Casey and the others
---
GALLERIA FOTOGRAFICA DELLE MUTILAZIONI SUBITE DA MILITARI DELLE TRUPPE
DI OCCUPAZIONE STATUNITENSI IN IRAQ
http://www.voltairenet.org/article136827.html
Oficialmente alrededor de 17,000 mutilados estadounidenses por la
invasión de Irak. Para fuentes independientes son más de 30,000.
Esas imágenes que los Estados Unidos no quieren ver
por Agencia IPI
Estas imágenes chocantes nos muestran el costo humano en los Estados
Unidos de la bárbara guerra de Irak. No nos imaginemos en comparación
con el horror y sufrimiento que debe estar padeciendo el pueblo
iraquí. Al ver las terribles fotos de los soldados norteamericanos
mutilados, que gozan de una enorme superioridad militar, nos deja
perplejos de la matanza que debe estar cometiéndose cada día en ese
país. Reportaje fotográfico actualizado.
http://www.voltairenet.org/article136827.html
---
LETTERA DI CINDY SHEEHAN NEL SECONDO ANNIVERSARIO DELLA MORTE DEL
FIGLIO CASEY, PERITO NEL CORSO DELLA OCCUPAZIONE MILITARE DELL'IRAQ
http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=22117&s2=01
Casey Austin Sheehan: May 29, 1979 - April 04, 2004
Cindy Sheehan
March 31, 2006
As far as we can piece things together, March 31st, two years ago is
the day that the First Cavalry arrived in Sadr City, a slum in
Baghdad, formerly named "Saddam City," Iraq. I say "as far as we can
piece together" because we have heard many different stories, but this
date seems to be the one that we have heard most often.
Casey began a letter to us, his family, on April 1, 2004, telling us
that he finally had an address where we could send letters and
packages, and most of all, calling cards. The one and only time he
called home from Kuwait, it had cost him 400 minutes just to connect
the call and he didn't have much time to talk. That was the last we
heard from him. He called about 12:30 one morning and said it was
"hot" he was on his way to mass, and they should be convoying to Iraq
at the end of that week. In his letter he mentioned that he had talked
to me that morning, but I probably wouldn't remember it, because he
had awakened me. Little did he know, I will never forget that call and
I pray fervently that I never forget the sound of his voice.
In his letter he also expressed regret that he wouldn't be home for
his baby sister, Janey's, high school graduation that June. Little did
he know that he would be home. He also told us that the First Cav was
expecting a pretty "smooth year" because the unit that they were
replacing had only 2 casualties for the entire year before. Maybe he
knew, maybe he didn't know that the day he arrived in Baghdad, four
mercenary soldiers from Blackwater Security Company were hanging off
of a bridge in Falluja and the proverbial doo-doo was about to hit the
fan in Iraq and less than 5 days later he would draw his last breath
in an alley thousands of miles away from home, shot dead by a rebel
who didn't welcome him with "flowers and chocolates." I wonder what
his last thought was as he lay dying for George and the other
Chickenhawks.
I would beg Casey not to go to Iraq before he left because we both
knew it was wrong. He would say: "I wish I didn't have to, Mom, but
the sooner I get there the sooner I will be home." Little did Casey
know that not even 4 weeks after the First Cavalry left Ft. Hood, that
he would be coming home in a cardboard box in the freight area of a
United Airlines 747.
I am often accused by the right-wing smear propaganda machine of
making this struggle about me, and not about Casey. How Casey's story
has been lost in the hulla-balloo that almost always is surrounding
me. This is so ironic, because I started working for peace shortly
after Casey was killed to be sure that Casey would not be forgotten by
America, that he would not just be a number. I started this so Casey's
sacrifice would count for love and peace; not hatred, killing, and
lies. I started on my journey for peace to make sure it didn't happen
to other Caseys and their families.
As the two year mark of Casey's death is careening helplessly towards
me, I reflect that even if I tried with all my might, I could never
forget, nor want to forget Casey or his story. I can never forget the
joyous day that he came into our lives on JFK's birthday which was
also Memorial Day that year. I will never forget the 21 Memorial Day
birthdays before Casey donned the uniform of the Military Industrial
Complex that we had where we invited family and friends over for a
bar-be-que to celebrate his life. The two Memorial Day birthdays we
have had so far without him are pain-filled beyond measure and we will
have to endure many, many more. What about the holidays: The happy
ones before Casey was killed, and the devastating ones since he died?
