U.S. troops on active duty call for Iraq withdrawal

[revwardoc]

http://today.reuters.com/news/articl...GN.xml&src=rss

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More than 200 active duty U.S. armed service members, fed up with the war in Iraq, have joined an unusual protest calling for withdrawal of U.S. troops from the country, organizers said on Wednesday.

The campaign, called the Appeal for Redress from the War in Iraq, is the first of its kind in the Iraq war and takes advantage of Defense Department rules allowing active duty troops to express personal opinions to members of Congress without fear of retaliation, organizers said.

"As a patriotic American proud to serve the nation in uniform, I respectfully urge my political leaders in Congress to support the prompt withdrawal of all American military forces and bases from Iraq," states the appeal posted on the campaign's Web site at www.appealforredress.org.

"Staying in Iraq will not work and is not worth the price. It is time for U.S. troops to come home," it adds.

The Web site allows service members to sign the appeal that will be presented to members of Congress. Organizers said the number of signatories has climbed from 65 to 219 since the appeal was posted a few days ago and Wednesday when it was publicly launched. There are 140,000 U.S. troops in Iraq.

Active duty service members are restricted in expressing personal views publicly. But rules governed by the Military Whistleblower Protection Act give them the right to speak to a member of Congress respectfully while off-duty and out of uniform, making clear they do not speak for the military.

In a conference call with reporters, a sailor, a Marine and a soldier who had served in the Iraq operation said American troops there have increasingly had difficulty seeing the purpose of lengthy and repeated tours of duty since the fall of Saddam Hussein.

Their misgivings have intensified this year as the country has edged toward civil war, they said.

"The real grievances are: Why are we in Iraq if the weapons of mass destruction are not found, if the links to al Qaeda are not substantiated," said Marine Sgt. Liam Madden of Rockingham, Vermont, who was in Iraq from September 2004 to February 2005 and is based at Quantico, Virginia.

"The occupation is perpetuating more violence," he said. "It's costing way too many Iraqi civilian and American service member lives while it brings us no benefit."

The campaign's sponsoring committee includes the activist groups Iraq Veterans Against the War, Veterans for Peace and Military Families Speak Out.

Navy Seaman Jonathan Hutto of Atlanta, stationed at Norfolk, Virginia and the first service member to join the campaign, said a similar appeal during the Vietnam War drew support from over 250,000 active duty service members in the early 1970s.

[SuperScout]

So for now, we have 200 whiners out of 140,000? Has anybody done the math on this miniscule figure? Only slightly more than 1/1000th of the volunteers. And just who is this Appeal for Redress? "Veterans for Peace" and other left-wing organizations are behind this 'appeal for redress' horsehocky, the same group that embraces Cindy Sheehan. Have these complainers forgot that they volunteered to join the military? Give 'em a general (at best) discharge and send the crybabies home to their mommas.

[b3196]

Brice
Who knows....maybe one of these pansy-ass's will run for president in 40 years and they can give him the same treatment we gave Kerry.
Bob K

[SuperScout]

Reading stories about the panty-waisted excuses for real human beings almost makes me wish I could go back on active duty again. Oh, the absolute joy of bringing the joy of bringing reality to these degenerate beings of human flotsam. (Gosh, can I say that or will somebody start taking notes and accuse me of name-calling later on?) Wonder how much fun the old school Drill Sergeants could have with them?

Frankly, the POS should be discharged from the military as soon as their contracts/enlistments are done, taking back any benefits that were extended to them, making them repay for any training they received, and generally sending them on their sorry way. I certainly wouldn't want a POS like than im my army.

[catman]

Hey Brice....we have been over this many times, but for the fortith time, we are never going to get anywhere if you keep holding your true feelings in! Let it out brother!

Trav

[SuperScout]

OK, I'm reclining on the therapy couch, doc, so give it your best shot with the therapy. Better call in Doc Keith, as he has tried to counsel me before, with dubious results and outcomes! :cd:

[b3196]

Brice
This is not a proctologist's office.....Its a phycologist office......Roll over.
bOOger

[WateringHole]

I hope I don't offend any Vietnam Vets with this post because I always will have the greatest respect for you fellas, not only for what you had to contend with in Vietnam, but also what you had to contend with when you came home.
There always been combination dictators/butchers all over the African Continent as long as I can remember. The USA always took the stand "hey, go ahead and kill all the Black People you want, we don't care, that's not our concern". Why hecks, these characters in Africa would make the Klan look like they're nothing but a bunch of boy scouts when it comes to killing Black Poeple.
Now, all of a sudden, our Govertment tells is how evil Hussian is and he has to be removed from office because he's a "bad egg", he has WMDs he can use against the American People and also "the people of Iraq wants us to get rid of Hussian". Oh....Okay. I'm quite sure people in these dictator countries in Africa wanted us to rid their butchers in office.
Everyone knows North Korea may be more of a threat than Iraq, but the big question is "what kind and how much resources North Korea has that would be valuable to American Corporations".

[SuperScout]

Not really sure where you're coming from on this, but I would hasten to remind you that it was the previous administration that sat on their collective hands and did little if anything to stop the slaughter in Rwanda between the Hutus and Tutsis. It was also the inept UN that abandoned their posts when the slaughter began. The US has NOT always taken the stand to ignore the slaughter in Africa. I also note that there has been no offers for assistance coming out of the orifices of Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, or other Black loudmouths. It is also noteworthy that the Jackson and Sharpton's organizations have been conspicuous in their absence in the rebuilding of the American Gulf area. If you want to talk about the troubles in Africa, go start another thread.

[reconeil]

YOURRRRRRRRRRRR:
"The USA always took the stand "hey go ahead and kill
all the the black people you want, we don't care,
that's not our concern", IS FLAT-OUT-LYING!!!
Plus, seems quite purposefully Black Racist, ALSO.

Neil