White House hides truth about Iraq

Item: The White House wants to paint the picture in Iraq as rosy, so
the Pentagon has banned photos of coffins and body bags leaving Iraq
or arriving in the United States.

Worse, the president hasn't attended funerals or memorials for the
soldiers who have lost their lives, breaking with military tradition.
President Bush apparently doesn't want to draw attention to the U.S.
casualties.

Item: Reservists and National Guard members were called up for three
months, and then told their tour would be a year. Many are now being
told they won't return until 2005. Across the country, traditional,
pro-military families are now petitioning the Pentagon to honor a
one-year tour of duty and bring the troops home.

Item: If and when the soldiers make it home, this administration isn't
exactly on their side either. The president promised that we would
''provide the best care for anybody who is willing to put their life
in harm's way.'' But on the same day, his administration announced it
was cutting off access to its health care system for 164,000 veterans.

When I reported on the wounded and sick Reserves and Guards on
''medical hold'' at Fort Stewart, Ga., I was flooded with letters
describing similar conditions elsewhere. At Fort Knox, Ky., UPI
reports on wounded soldiers spending eight weeks in dilapidated World
War II barracks with no air-conditioning, leaky roofs and primitive
facilities simply waiting to see a doctor.

Item: Speaking to the National Guard and Reserves, the president
thanked them and their families for being ''willing to sacrifice for
our country.'' But less than two weeks later, the administration
opposed giving National Guard and Reserve members access to the
Pentagon's health insurance system. This despite a recent General
Accounting Office report that estimated one in every five Guard
members has no health insurance.

Item: Bush promised to make certain ''that our soldiers have the best
possible pay.'' But the Army Times reports that the administration
wants to roll back recent increases in monthly imminent danger pay and
family separation allowances for troops getting shot at in combat
zones.

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excerpted from:
Troops Suffer While Bush Cronies Make Out Like Bandits
by Jesse Jackson
Published on Wednesday, November 5, 2003 Chicago Sun Times
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/1105-10.htm