Looking at pictures of the Sheehan family before Casey was killed is
heart-rending to say the least. What about our birthdays? The ones
since 04/04/04 where we won't even get a call from him, wishing us a
happy day?
How many families have BushCo sent on this spiral of never ending
grief and pain? Tens of thousands of people here in America have been
debilitated by their policies and another country and its people lie
in ruins for lies and deceit. How many families around the world have
black holes in their lives that can't be filled by any light, but suck
the light and life from the marrow of the fabric of those families?
No, I won't ever forget about Casey, or Mike Mitchell, KIA with Casey;
or Evan Ashcraft, KIA 7/24/2003; or John Torres, KIA 7/12/2004; or
Chase Comely, KIA on 08/06/2005; Daniel Torres, KIA 2/04/2005; nor
will I forget why I am trying to get our troops out of the predicament
of colossal proportions that George Bush has gotten us into. I won't
forget the thousands of other wonderful Americans who have been
needlessly killed here in the Gulf States and in Iraq for the crimes
of BushCo. Nor will I ever forget the images of dead Iraqis burned by
toxin of this war: white phosphorous; or the 7 month old baby with
half of her head shot off by American troops; or the images of the
Iraqi babies born with horrendous birth defects from left over
depleted uranium from the first gulf war travesty. The images of the
Bush destruction in the desert are horrifying in their brutality and
we should all know that nothing good ever comes from killing innocent
people.
I am convinced that the years of the Bush Regime will go down as the
years that America lost its collective mind. We allowed the Bush crime
family to scare us into two invasions of countries that had nothing to
do with 9/11 and despite all evidence to the contrary, let them assure
us that we are safer because of the uncalled for wars. We have no
problem with the administration authorizing, encouraging, and
condoning torture which only puts our troops and our children and
their children more at risk for terrorist attacks. We allow our
administration to use weapons of mass destruction on the innocent
people of Iraq and think the invasion of Iraq was warranted because
Saddam "used chemical weapons" on his own people. We allowed George
Bush to play golf and Condi to shop for shoes in NYC while citizens of
our country were hanging off of their roofs and drowning in New
Orleans. We allow BushCo to spread the rubbish that we are spreading
"freedom and democracy" in the Middle East, while we allow our
faux-leaders to take away our freedoms here in America and destroy our
democracy with a Republican coup that was bloody but virtually
unopposed by the faux-opposition party and its followers.
My family has had people fighting and needlessly dying in every
mistake of a war that the war machine has tricked our country into
since the Civil War. I will never forget the brave men and women who
have been killed for profit that have gone before us. I won't forget
because I don't ever want it to happen again.
If we didn't learn the lessons of Vietnam until it was too late, let's
learn one while we still can: America will eventually pull out of
Iraq, let's pull our fighting troops out now and I am convinced that
lives on both sides will be saved if we do. If we don't pull out soon,
who knows where else the sickly cancer of American empire will spread
and how many more innocent people like Casey will die.
Also, one lesson that we should have learned from Vietnam is that
there is always a war and an enemy in the offing. The neocon war
machine is planning the new "ist" and "ism" for us to fear next when
the "ism" du jour fails to sufficiently frighten us. We must stay on
our guards against this.
Buddhists say that a person dies twice. Once when his/her physical
body dies and once when the last person to remember him/her dies. We
should never forget the lesson of Casey and his untimely death on the
altar of the war machine. We should never have forgotten the lessons
of the millions dead in Vietnam who were sacrificed on that same altar.
Casey and the millions of others who have been tragically killed by
our leaders in worship of greed for money and power will never die as
long as there are people working for peace and justice.
This is their gift to us. Let's never forget them. Their deaths can't
be in vain.
