getting a $13,000 a MONTH SALARY from
his supposedly former employer Haliburton for directing government contracts
their way. Because of the large amount of Haliburton stocks he owns he will most
likely make millions off the exclusive no bid contracts granted to Haliburton
and the huge profits they are assured of reaping. This
record of payoffs and massive power influence and corruption has been documented
on a meticulous and exhaustive level, but the main stream media has chosen to
ignore these issues for the most part. Check out the leadership of the Defense
Policy Council of the Pentagon and you will find it is linked to the Project for
a New American Century and the military/industrial complex on all levels. As
you read the next paragraph, if you are not aware of these companies, or have
not been exposed to the reports of their level of complete corruption on a
massive government connected level, do a Google search on the names. You can
check the links I will include at the end of this article for some very eye
opening and shocking exposes. Haliburton,
Bechtel, SY Coleman Missile Technologies (the first interim transitional Iraqi
leader Jay Garner was the company president before his selection to lead the
redevelopment process in Iraq), General Electric (makers of bomb components,
missile guidance technology, and the medical machines that were used to x-ray
and scan the victims broken bodies after GE technology targets and drops bombs
on them), Raytheon, Vinnell Corp, Kellogg Brown and Root, General Dynamics,
Boeing, and all the rest of the corporate giants who are raking in the cash at
the expense of our troops lives and those of the innocent civilians The
voices of those being most affected, our own demoralized troops, are finally
being heard in many media outlets. I had to go with this series and publish it
after seeing the fake form letters that were sent out to the newspapers. This is
my effort to give the man in the crosshairs of Bush’s military
industrialization expansion a voice that will echo around the world and tell the
true story. Here
now is more truth and reality from the mouth of a man who has been there and is
will be fighting the war for years to come if the current projections of how
long it will take to stabilize Iraq are correct. It is painful and hard hitting
as nothing I have ever had the experience of writing. I have detailed some hard
and grim issues in my writing career, but this is my grimmest and most saddening
issue I have done so far. America
these are your fighting soldiers, give them the respect of listening to how it
really is. They are speaking out, are you listening?????? CFTM
-- "Hey how are you doing, nice to meet you. I don’t know how you want to
do this so we’ll start out simple. How long have been in the military?" MIA
-- "I still don’t know if I really want to do this. If I want to stop,
you won’t be mad at me?" CFTM
-- "No, I will understand completely. Are you sure that you don’t want to
think about it some more? I can always talk to someone else." MIA
-- "No I’ll try it and se how it goes. I want to talk about it some, but
not all of it. I want to be able to stop if it gets too hard for me. I know I
will get in trouble for this and I want to be able to duck and cover if you
start diging to deep." CFTM
-- "How’s this. You don’t have to answer anything you are uncomfortable
with, and you can walk away at any time. No one will ever know anything
happened. I won’t ever turn you in if that’s what you are afraid of. I would
never get guys to talk to me ever again if I gave up anyone’s name." MIA
-- "Okay, well I still don’t really believe you, but my wife has been
talking to you for a while and she says you are trying to bring us all home. I
don’t want to hear any of that peace sh.t or any love and hugs bullsh.t out of
you! You ain’t here to tell me sh.t, I am the one going to do all the talking!
