For whom did my son die in Iraq?

[sfecap]

For whom did my son die in Iraq?

Saturday, September 18, 2004
By Diane Davis Santoriello

For the last year and a half, the pain in my gut screamed at my head write about this war, speak out against the war! But my aching heart said, "You can't undermine your son's confidence in what he is doing." Memories of people scorning and smearing Vietnam vets ran rampant through my mind. You see, my son, 1st Lt. Neil Anthony Santoriello Jr., was living his dream. He had fulfilled his dream of becoming a military officer. I thought he was fulfilling his destiny of being a man of purpose, compassion and justice working to make the world a better place.

Now my son is dead. How did he die? According to the Army, he was killed on Aug. 13 in western Iraq when an IED -- an "improvised explosive device" -- detonated near his vehicle. According to me, he was killed by the arrogance and ineptitude of George W. Bush aided by Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.

I hear people talk about how well-bred John Kerry and Bush were. What constitutes good breeding? What constitutes good character? My father taught me that when you make a mistake the first thing you do is own up to it and the second thing you do is fix it. Bush made mistakes. Did he own up to them right away? No, he waited until recently and admitted to miscalculations.

What Bush needed to do a year or more ago was to go to the United Nations with his hat in his hand and say, "We made a mistake. We thought we were doing the right thing, but now we have a mess that we can't handle. But now we are mired in a country that must be made stable; we don't have the right kind of troops on the ground to do the job right. You folks have the people and the Iraqi people will trust you. Will you help us fix this mistake?"

EDITED BY ADMIN: COPYRIGHT

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04262/381101.stm

[The Backlash Cometh]

1. kick

.

[democrat in Tallahassee]

2. I. just. can't. read. this.

[olddem43]

3. He died for the chickenhawks in this administration.

[dogtag]

4. This sentence sums it up:

"My son, a man of incredible honor, died from the actions of dishonorable men."

[samplegirl]

5. Miscalculation?

Bush knew exactly what he we was doing. Im deeply sorry for loss.
I read this and my heart broke. We must find a way to overide this
man before he murders another whole generation.
My heartfelt sympathy to you and your family.

[billbuckhead]

6. He died for Halliburton and General MotorsElectricBoeing etc

This young man died defending corporate America. At some point Americans are going to have decide whether this nation is for and by corporations or for the "We the People". It might not be able to be decided at the election booth under these current anti-democratic conditions but we have another chance to try.

[Bluzmann57]

7. OK bush, this is it!

FUCK YOU ASSHOLE! Please excuse my language, but after reading this, I went from being saddened to enraged. I don't care what it takes, we have to get the message out in the next month and a quarter. We have to! This world cannot afford any more months of these bastards. We must talk to anyone who will listen, anyone who will not listen, everybody. We must be persistent. While it is certainly is not good to capitalize on this ladies pain, we still have to point it out. This shit has to stop. My heart goes out to this lady and her family. May that young mans soul rest in peace.

[Moderator]

8. Good article. But please remember DU copyright rules.

Posted excerpts from copyrighted materials are limited to four paragraphs.

Thank you.
Moderator

[Moderator]

9. Kick

:kick:

[Qanisqineq]

10. kick

:kick:

[Rhiannon12866]

11. I read this, yesterday, on Buzzflash, and it tore my heart out

I thought of sending it to my friend, who knows someone who has a teenage son in Iraq, and has been communicating with him, "to keep his spirits up." I just couldn't do it. This is just too bad and my friend is too emotional. She still hasn't seen "Fahrenheit 9/11," though she certainly plans to. I've offered to go with her, though she'll be encountering the same misery, from the bereaved mother in the film. We just can't avoid it. Bush*'s ill-fated decisions have affected every family in this nation. Thanks. We should all read this.:grr:

[JVS]

12. Kick

[freesqueeze]

13. He Died For His Country

He was not responsible for being misled by this administration. Even if he voted for Bush in 2000, he had no way of knowing what ignorant cowards they are.

[JSJ]

14. voted for bush- killed in retaliation for his own actions- no pity, here

[MnFats]

15. sorry but that's too harsh. He certainly did not deserve his fate.

Like millions of others, he was fooled into voting for someone he incorrectly thought was a man of integrity and honor. He made a mistake and paid with his life. He and his family deserve sympathy.
Again -- your comment is too harsh. We have enough going around already.

[JSJ]

16. he may have made a mistake, but the children of iraq paid for it nt

[JI7]

17. that's crap, Bush is to blame, not the soldiers

they aren't the ones who create policy. when they join the military they don't get to decide which wars they want to fight. they don't debate whether to go to war. it's the civilian leadership at the top who should be held accountable. even most of those who voted for bush don't deserve the crap he has done to them. especially if they voted based on a false image of what they were voting for.

[JSJ]

18. oh, i forgot- the troops are simply mindless automotons nt

[JI7]

20. they sure aren't responsible for making policy

and most of them have no understanding of what is really going on. they truly thing they are fighting for freedom or against terrorism of some other positive reason.

[Moderator]

19. sfecap--per DU copyright rules

Please limit quotations to 4 paragraphs and the link to the article.

Thank you for your cooperation.