Lives and Families destroyed

We welcome another member of the Coalition for a Democratic America to Sirens as a writer. Kyle is a veteran that served his nation as a soldier in Iraq. His wise words and thoughts are a most welcome addition to our staff. This post begins a multiple part series~ Dusty

By PraetorOne, Kyle, Donatra, SweetPea, Kelli, and Rachel

PROLOGUE: To Paris! To Berlin! To Baghdad!

In 1914 in the weeks following the assassination of the Archduke Ferdinand, and leading up to the outbreak of the First World War, the people of Europe somehow managed to convince themselves that the ensuing war would be a brief one. Flushed with a collective, nationalistic fever of 106.7, the people of France turned out in the Streets, shouting “TO BERLIN! TO VIENNA!” The people of Germany and Vienna turned out in the streets, shouting “TO PARIS! TO MOSCOW! TO LONDON!” ad nauseum. Virtually no one believed that the war would be a long one, that their nation’s armies would soon overrun the armies of the other side and that valor and glory would rule the day. And yet, within a short period of time, it became all too apparent that the war wouldn’t only be a long one; it would also be a brutal and very bloody one; that it would go on for year, after year. Trench warfare, mustard gas, rape, mass murder, disease, and famine: Those were the horrors of World War I, horrors which created a new medical/psychiatric term: “Shell Shock.” And to make matters even worse, hardly a generation had passed but what Germany, once Europe’s problem child, was on the march again, led by a sociopathic dictator who, as a younger man, hadn’t only served in the trench warfare of World War I, but who himself had also been gassed.

The only difference between this young man and so many others of his generation, was that he had walked away from the war with the wrong lessons learned. Instead of recognizing the stupidity and futility of war, THIS young man, this raving butcher of an Anti-Semite learned that war was a solution to most problems; that survival of the fittest was the natural order of life. I am of course talking about the primary architect of World War II, Adolf Hitler, the madman who through blood soaked atrocities and war crimes taught us that war is the great evil of the 20th, and yes, even the 21st Century

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Water, whats in it can hurt you.

I have two different articles to bring up today..both address the issue of water supplies and what is in them. First is this AP writeup about a new report that will come down this week about how KBR is making our soldiers sick because the quality of their bathing and washing water is not up to snuff. From the writeup:

A report obtained by The Associated Press said soldiers experienced skin abscesses, cellulitis, skin infections, diarrhea and other illnesses after using discolored, smelly water for personal hygiene and laundry at five U.S. military sites in Iraq.

The Defense Department’s inspector general’s report, which could be released as early as Monday, found water quality problems between March 2004 and February 2006 at three sites run by contractor KBR Inc., and between January 2004 and December 2006 at two military-operated locations.

It was impossible to link the dirty water definitively to all the illnesses, according to the report. But it said KBR’s water quality “was not maintained in accordance with field water sanitary standards” and the military-run sites “were not performing all required quality control tests.”

KBR was busted last week with their smarmy-assed method of screwing the government and KBR’s own employees by not paying payroll taxes that went to unemployment benefits, Social Security Trust funds and other govt programs. That KBR is now cutting corners when it comes to taking care of our soldiers doesn’t surprise me, and in fact I do recall the stories AP did two years ago about the water filtration problems KBR had on many of the bases in Iraq.

Second, is this article also by AP, that tells us what exactly is in the water American’s are drinking, bathing or washing their dishes and clothes in. Its about the drugs in our water..yes, my dear reader..drugs. From the writeup;

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Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan

It is what it is..and they tell us exactly how it is. Its Graphic and disturbing. H/T to MFSO

Join the Blogswarm..you know your gonna blog about the war on that day. Click the button on the sidebar. Thank you in advance.

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Passing on a great idea.

Originally posted at Spadoman’s Peace Blog

I got this in an e-mail from a good friend. This sounds like a very good idea.

Whatever your stance on the war…….

When you are making out your Yuletide / Holiday / Christmas / Chanukah / Kwanzaa / Thanksgiving / Seasonal card list this year,

Consider including one or more to the following:

A Recovering American soldier
C/O Walter Reed Army Medical Center
6900 Georgia Avenue, NW
Washington,D.C. 20307-5001

Add a picture of something you are thankful or grateful for.

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