While the daily headlines report that we need more soldiers in Iraq, I know one soldier that would disagree. For 22-year old Specialist Roy Alan Gray, there were more than enough soldiers here when the task at hand was to save his life.

Specialist (SPC) Gray is a member of the 1-8 Infantry Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th ID, otherwise known as the "Fighting Eagles." On September 8, 2003, he was part of a convoy delivering the coveted "hot dinner" to his battalion's headquarters (HQ) area. SPC Gray had just returned to his truck when a mortar round exploded only 30 feet away. Shrapnel from the mortar pierced the truck's metal door and cut up through his left thigh. Smaller shrapnel bits lodged in his shoulder and ear. The leg wound, however, proved to be life threatening.

At his location was the forward deployed aid station for his unit. The medics acted quickly, called for an Air MEDEVAC immediately, and attended to his injuries while the helicopter was en route. The medics initiated this care as more mortars continued to impact around them. They started 2 IVs and began pouring fluid into him. His thigh wound still bled profusely even after their initial treatments so the medics quickly opted for a tourniquet, a common last resort measure. The tourniquet stopped most of the bleeding by blocking all blood flow to his injured leg. While this greatly increased the chances that he would lose his leg, it stopped the more immediate threat of massive blood loss, thereby saving his life. The surgeons would later report that if not for the medic's immediate response, SPC Gray would have been dead on arrival (DOA) by the time he made it to the hospital.

---------------------------------

SPC Gray's case is representative of the esprit de corps of those in uniform out here in Iraq. There are many people involved in keeping us alive and working for freedom in Iraq that are never seen. The Army's doctors, nurses, medics, pilots, crews, lab techs, National Guard soldiers, and Airmen are, more often than not, in a combat support role, much like SPC Gray . They too risk their lives, left their families and friends and sacrifice. They are not likely to be the ones that find Saddam. They do not man the checkpoints or conduct the raids, but they do see the casualties. They understand truly that "Freedom isn't free" and witness its price. They can only stare at the daily horrors of the war and negotiate for a lower price. They spend all day, everyday, attempting to get all the "SPC Gray's" home to their families, alive and well.

Interestingly enough, on September 8th, the national news back home reported "there was little action in Iraq today..."



***********
Read it all.

...who have never seved in uniform, yet feel competent to sit in judgement of those who do.

Read this, you morons who feel the military is filled with kids who were lied to by their recruiters and who have no idea what combat is like.

Read this, you morons who think the highest praise you can give to a soldier is "mindless killbot" and "babykiller".

Read this, you morons.

Then continue to insult those who have far more honor than you are capable of.

spoken like a real combat veteran.
gag

Forgot to addone:

Read this, all you morons who at one time were in the service, but learned nothing from it, and now exist only to serve as an example of someone who should never have joined the service to begin with, because they lacked the courage and the will and the determination.

Heres one for you non-anarchist
Read this you morons who think these troops are fighting for the freedom of Iraqie people. These troops are an occuping army! They don't get to decide, they are pawns used by King George to secure the second largest oil reserves in the world. George Bush has the blood of all the dead and maimed American soldiers on his hands.
And tell me this why is any war neccesary ? Tell me one war or invasion we have led since world war 2 that was neccesary. Why doesn't the corporate media ever talk to the families of the dead or injured troops to get their feelings about this war! You'll only see pro war spin and never hear from families of troops who disagree with Bush about the need for war!
I'm guessing that most of these troops are getting tired of waiting for the next mortor to go off and would rather be home sitting in front of a warm fire with their loved ones drinking eggnog and listening to Chirstmas Music.
With every soilder that comes back in a body bag their will be more pressure to get our troops out of there and give control of the Iraqie oil to the Iraqie people and have legitmate free elections.
I guarantee you then and only then the attacks would stop. This is resistance not terrorisim. The war on terror is a farce. Afganastan is conroled by war lords who are rapping women and terrozing the Afgan people, and Iraq is fighting back and resisting the occupation of their country by an invaiding army.

You parroted perfeclty the ANSWER crowd's official propaganda.

You didn't even have to warm up your brain first.

Sure, the troops want to come home and be with their families. Duh.

But something you apparently can't understand is this: They don't want to come home until the job is finished. That means a stable Iraq, functioning infrasturucture, and self-determination for the Iraqis.

You, somehow, can't comprehend commitment of that sort. Anything beyond agreeing to show up for the next rally is out of your league, isn't it? Sad, really.

Your assertion that it's the Iraqis leading the resistance, and that the attacks would stop if twe pulled our troops out, is ridiculous. The attacks are being led by regime holdouts who want to reestabish a totalitarian rule, and are being assisted by foreign fighters.

If we pulled out now, the attacks would still continue. Proof of this are the attacks against Iraqi infrastructure and oil industry. Not to mention UN and Red Cross attacks. How are these in any way against the US?

The world is not as simple as you'd like to believe, wavemanster. No blood for oil. No pResident.

The world will not boil down to a short, simple message that will fit on a protest sign.

"Read this you morons who think these troops are fighting for the freedom of Iraqie people. "

Wavemaster, I know that you're probably in high school and given to parroting whatever you hear around here. That or you're actually an imbecile, but listen up and try to stick with this.

We are NOT in Iraq in order to free the Iraqis. Regardless of what the war was called or how much icing on the cake their freedom is, that's not why we weny.

We went because on 9-11 the Islamic Fascists attacked us again. Unfortuanately for them, we finally have an administration that's ready, willing and able to throw foolish suicidal politics to the wind and strike back ...HARD.

