ACTION ALERT! "A Plea for Help, I am a soldier stationed in Iraq.."

[anarchy1999]

Real Stories from Real Americans: A Plea for Help
By Spiros D - Baghdad
Straight Talk

Tuesday 31 August 2004

I am a soldier stationed in Iraq concerned about the role of private contractors in this war, and would like to ask for your help. How can you who are way over there help me way over here? Well, let me tell you how.

For those of you not aware, the US military is not the only US organization that is functioning over here in Iraq. A large US contractor called KBR (Kellog, Brown, and Root), a daughter company of Halliburton (once run by VP Dick Cheney), is operating on every US base in Iraq.

KBR manages many of the solider services that we have here on the base; things like running the food service, waste disposal, pumping the latrines, laundry services, movement and control, and the central distribution center. KBR is also scheduled to take over all fuel hauling and freight hauling in general. When things started to heat up earlier this year KBR put a hold on taking over hauling operations. Now that things are seeming to come back under some control KBR is looking at taking over again.

Now I know you are asking yourself what in the world this has to do with you

snip:

Here is where you come in. Out of a desire to honor the oath we took upon entering the army we do not want to disobey a direct order if and when the order comes for us to ride with KBR. We do however want to make all the lawmakers and politicians aware of the danger we are being unnecessarily exposed to on these missions.

Our hope is that each of our friends and loved ones back home will take a few minutes and send out emails to any local, state, and US congressman and senators and demand that they require the US military to stop this practice of allowing US troops in KBR vehicles.

The only ones who have the power to force the military to honor the wishes of the people are the lawmakers and politicians. So please take a moment and send a letter or email to one of your senators or congressman and ask or demand that they inquire into this matter and demand that it cease.

and for the rest of this heartbreaker go to:

http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/090504A.shtml

mods please forgive over 4 paragraphs rule this time.

[napi21]

1. Is it OK to include at least parts of this letter in the email?

I'll contact my Senators for sure (not that it will help a lot, they're Zell Miller & Scaby Chambliss). I would like to include a least some portions of this letter, but I don't want to cause trouble for the soldier. I know what pay back is like too!

You're call for sure.

[anarchy1999]

4. All I know is that we need to pound the media and Washington with this.

Send it EVERYWHERE you can think of!!!!! Go to Activism thread for contacts. Send to your friends, send to anyone and everyone!!!

[Sailorman]

16. It shouldn't cause any trouble for the soldier

Use the entire letter

[anarchy1999]

31. QUESTION FOR ALL? SHOULD THIS GET A NOMINATION?

IMHO, I think maybe it should. What does everyone else believe?

[Kanary]

32. I tried to. Got a message that can't do it for posts over 24 hrs old.....

~~sobble~~

THanks for bringing this to our attention.....

:kick:

Kanary :hi:

[anarchy1999]

35. Time for messages from elder DU'ers to reach Skinner.

n/t

Surely with it being the "holiday weekend", with Frances ripping up Florida and on and on, surely a rule or two can be bent this time! Where is Will?

[anarchy1999]

45. Please dear late night crowd, usually I'm one, tonight I ask for your help

Please keep this thread kicked up and on the front page for the early morning crowd. My hope is that as soon as offices start to take phone calls, faxes and e-mails, we blitz them. VetWife has an action going as well. Way too much for any one of us to keep up.

We are a team and a viable community. Thank you to the founders.

We've done this before and it's time to do it again.!!

[anarchy1999]

47. Get Involved and Stay Involved. Think of all the people on the street .

Thanks and a shout out to you all, Hope you had a wonderful weekend. Please help us throughout the night to keep this up on the front page.

Get Involved and Stay Involved. Just think of all the people on the streets in New York all week long, this is the least we can do.

Tuesday morning, everyone, to the phones, to the faxes, to the e-mails. Bury them all with the truth. A soldier pleads for help.

[kerry-is-my-prez]

2. I will notify my Senators. My Rep. is Porter Goss so I won't even bother..

Would you like us to notify the media?