Hear me?" (NOTE: I was grabbed by the neck at this point and had a few very
scary moments.) CFTM
-- "Hey man take it easy, I just want to get the truth and find out what
has been going on with you in Iraq. This is your story not mine, I will not say
a word about peace unless it’s a question important to this interview." MIA
-- "All right just don’t f..k up or I’ll leave and you won’t see me
again. I could f..king kick your ass right now and you couldn’t do sh.t about
it. I am fighting for my country and putting my life on the line. What the f..k
are you doing? Protesting my being over there?" "You
protesters make me want to shoot all of you. You can say that sh.t because I am
fighting to give you the right to say it. I’m over there fighting and might
die and all you hippies are over here making America look like sh.t. The only
good thing I can see you doing is trying to bring us back home, but you’re all
f..king that up too. F..king hippies, what the f..k do you think you really are
going to do?" "You
f..king dumb dipsh.ts don’t want us to kill the Iraqis and you don’t want
the Iraqis to kill us. What the hell are we supposed to do when those rag heads
shoot at us or throw grenades at us. You f..king tell me why I shouldn’t shoot
all those motherf..kers and get it done with. We should just leave and drop a
nuke on them. F..k ‘em all." "Do
you know what those ungrateful mother f..kers are doing to us now? We gave them
freedom and got rid of Saddam and they want to turn around and kill us. Fuck
them sand niggers, all of ‘em are better off dead. I hate all of them and if I
could line ‘em up and blow ‘em all away, I would. If we really wanted to
make sure the f..kers didn’t kill us, we would just start killing their kids
until they stopped fighting us." CFTM
-- "Man you can’t be serious. You’re joking right?" MIA
-- "Joking? Hell no I’m not joking! Why the f..k would I joke about
something like that? I keep seeing these ungrateful motherf..kers attacking us
after we came in and tried to help ‘em. I thought they would thank us for all
we did and all they did was try to kill us. Now all of ‘em are trying to kill
us and it needs to stop. F..k them all, man we just need to start killing ‘em
in mass quantities and then they’ll get the message not to f..k with the
US." "Every
time we get out o patrol these f..ks come out of the woodwork and try to snipe
us or blow us up. Those coward f..ks keep planting mines in the roads or
shooting rockets at us. They can’t even stand up and fight like men, got to
hit us when our backs are turned. What a bunch of f..king pu..ies not a one with
balls." "Reminds
me of you hippie fuckers now that I think about it. You got a problem with that?
Huh? Yeah you guys are just them same. Attack a man after he’s gone to Iraq
and can’t defend himself. OHHHHHHHH!!!! Don’t kill the Iraqis , don’t kill
the children, don’t fight back, turn the other cheek. You just say you want us
to come home to make it look good when you have your pussy protests. You are all
a bunch of un-American, communist, terrorist loving bastards! How the f..k can
you protest against your own country when we are at war?" "Man
I should kick your f..king hippie, terrorist loving ass! You don’t support us
at all! If you supported us you would want us to kill every last one of them
terrorist camel f..kers. Tell me why I shouldn’t kick your ass right now! Give
me a good reason why I don’t just fuck you up and walk away!" CFTM
-- "I don’t need this kind of crap just to get and interview. You can try
to kick my ass, but I think I’m going to walk away from you. This isn’t
worth it. I can talk to someone else who will give me honest answers without
threatening me or trying to beat me up. I hope you stay safe, but damn man you
make it hard for me to wish you luck." MIA
-- "Hold up man, you’re gonna walk away from me? How the f..k? Come here
man, I want to make sure you don’t rat me out. I’m just pissed off about all
this sh.t that is going on. I swear I won’t kick your ass or anything." CFTM
-- "Look as far as I’m concerned this is over with. I made a mistake when
I asked your wife if you would do this. I knew how you felt about protesters,
but it didn’t really seem dangerous to talk to you. I offered to forget about
it earlier and you were the one who wanted to talk. I asked you twice before and
you backed out, you could have said no." MIA
-- "Let’s get this over with and I want to go home. I won’t hurt you,
I’m just upset. You guys think it is all so easy. You carry a sign and try to
stop the war, I carry a gun and try not to get shot or blown the f..k up. I’ll
talk some more if you want to hear it. I won’t beg you, if you want to go, get
the f..k out of here." CFTM
-- "One more threat and I walk! I mean it! I am only trying to help you. I
don’t want you guys to die, but I don’t want any innocent Iraqis to die