Iraq is simply one small target in, I hope, an all encompassing throttling of that segment of the world's population. Sadam, while not involved in 9-11 (so far as we know) was still too much of a future risk to allow to stand.

Islamic terrorists and the racist murdering facists(in the truest sense) who run them are dying daily and all your whining and moaning isn't going to change that. Bush, for all his inadequacies and dubious homefront policies has at least got this one right. And, at the end of the day, this is all that really matters.

just turn round and call them a Baathist. Because that, in effect is what they are.

And the proof is....
oh yeah, the 'tapes' that held the confessions from Ossama.
And the passport found in the rubble. And fresca repeating the same opinion as god's truth.
Even the FBI has admitted they have no evidence to substantiate this claim.
But we have the armchair heros, never in combat who know everything there is to know about it. Again...puke.

Since neither one of you will answer my questions maybe you can stop the name calling and answer this simple one. Why weren't there any attacks agaisn't Sadam. We are using just as much brute force as he would have agaisnt these terrorists. I mean our troops are so jumpy they are shooting innocent people crossing check points. If anyone even looks suspisous we shoot first and ask questions later. There aren't many pow's captured in battle most of the prisoners we get are rounded up durring raids.

And I got news for you answer isn't the only one who can see through Bushes lies. Just look at the times Best Seller list it's full of Bush Bashing books.

"Why weren't there any attacks agaisn't Sadam."

Huh?

Are you trying to say that the terrorists currently attacking coalition troops should have been attacking Saddam, but weren't?

Earth to wavemaster: The terrorists operating in Iraq now used to WORK for Saddam. Why would they attack him? He was their bread and butter!

If that's an incorrect interpretation of your question, please clarify.

What proof do you have that all of these attacks are being carried out by bath loyalist and Sadam Fedahim. I'm sure Paul Bremer the imperial leader of Bagdad would love to see it too.

Please tell us your 9-11 fantasies again, please.

After all, I know it's only my (and just about EVERYONE else on earths) opinion, so help me out.

Thanks.

Who do you think's doing it? Cub Scouts?

Actually, there's this on Drudge: http://www.drudgereportarchives.com/goto/?getPage=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Enytimes%2Ecom%2F2003%2F11%2F01%2Finternational%2Fmiddleeast%2F01RECR%2Ehtml%3Fex%3D1068267600%26en%3D6367c7543cd67c5a%26ei%3D5062%26partner%3DGOOGLE&return=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Edrudgereportarchives%2Ecom%2Fdsp%2Flinks%5Frecap%2Ehtm:

Calls to Jihad Are Said to Lure Hundreds of Militants Into Iraq
By DON VAN NATTA Jr. and DESMOND BUTLER

Published: November 1, 2003

LONDON, Oct. 31 ? Across Europe and the Middle East, young militant Muslim men are answering a call issued by Osama bin Laden and other extremists, and leaving home to join the fight against the American-led occupation in Iraq, according to senior counterterrorism officials based in six countries.

The intelligence officials say that since late summer they have detected a growing stream of itinerant Muslim militants headed for Iraq. They estimate that hundreds of young men from an array of countries have now arrived in Iraq by crossing the Syrian or Iranian borders.

But the officials say this influx is not necessarily evidence of coordination by Al Qaeda or other terrorist groups, since it remains unclear if the men are under the control of any one leader or what, if any, role they have had in the kind of deadly attacks that shook Baghdad on Monday. A European intelligence official called the foreign recruits "foot soldiers with limited or no training."

A senior British official, who was in Iraq in September, said most of the foreign men captured there were from the Middle East ? Syria, Lebanon and Yemen ? or North Africa. He described them as "young, angry men" motivated by the "anti-British, anti-American rhetoric that fills their ears every day."

Signs of a movement to Iraq have also been detected in Europe. Jean-Louis Bruguière, France's top investigative judge on terrorism, said dozens of poor and middle-class Muslim men had left France for Iraq since the summer. He said some of them appeared to have been inspired by exhortations of Qaeda leaders, even if they were not trained by Al Qaeda.

Mr. Bruguière, who earlier this year opened an investigation of young men leaving France to fight on the side of Muslims in Chechnya, said the traffic to Iraq was now a similar problem. He called the changing pattern "a new threat."

The rising agitation in parts of the Muslim world over the American-led occupation in Iraq was clear at Friday Prayers at Al Nur Mosque in a working-class section of Berlin. Dr. Izzeldin Hamad, the director of the Saudi-financed mosque, said political discussion was banned there.

But outside, a 21-year-old man who identified himself as Akmed said that while Saddam Hussein was unpopular, now "there are people who are angry about the American occupation." He and others said that inside the mosque, collections usually requested for Muslims in Palestine and Chechnya were now being offered for Iraq as well.

*****

So it's not just Baathist holdouts, though there are plenty of those.

But, actually this is a good thing. Flypaper. Get 'em all stuck in one spot, and swat 'em good.

...about the wrap.

Drudge's archive links are longer than the articles themselves. But not everyone has a subscription to the NYT, so I went with Drudge.

Sorry again.

Okay, I will.
-A legitimate probe of 9/11 — not like the sham that was just perpetrated that didn't address any of the really major questions — would have shed light on the corporate powers that control the media and the White House, and maybe — just maybe — would have taken that large step to show the deluded American populace that we are neither a democracy nor a republic, that we are a corporate-controlled police state whose leaders are savaging their own citizens simply to make more money for themselves and the rich friends who put them in office in the first place.
http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2003/09/271043.shtml
I like Portland.
http://portland.indymedia.org/en/topic/911investigation/