[Sailorman]

17. I too will help notify the media..

[anarchy1999]

46. Bother! Send this everywhere. Even to those we believe do not care.

Remember, THEY WORK FOR US, not vice-versa, WE DO NOT WORK FOR THEM. We the people elected them and when they fail to represent us we can fire them. We don't have to wait for touch screen machines and black box voting to do it either.

[Gelliebeans]

3. I have sent links to this website to

all my radio stations in LA and San Diego

http://optruth.com/main.cfm

this is where this document originated from

[walldude]

6. Thanks for that link Beans

never saw that site before.. good reading :toast:

[Gelliebeans]

8. i just wanted to say that

this site also accepts paypal if people want to make donations

[kerry-is-my-prez]

5. Thank you for being brave enough to speak out. And please be safe.....

From what I know of the people on this board you will get a LOT of response from your pleas.

[anarchy1999]

12. Be Safe????

All I did was suggest we here at DU need to get on this. I'm not the soldier. I am confused. Checked your profile, you are in Naples, FL. Please, may you be safe as well.

[TacticalPeek]

7. Kick.

From yesterday:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=2308073

[anarchy1999]

9. Thanks. We all need to keep this front and center, kicked all weekend!

n/t

It just never ends.

Florida and the disaster in the shelters(?), countless scandals, whistleblowers being blown away, what is it going to take to wake up the sleeping masses? I am truly at a loss here.

[Sailorman]

18. Kick

[cosmicaug]

10. Privatization.

Quoting the article:

KBR is requesting that US soldiers risk their lives at the hands of inexperienced and improperly trained individuals to provide them with security. Now there is no doubt that we need to protect KBR's missions but we have suggested and to date have been denied the opportunity to run the convoys with properly modified and equipped military vehicles.

We have suggested that we run in the convoys with every third vehicle being a US Army gun truck with proper drivers and fire support. With this arrangement KBR can still haul the freight in their vehicles but we would run the mission and deal with any situations as they develop the way we have been trained to. This is the only way that most of us want the missions to be run, the others are just afraid to be opposed to the decisions our leadership is making.

This runs counter to the dogma that drives the current administration's drive towards privatization of military support functions. The soldiers will never get their way on this as the current administration is too good at willfully ignoring reality. The flipside of this is that the more you can privatize military functions (by putting personnel from Dyncorp, Halliburton, etc in the field instead of soldiers) the less you have to worry about meeting military recruitment deadlines and the possiblity of being forced to have to institute a draft.

<SARCASM>Not to mention the fact that things are going very well over there and everything is rosy and always has been and the fact that anybody that can't see that must hate America.</SARCASM>

[anarchy1999]

11. Kicking back to the top!

n/t

[in_cog_ni_to]

13. I just emailed my Senator, Dick Durbin.

He will do something. I KNOW he will. He's an awesome man and this kind of crap REALLY pisses him off. I'll send this to some media people.

[anarchy1999]

14. WONDERFUL! We can do this DU. I haven't stopped since I read it.

MOBILIZATION TIME. Get to MoveOn and to TrueMajority as well. Who has the contacts? GO FORTH!!!!

In the panel discussion with Krugman, Wilson and Sid that we viewed last night one of them quoted Walt Whitman. I can't give exact quote but the gist of it is:

Remember, our politicians work for us, we don't work for THEM!!!!!!

Walt Whitman for heaven's sake! How much longer must we fight these stupid battles?

[Sailorman]

19. Kick

We have got to do something!!!!!!!!!






Do not take this lightly people!!!!!!!

[anarchy1999]

15. Come on everyone, keep this up.

This is important, our soldiers are asking for help from US, we sent them there, we let them go. When I say "we", we are responsible, this is our country, not the politicians that we vote for year in and year out. Just ask Senator Byrd.

[wellstone dem]

20. kick

[RazzleCat]

21. Emailed the rep

Consider this a kick, I also contacted Blount (waste of time).

