Iraq...

My dad and I see things differently when it comes to the Iraq war. I think I am right, but so does he. He recently sent me pictures of American soldiers paying with Iraqi children. Some of the pictures are below.

Of course I couldn't let this be since I have a strong opinion about many people dying. Here is my first response to him:

Did you see this. If we are going to glorify the war we need to look at both sides:

Click on the picture below to see video and listen to our soldiers talk about their third thirteen month rotation and the things they see and do over in Iraq.

The Guardian's award-winning photographer and filmmaker Sean Smith spent two months embedded with US troops in Baghdad and Anbar province. His harrowing documentary exposes the exhaustion and disillusionment of the soldiers.

I couldn't let this one go, so I added this:

The part of our conversations that I am trying to figure out is why is that pictures of American soldiers holding Iraqi children and playing with the kids make KILLING people OK. There are more than 3600 American soldiers DEAD in a war that should never have been started. Another thing you brought up in an earlier email was:

Its ironic that the majority of the " Cut and run Democrats" voted to go to war but when it doesnt fit their political aspirations they want to QUIT.

The interesting part of this statement that you never seem to bring up is the fact that their LEADER LIED to the so-called "Cut and Run Democrats". Tell me that if you were told something at your job from your boss and had to make a quick decision and then found out it was falsified you wouldn't question your boss and even ask for an investigation if it involved the DEATH of many people?

Its also amazing that this administration has gotten away with so much shit and they don't stink one bit. You mentioned that Clinton is a murderer, but what is Bush when we lose over 3600 soldiers and more than 655,000 Iraqi civilians (according to the Washington Post). The approval rating of this president has been lower than ANY other president EVER. So what your telling me is that most of the country is WRONG. Remember that anywhere from 55-66% are not all Democrats - these are the people that DISAPPROVE of his job.

Now we have ANOTHER questionable incident under his command. The suspicious death of Pat Tillman. An all America NFL star that started to speak out about the war was suddenly killed. Here is an excerpt from Army Times:

SAN FRANCISCO — Army medical examiners were suspicious about the close proximity of the three bullet holes in Pat Tillman’s forehead and tried without success to get authorities to investigate whether the former professional football player’s death amounted to a crime, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press.

“The medical evidence did not match up with the, with the scenario as described,” a doctor who examined Tillman’s body after he was killed on the battlefield in Afghanistan in 2004 told investigators.

The doctors — whose names were blacked out — said the bullet holes were so close together that it appeared the Army Ranger was cut down by an M16 fired from a mere 10 yards or so away.

The Pentagon and the Bush administration have been criticized in recent months for lying about the circumstances of Tillman’s death. The military initially told the public and the Tillman family that he had been killed by enemy fire. Only weeks later did the Pentagon acknowledge he was gunned down by fellow Rangers.

Among other information contained in the documents:

• In his last words moments before he was killed, Tillman snapped at a panicky comrade under fire to shut up and stop “sniveling.”
• Army attorneys sent each other congratulatory e-mails for keeping criminal investigators at bay as the Army conducted an internal friendly-fire investigation that resulted in administrative, or noncriminal, punishments.
• The three-star general who kept the truth about Tillman’s death from his family and the public told investigators some 70 times that he had a bad memory and could not recall details of his actions.
• No evidence at all of enemy fire was found at the scene — no one was hit by enemy fire, nor was any government equipment struck.

Not only was it a blatant and admitted cover-up that he died of friendly fire, but now that too may have been a cover-up, when in fact he was murdered. The shots to his head were so close together that they could have only come from about 30 feet away, not far enough for friendly fire to make any sense since they weren't in a close range firefight, and he was apparently gaining quite a reputation in his unit as a critic of the Iraq War, a supporter of Kerry, and one who even had plans to meet with Chomsky, perhaps to try to figure out some sort of way where he could use his influence and moral stature within the military and as a post 9/11 cultural icon to speak out against the Bush regime, right in the middle of the campaign!!! If true, and if the Bush Administration knew this, and nothing comes of it, then one must really stop and question the cliche "straw that broke the camel's back." How much more will it take?

Seems to me like if this scandal evolves into a clear cover-up by the Bush Administration for the sake of their own political ambitions in 2004, this could be the one (out of countless) outrages that will put impeachment on the table for real. The American people need clear, simple scandals before their politicians will take action, just look at Monica Lewinsky (that had NOTHING to do with perjury or obstruction of justice, we all know that). Yellow cake Uranium, Scooter Libby, Alberto Gonzalez, FISA, these scandals are too nuanced, ambiguous, and boring for the average American to do anything but grow cynical. But a murder cover-up of Pat Tillman, a remarkable hero and patriot, the martyred symbol of so much that is still good about America post 9/11 -- all I can say is Wow. I am both disgusted and emboldened by the idea. It is suspicious that Bush mentioned Tillman's name in a speech invoking patriotism soon after his death, but made no mention of the cause of his death, and no one in the Administration is willing to provide the documentation explaining what they knew about the matter and when. If Rove was behind this one, too, I wouldn't be at all surprised.