Expressing Opinions

March 2008

According to the web site Iraq Coalition Casualty Count, Americans who died this month:

• 37 died in Iraq
• 8 died in Afghanistan

Bringing the total amount of American soldiers who died in Iraq to 4011 and in Afghanistan to 491.

Since the beginning of the war in Iraq through February 2008, there have been 29,314 soldiers wounded.

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How aware are you? Where do you get your information from? Is your source of information unbiased and honest? These are some of the questions researchers have about the media.

One unbiased research group is The Pew Research Center. It finds just 28% of Americans are aware of military fatalities in Iraq. Down from the 54% who knew in August. The researchers at the Pew Research Center believe this decline in awareness is due to the drop in the attention the media is giving the war.

So as you read, listen or watch the news, remember there are other news stories which are going untold. This leads me to ask why do all of the major American news media outlets always cover the same stories? Yet if you check the BBC or sources from other countries they have many stories which go untold in this country. So much for a free press.

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Another statistic of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are in suicides and mental health issues. These are linked to long wars, repeat deployments, a stigma in the Army if you ask for help and a lack of resources to help those soldiers in need.

Washington Post reporter Dana Priest reports:

The Army was unprepared for the high number of suicides and cases of post-traumatic stress disorder among its troops, as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have continued far longer than anticipated. Many Army posts still do not offer enough individual counseling and some soldiers suffering psychological problems complain that they are stigmatized by commanders.

It is hard enough on those deployed in war zones and the families of the soldiers who are left home. But what should be a joyous time for families when their service member returns home from the war zone, often turns into a more difficult time attempting to cope with mental disorders such as depression and PTSD, of which the Army does not want to recognize and chastise soldiers who report problems.

The soldiers and their families are ill equipped to deal with these issues and the chain of command does want to. What are these families to do? They did what was asked of them and now they need help. Contact your elected officials at USA..gov and let them know these soldiers need help.

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Yesterday there was a story in the news where the talking heads said President Bush lied 936 times leading up to the war. The story didn’t last more than 30 seconds and very little details were explained. So what were the lies he was telling?

Washington Post columnist Dan Froomkin ran a story about 935 Iraq Falsehoods on Wednesday, January 23. Dan stated in his story,

“A nonprofit group pursuing old-fashioned accountability journalism is out with a new report and database documenting 935 false statements by President Bush, Vice President Cheney and other top administration officials hyping the threat posed by Saddam Hussein’s Iraq in the two years after Sept. 11, 2001. “

This nonprofit group is The Center for Public Integrity reports,

“exhaustive examination of the record shows that the statements were part of an orchestrated campaign that effectively galvanized public opinion and, in the process, led the nation to war under decidedly false pretenses.”

The Center for Public Integrity is a site worth investigating to learn more about what is going on behind the scenes in our government. How is influence pedaling and big money shaping our future and the future of our children.

This administration is profiting from a war for profit. Young Americans are giving their lives so the oil companies can make billions of dollars on our oil consumption as most Americans haul their lazy fat asses around in gas guzzling vehicles. All the while most Americans go around assuming someone else will do what it takes to ensure our planet will be livable for our children’s children. If you are waiting for your government leaders to this, I hate to inform you but that will never happen.

And what about health care and the economy? Do you think the economy got to the situation it is in solely on the stupidity of the American public? I don’t think so! Big money has been raping us for profit for so long that we are now feeling and seeing the signs of this abuse. So put the remote and bag of chips down and get off your fat butt. Start doing something about it.

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While the media talking heads reported on the presidential campaigns, two American soldiers died in Iraq. Here is a link to and copy of the announcement from the U.S. Department of Defense. But is does not end there.

The Department of Defense announced today the death of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. They died Jan. 3 in As Sadiyah, Iraq, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked their unit using small arms fire during combat operations. Both Soldiers were assigned to the Military Transition Team, 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kan.

Killed were:

Maj. Andrew J. Olmsted, 37, of Colorado Springs, Colo.

Cpt. Thomas J. Casey, 32, of Albuquerque, N.M.

For further information related to this release, contact Fort Riley public affairs at (785) 239-3410.

There is more. Maj. Olmsted was a blogger and his blog From the Frontlines was hosted by the Rocky Mountain News. In the comments of his last posting, the brother of Cpt. Thomas J. Casey asks the Major if it is true that his brother was indeed killed.

Major Olmstead,

My name is Jeff Casey and I am CAPT Tom Casey’s younger brother. Three army guard members arrived at our door today to tell us that Tom was killed in small arms fire today (1/3/08). They also told us that both his wife and my monther had already been notified of which neither had actually occoured. I am writing to you to determine if my brother has actually fallen in small arms fire like they said or if the army got that piece of information wrong as well. If you get this and the information turns out to be false, please have Tom contact us as soon as possible. Thank you

-jjc
Posted by Jeff Casey on January 3, 2008 04:09 PM

Maj. Olmsted left a final posting with a friend just in case. I came across his posting and provide a link to it on the NPR web site.

I suppose I should speak to the circumstances of my death. It would be nice to believe that I died leading men in battle, preferably saving their lives at the cost of my own. More likely I was caught by a marksman or an IED. But if there is an afterlife, I’m telling anyone who asks that I went down surrounded by hundreds of insurgents defending a village composed solely of innocent women and children. It’ll be our little secret, ok?

I did not hear any of the candidates state what their plan was for our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. And so the war continues with no end and no plan insight to bring our troops home.

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Another year has passed and another year to look forward to with hope of better days. Don’t get me wrong I did not have a bad year, but I always hope to make each year better than the last. I guess that is the optimist in me, as my glass is always half full.

We have 11 months to go before the presidential election and I am already tiring of the rhetoric. The democrats talk of experience and change, while the Republicans seem to focus on religion. One thing both parties and their candidates have in common is each candidate is claiming to be the best qualified to run this country and be president. The other shared trait is money. BIG money. Seems like the news media is focusing more on the money the candidates have raised and how much they are spending, than on the issues. When the final vote is cast and a new president is named, who and how much is the new president going to owe for winning the election? How will the new president pay back those contributors for all the millions of dollars, which were contributed to the coffers?

With the exception of John McCain, I have heard very little from the candidates about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. I want to know what is their plan or do they they even have one? So far the current war plan has cost America the lives of 474 soldiers in Afghanistan and 3902 in Iraq. In 2007, 116 soldiers died in Afghanistan and another 899 died in Iraq.

What kind of a year do you think the 1,015 families of the fallen soldiers had in 2007? America is trading our most valuable resource, our young men and women for oil. Is it worth those 1,015 lives so Americans can consume more oil than any other country in the world? Is it worth those 1,015 lives so oil companies can report record profits in the billions of dollars?

This is my first posting to this site and only few opinions I have. Stay tuned for more and thank you for visiting ExpressingOpinions.com