Soldier sues Rumsfeld on Iraq policy

[Dover]

Soldier sues Rumsfeld on Iraq policy


Thursday 19 August 2004, 19:43 Makka Time, 16:43 GMT

US Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld has been sued by an army reservist over a retention policy that allows the Pentagon to keep troops on active duty in Iraq even after their contracts expire.

As many as 40,000 soldiers have been forced to extend their stay in the US army through the "stop-loss" emergency programme since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to legal experts.

The plaintiff, who filed suit against Rumsfeld, Acting Army Secretary Les Brownlee and other top military officials with the Ninth US District Court on Tuesday, alleges a breach of contract and questions the constitutionality of the whole setup.

He has been identified by his attorney simply as John Doe to protect his privacy. Court documents describe him as a decorated veteran who has already completed nine years of active service with the army and the US Marine Corps, including deployments in Somalia and unidentified war zones in the Middle East.....cont'd

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/38E0DDC4-13BC-4909-AB36-D58D8EE7BE56.htm

[louis-t]

1. "..identified by his attorney simply as John Doe"

That's OK, Rummy will leak his name to the media soon enough.

[Moderator]

2. Duplicate

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=757878

( fourth one)