[anarchy1999]

22. Back to the top, off of page 4. DU'ers help these guys out!

They are reaching out to us and asking for our help, are we listening? Are we going to help them. Halliburton and KBR are already on the FrontBurner, this letter, a PLEA for help, is to us.

We have to help.

[vetwife]

23. I am notifying some folks Tuesday first thing !

Thanks Anarchy1999

[anarchy1999]

24. Back to the ever loving top of the page, DU'ers, PAY ATTENTION!

Our Soldiers, our young men and women are sending a message to us, they are asking us to help them. It is time to stand up and help them. Period, no if's, no and's and no but's. They need to have our voices be heard on their behalf. This person has put him/her self on the line.

What is the least/most we can do?

[anarchy1999]

25. I'm committed. Kicking again.

n/t
Is everyone out there not at home. I know, it's Labor Day, I know Florida and many other areas are disasters and my prayers go to you all, along with lots of postive thoughts. BUT, there are lots of the rest of us that really need to be pounding everyone with this, IMHO.

Please help. I'll be here all day, but I need some assistance in keeping this up.

Question? Am I wong in my belief of how important I believe this to be. No flames, Just some honest direction being requested.

[WilliamPitt]

26. I wrote about this a month ago

http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/printer_080904A.shtml

The stock in trade of Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg Brown & Root is the construction of permanent military bases. The Reuters reporter I spoke to had been to several KBR-built permanent American military bases in his six month tour of Iraq. "That's where the oil industry money is going," he told me. "Billions of dollars. Not to infrastructure, not to rebuilding the country, and not to helping the Iraqi people. It's going to KBR, to build those bases for the military."

According to the Center for Public Integrity, Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg Brown & Root has made $11,475,541,371 in Iraq as of July 1. So that's one PNAC goal checked off the list.

As for the corporate takeover of the Iraqi oil industry, that has become the prime mission of the American soldiers engaged there. Kellogg Brown & Root also does a tidy business in the oil-infrastructure repair market. "The troops aren't hunting terrorists or building a country," said the Reuters photographer. "All they do is guard the convoys running north and south. The convoys north are carrying supplies and empty tankers for the oil fields around Mosul and Tikrit. The convoys south bring back what they pull out of the ground up there. That's where all these kids are getting killed. They get hit with IEDs while guarding these convoys, and all hell breaks loose."

...more...

[anarchy1999]

27. Thanks Will. I figured you were taking a few days off to get over NYC

and the "Fun Fest" of the RNC. You dearest, and all your crew were Brave. Be sure to catch Amy Goodman on C-Span debating John Fund. I think it is being played another time or two today. Amy was ...well, it was just Amy at her best. She is in my top ten, along with you, Robert Fisk, Greg Palast, Jackson Thoreau, RB, Seymour Hersh, and the list just goes on and on and on. Oh, yeah, Don't leave out GrannyD, Jim Hightower and Molly Ivins.

Whoops, let us not forget Scott Ritter, Doug Rokke, Howard Zinn, Ray McGovern, Joe Wilson, Krugman, Sid Blumenthal, Micael Ruppert, Kristen..........see, the list just never ends. A special thanks to all the whistleblowers. And then there is always Michael M. and John Dean, Robert Greenwald (Uncovered). Special thanks to Paul Thompson and to Bev as well

I know I have left many out

PS/ If you can catch the panel with Joe W, Krugman, Blumenthal and Unger with Marc Green, moderator. It was unbelievable.

Now, take Monday off and chill.

[anarchy1999]

28. What's up, how did this thread fall off so fast?

Can someone fill me in?

[FranMonet]

29. kick

this needs a kick

[laylah]

30. kickin' it for the troops! n/t

[karlrschneider]

33. nother kick...thanks for the post

:kick:

[anarchy1999]

34. I absolutely refuse to let this fall off the front page through tomorrow.

I only hope that others will commit with me. This is important. Flood Washington and the media. We have the tools, let us make this one happen.