either. I have a right as an American to believe in that. I think you guys are
dying for nothing that is worth your lives. I am going to preach now, and if you
don’t like it you can go and get fucked. I was trying to be professional and
have respect for you, but you aren’t even respecting my views or opinions. You
keep threatening me and getting crazy, but I’m not doing anything to piss you
off." "I
don’t get paid to do this or get any monetary reward. I am broke as hell
because I write about the truth and the facts that the "real" media
won’t ever let me cover. I could make good money being a writer, but I would
hate myself for not telling the truth and compromising my own moral standards. I
want to tell the whole world and especially the US citizens what you guys are
going through. Is that so wrong?" "I
have been trying to get this done for weeks now, I just want to give you a voice
that is your own. I don’t want to change anything you say or think, just tell
it straight up like you said it. Man they don’t want you to say stuff like
this. It is dangerous for their profits and stops them from keeping America in
the dark about what is really going on MIA
-- "Alright I get the point, enough preaching. It won’t change my mind
because I know I’m doing the right thing. My country needs me and they will
figure out that some sh.t got a little off track with this damn war. I keep
hearing my captain saying that hey will fix the mistakes and it is important
that we fight the war on terror. We kicked Saddam’s ass and we took that whole
country over. Prove to me we didn’t win and I’ll kiss your ass right now. "I
am just sick of all the heat and sand and bullsh.t. I miss my wife and this was
the first time I had ever seen my daughter. She was born while I was over there.
I didn’t know if I would make it back to see her. That was all I was thinking
about when I got the first picture. Was I going to ever be able to make it back
home? I didn’t really know and it sucked a big dick." "One
of my friends had a kid while he was over there and he got killed a week later.
How f..king stupid, what a f..king waste. He could have at least got the chance
to go home and see his son. That’s all he wanted that whole week and he knew
he couldn’t go home. Then we got in as firefight with some fucking rag heads
we never even saw. They hit us from a rooftop ambush and got him right in the
neck. He handed me a letter for his daughter and one for his wife. They had
blood all over them, but I had to send them off that way. Wow, can you imagine
having a last letter from your dad with his blood on it?" "A
lot of guys with families have letters like that. I have one I carry with me
everywhere I go. See? It’s already addressed and everything and I got it
wrapped in this plastic so that my blood won’t get on it. No matter what I
knew my daughter would have a letter from her daddy. She wouldn’t ever get the
chance to meet me, but at least she would have something." "I
think I am about done with this. I don’t want to talk about it anymore. I’ve
got to go back in a few days and I have to carry this letter everywhere I go. I
wrote a new will while I was back here and I got more insurance for my family to
live on. They won’t be able to go for long on the military death benefits, but
I think I put enough up so my daughter will be able to go to college." "Times
up man. I will answer one more question. Get it over with." CFTM
-- "One thing I was wondering is how much schooling you have? You talk like
you have some college classes. People are going to wonder and I frankly do
myself." MIA
-- "Aw shit, it isn’t going to make it easier for them to find me is it?
I’ve got my first year of college done, and almost my second. I am supposed to
go to OCS, but not now. I made really good grades in school and they were
supposed to give me a chance to get at least a four-year degree. Now all this
sh.t is happening and it is not going to happen. I only had a semester to go to
get my AA degree and I got sent over to Iraq." "I
hate that I missed my last semester. I was so close. I want to get this over
with in Iraq, and then get back in school. It’s the only way I can ever afford
to get a college education. My daughter will never have to worry, I put a trust
fund away for her. She won’t have to go in the military." "Well
I’m sick of this sh.t. I have to go see my daughter now. I only have a few
days left. Pray for me and support me. F..k that protesting bullsh.t, it won’t
bring me home. The only way I’m coming home is if we kill all those rag heads
and get it done quick!" CFTM -- "Thanks for talking to me. I think I’ll keep doing my thing, and you do yours. I will pray for you and all the other soldiers over there. Come home safe!" October 23, 2003 Bulatlat.com We want to know what you think of this article.
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