:: Article nr. 22117 sent on 01-apr-2006 03:36 ECT
:: The address of this page is : www.uruknet.info?p=22117
:: The incoming address of this article is :
www.commondreams.org/views06/0331-28.htm
---
GALLERIA FOTOGRAFICA DELLE MUTILAZIONI SUBITE DA MILITARI DELLE TRUPPE
DI OCCUPAZIONE STATUNITENSI IN IRAQ
http://www.voltairenet.org/article136827.html
Oficialmente alrededor de 17,000 mutilados estadounidenses por la
invasión de Irak. Para fuentes independientes son más de 30,000.
Esas imágenes que los Estados Unidos no quieren ver
por Agencia IPI
Estas imágenes chocantes nos muestran el costo humano en los Estados
Unidos de la bárbara guerra de Irak. No nos imaginemos en comparación
con el horror y sufrimiento que debe estar padeciendo el pueblo
iraquí. Al ver las terribles fotos de los soldados norteamericanos
mutilados, que gozan de una enorme superioridad militar, nos deja
perplejos de la matanza que debe estar cometiéndose cada día en ese
país. Reportaje fotográfico actualizado.
http://www.voltairenet.org/article136827.html
---
LETTERA DI CINDY SHEEHAN NEL SECONDO ANNIVERSARIO DELLA MORTE DEL
FIGLIO CASEY, PERITO NEL CORSO DELLA OCCUPAZIONE MILITARE DELL'IRAQ
http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=22117&s2=01
Casey Austin Sheehan: May 29, 1979 - April 04, 2004
Cindy Sheehan
March 31, 2006
As far as we can piece things together, March 31st, two years ago is
the day that the First Cavalry arrived in Sadr City, a slum in
Baghdad, formerly named "Saddam City," Iraq. I say "as far as we can
piece together" because we have heard many different stories, but this
date seems to be the one that we have heard most often.
Casey began a letter to us, his family, on April 1, 2004, telling us
that he finally had an address where we could send letters and
packages, and most of all, calling cards. The one and only time he
called home from Kuwait, it had cost him 400 minutes just to connect
the call and he didn't have much time to talk. That was the last we
heard from him. He called about 12:30 one morning and said it was
"hot" he was on his way to mass, and they should be convoying to Iraq
at the end of that week. In his letter he mentioned that he had talked
to me that morning, but I probably wouldn't remember it, because he
had awakened me. Little did he know, I will never forget that call and
I pray fervently that I never forget the sound of his voice.
In his letter he also expressed regret that he wouldn't be home for
his baby sister, Janey's, high school graduation that June. Little did
he know that he would be home. He also told us that the First Cav was
expecting a pretty "smooth year" because the unit that they were
replacing had only 2 casualties for the entire year before. Maybe he
knew, maybe he didn't know that the day he arrived in Baghdad, four
mercenary soldiers from Blackwater Security Company were hanging off
of a bridge in Falluja and the proverbial doo-doo was about to hit the
fan in Iraq and less than 5 days later he would draw his last breath
in an alley thousands of miles away from home, shot dead by a rebel
who didn't welcome him with "flowers and chocolates." I wonder what
his last thought was as he lay dying for George and the other
Chickenhawks.
I would beg Casey not to go to Iraq before he left because we both
knew it was wrong. He would say: "I wish I didn't have to, Mom, but
the sooner I get there the sooner I will be home." Little did Casey
know that not even 4 weeks after the First Cavalry left Ft. Hood, that
he would be coming home in a cardboard box in the freight area of a
United Airlines 747.
I am often accused by the right-wing smear propaganda machine of
making this struggle about me, and not about Casey. How Casey's story
has been lost in the hulla-balloo that almost always is surrounding
me. This is so ironic, because I started working for peace shortly
after Casey was killed to be sure that Casey would not be forgotten by
America, that he would not just be a number. I started this so Casey's
sacrifice would count for love and peace; not hatred, killing, and
lies. I started on my journey for peace to make sure it didn't happen
to other Caseys and their families.
As the two year mark of Casey's death is careening helplessly towards
me, I reflect that even if I tried with all my might, I could never
forget, nor want to forget Casey or his story. I can never forget the
joyous day that he came into our lives on JFK's birthday which was
also Memorial Day that year. I will never forget the 21 Memorial Day
birthdays before Casey donned the uniform of the Military Industrial
Complex that we had where we invited family and friends over for a
bar-be-que to celebrate his life. The two Memorial Day birthdays we
have had so far without him are pain-filled beyond measure and we will
have to endure many, many more. What about the holidays: The happy
ones before Casey was killed, and the devastating ones since he died?