The BBV issue is just as important, but I see this message as bigger. Finally, an unnamed soldier reaches out, it is the very least that each and everyone of us can follow through on.

[Swamp Rat]

36. kick

:kick:

[grasswire]

37. kick

[coreystone]

38. KICK!

:kick:

[coreystone]

39. I just E-Mailed Jeffords and Leahy in Vermont the letter,...

in its entirety, from Truthout.

:kick:

[anarchy1999]

40. Thanks to all of you! How many of you believe this is significant?

n/t

I say WHISTLEBLOWER, Extraordinaire! Lets all back this person up.

[anarchy1999]

41. Front page kick again. I can't wait for the holiday to be over. DU'ers

arise, awake, GET HOME and get on it!

[coreystone]

42. Also E-Mailed Congressman Sanders....

:kick:

[anarchy1999]

43. I promised - kick number, I forget.

n/t

[FranMonet]

44. kick again

and yet another kick
p.s. I emailed my senators Barbara Boxer and Diane Fienstien.

[Djinn]

48. Kicking

I don't see how this isn't considered betraying those people in the armed forces, surely this comprimises security at the very least, not to mention the results in a corp (who's only objective is make money) cutting corners when dealing with the army and soldiers.

This has far more "oomph" comnig from a soldier than a journo or blogger so this should be widely distributed. Good Luck

[Dhalgren]

49. Those fucking bastards!!

Kick, for you, republican assholes, kick!! :kick:

[vetwife]

50. This has got to be illegal ! Will find out...We all will !

[bobbieinok]

51. kick

[anarchy1999]

52. A special thank you to everyone here. Tomorrow is the big day.

Thanks to all of you that will keep this up throughout the night. It's going to be a big day tomorrow!

Watch out media and Washington. This day we will make it clear, "you work for us, we don't work for you".

Walt Whitman

Not the exact quote.

God, just where, just exactly is our "4th estate"? Where is our free press? ON Vacation?

[Tight_rope]

53. Kick!

[ralps]

54. I sent the truthout link

to my Senator Russ Feingold and to Mike Malloy at Air America Radio.

[ralps]

55. kick

[anarchy1999]

56. Kicking back up.

n/t

[ralps]

57. Kicking again

[Karenina]

61. and again!

[ralps]

58. Kick

[kerry-is-my-prez]

59. kick

[elf]

60. very important

:kick:

[JSJ]

62. sorry, kid- can't help you...

...however, if you were to express a little remorse for your part in the killing and maiming of Iraqi children and others seeking reguge from US bombs and US bullets in their own country, I might reconsider.

[vetwife]

63. Taxpayer dollars not to fund Halliburton..Keep kicked !

[anarchy1999]

64. We really need to get on top of this tomorrow, everyone, please.

As far as I can tell this issue is being completely ignored. Halliburtion and the degree of corruption is incredibly important. If we truly support our troops we need to make this a major action.

I just returned from a Candlelight Vigil in Downtown Dallas at City Hall. We had an okay turnout for just 24hours notice. One of the spokepersons for MFSO was there, lots of media, a couple of family's with family in Iraq. One family showed up who lost a son and brother yesterday. (Problems happened there, and FOX News pounced on it. I had to get in between a cameraman and the family. Not pleasant, heart rending to say the very least).

We will be having a demo in front of Belo Headquarters in Downtown Dallas on Friday afternoon at Ferris Park, highlighting their lack of real reporting about Halliburtions and demanding they honor being our 4th estate. I hope any of you DU'ers in the DFW metro area can try to make it and bring a friend or two. 4:00/4:30 to 7:00/7:30, and anytime in between.

Once again, this is a very important issue, send this letter over and over or as many times as you can in the next couple of days.

"Democracy is not a spectator sport", can't remember right now who said it first.

Go to the media contact list in Activism.

[Djinn]

66. perhaps if the "contractor" crap was looked into a little more

and more people were aware just how much this war has to do with private profit it might help to end it soon and those kids can stop getting killed?

[TacticalPeek]

65. Kick. n/t