Looking at pictures of the Sheehan family before Casey was killed is
heart-rending to say the least. What about our birthdays? The ones
since 04/04/04 where we won't even get a call from him, wishing us a
happy day?
How many families have BushCo sent on this spiral of never ending
grief and pain? Tens of thousands of people here in America have been
debilitated by their policies and another country and its people lie
in ruins for lies and deceit. How many families around the world have
black holes in their lives that can't be filled by any light, but suck
the light and life from the marrow of the fabric of those families?
No, I won't ever forget about Casey, or Mike Mitchell, KIA with Casey;
or Evan Ashcraft, KIA 7/24/2003; or John Torres, KIA 7/12/2004; or
Chase Comely, KIA on 08/06/2005; Daniel Torres, KIA 2/04/2005; nor
will I forget why I am trying to get our troops out of the predicament
of colossal proportions that George Bush has gotten us into. I won't
forget the thousands of other wonderful Americans who have been
needlessly killed here in the Gulf States and in Iraq for the crimes
of BushCo. Nor will I ever forget the images of dead Iraqis burned by
toxin of this war: white phosphorous; or the 7 month old baby with
half of her head shot off by American troops; or the images of the
Iraqi babies born with horrendous birth defects from left over
depleted uranium from the first gulf war travesty. The images of the
Bush destruction in the desert are horrifying in their brutality and
we should all know that nothing good ever comes from killing innocent
people.
I am convinced that the years of the Bush Regime will go down as the
years that America lost its collective mind. We allowed the Bush crime
family to scare us into two invasions of countries that had nothing to
do with 9/11 and despite all evidence to the contrary, let them assure
us that we are safer because of the uncalled for wars. We have no
problem with the administration authorizing, encouraging, and
condoning torture which only puts our troops and our children and
their children more at risk for terrorist attacks. We allow our
administration to use weapons of mass destruction on the innocent
people of Iraq and think the invasion of Iraq was warranted because
Saddam "used chemical weapons" on his own people. We allowed George
Bush to play golf and Condi to shop for shoes in NYC while citizens of
our country were hanging off of their roofs and drowning in New
Orleans. We allow BushCo to spread the rubbish that we are spreading
"freedom and democracy" in the Middle East, while we allow our
faux-leaders to take away our freedoms here in America and destroy our
democracy with a Republican coup that was bloody but virtually
unopposed by the faux-opposition party and its followers.
My family has had people fighting and needlessly dying in every
mistake of a war that the war machine has tricked our country into
since the Civil War. I will never forget the brave men and women who
have been killed for profit that have gone before us. I won't forget
because I don't ever want it to happen again.
If we didn't learn the lessons of Vietnam until it was too late, let's
learn one while we still can: America will eventually pull out of
Iraq, let's pull our fighting troops out now and I am convinced that
lives on both sides will be saved if we do. If we don't pull out soon,
who knows where else the sickly cancer of American empire will spread
and how many more innocent people like Casey will die.
Also, one lesson that we should have learned from Vietnam is that
there is always a war and an enemy in the offing. The neocon war
machine is planning the new "ist" and "ism" for us to fear next when
the "ism" du jour fails to sufficiently frighten us. We must stay on
our guards against this.
Buddhists say that a person dies twice. Once when his/her physical
body dies and once when the last person to remember him/her dies. We
should never forget the lesson of Casey and his untimely death on the
altar of the war machine. We should never have forgotten the lessons
of the millions dead in Vietnam who were sacrificed on that same altar.
Casey and the millions of others who have been tragically killed by
our leaders in worship of greed for money and power will never die as
long as there are people working for peace and justice.
This is their gift to us. Let's never forget them. Their deaths can't
be in vain.
:: Article nr. 22117 sent on 01-apr-2006 03:36 ECT
:: The address of this page is : www.uruknet.info?p=22117
:: The incoming address of this article is :
www.commondreams.org/views06/0331-28.htm