Free Republic

By the last American mail we have the reply of the President of the United States to the proposal submitted by Lord JOHN RUSSELL for putting an end to the Slave-trade, and we regret to learn that they do not, upon the whole, appear to meet the views of the American Government. Our readers will recollect that the Foreign Minister has expressed an opinion to the effect that three things must be done before this traffic can be suppressed. The first is to establish a more efficient system of cruising off the coasts of Cuba; the second is to establish...

Lt. Colonel Bill Russell (USAR ret.) ran against John Murtha in the 2008 Congressional campaign and plans to run against him again in 2010. A fifth generation soldier, Russell began his military career as an Enlisted man, attended West Point, graduated from Louisiana State University, and earned his commission through Officer Candidate’s School at Fort Benning, Georgia. Russell has been nothing but a credit to the uniform he wore, while his once and future opponent has disgraced his uniform with the fraudulent massacre charges he brought up against marines serving in Iraq and the way he has used the defense...

SHERMAN, Texas -- The father of a U.S. soldier accused of killing five fellow troops in Iraq said his son "forfeited his life" but the military bears some responsibility for the rampage. Wilburn Russell said Tuesday that 44-year-old Army Sgt. John M. Russell wasn't typically a violent person, but counselors "broke" him before gunfire erupted in a military stress center Monday in Baghdad. "John has forfeited his life. Apparently, he said (to his wife), 'My life is over. To hell with it. I'm going to get even with 'em,'" said the elder Russell, 73. His father said the younger Russell,...

WASHINGTON, May 13, 2009 – Defense Department officials today released the names of four soldiers killed in a shooting at a combat stress clinic at Camp Liberty, Iraq on May 11. The name of a fifth victim, Navy Cmdr. Charles K. Springle, 52, of Wilmington, N.C., was released yesterday. Dead are: -- Army Maj. Matthew P. Houseal, 54, of Amarillo, Texas, assigned to the 55th Medical Company in Indianapolis; -- Army Sgt. Christian E. Bueno-Galdos, 25, of Paterson, N.J., assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, 172nd Infantry Brigade, Grafenwoehr, Germany; -- Army Spc. Jacob D. Barton, 20, of...

BAQOUBA, Iraq | The U.S. commander of the Multi-National Force -- Iraq on Tuesday ordered a top-to-bottom review of mental health services for U.S. troops in the country after the worst act of U.S. soldier-on-soldier violence in the Iraq war. Army Lt. Col. Brian Tribus, media relations chief for Multi-National Force - Iraq, told The Washington Times that Lt. Gen. Charles Jacoby ordered procedures "to look into [mental health] services available and delivery of those services." Gen. Jacoby also requested that the Army inspector general review all mental health services available to troops in Iraq, Col. Tribus said. Five U.S....

Arabic source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/arabic/news/newsid_8044000/8044972.stm Analysis at http://ibloga.blogspot.com/2009/05/camp-liberty-shooter-was-muslim.html JVeritas might want to take a look at this to verify. The Camp Liberty shooter was muslim according to BBC Arabic report‏ "BBC Arabic is saying the the Iraqi Army claims that the perpetrator was a Muslim, in fact the Imam at Camp Liberty's mosque..."

WASHINGTON, May 12, 2009 – Military officials in Baghdad today identified a soldier who has been charged with shooting and killing five of his comrades yesterday at a combat stress center at Camp Liberty, Iraq. Army Sgt. John M. Russell, 44, of Sherman, Texas, is being held in military police custody at Victory Base Complex in Baghdad, and has been charged with five specifications of murder and one of aggravated assault, Army Maj. Hunter Holliday, a military spokesman in Baghdad, said. Russell is assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 54th Engineer Battalion, based in Bamberg, Germany. Holliday said the...

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- The U.S. soldier who fired on fellow troops in Iraq has been identified as Army Sgt. John Russell, and he's been charged with five counts of murder, a military spokesman said Tuesday. Russell killed five people when he fired on other troops at a stress clinic at Camp Liberty, near Baghdad International Airport, U.S. officials said. Along with five counts of murder, Russell also was charged with one count of aggravated assault, said Maj. Gen. David Perkins, who briefed reporters in Baghdad. Russell is on his third tour in Iraq. He's with the 54th Engineering Battalion,...

SHERMAN, TX -- The U.S. Army Sergeant charged with five counts of murder in Monday's shooting at a Baghdad military counseling clinic has ties to Texoma. Sgt. John M. Russell, 44, is from Sherman, Texas, as are his parents and one of his three sisters. Sgt. Russell also has a sister in Denison and a sister in Colbert, Oklahoma. The Army lists Russell's address on Edwards Road in southeast Sherman near Luella. His unit is the 54th Engineering Batallion out of Bamberg, Germany. Maj. Gen. David Perkins told reporters Tuesday that Russell has been charged with five counts of murder...

An American Army sergeant shot and killed five fellow soldiers following an altercation at a military counseling center in Iraq Monday, officials said. [First sentence only, due to AP copyright policy.]

BAGHDAD – A U.S. soldier opened fire at a counseling center on a U.S. base Monday, killing five fellow soldiers before being taken into custody, the U.S. command and Pentagon officials said.

WASHINGTON, May 11, 2009 – Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said the Defense Department will devote its “highest-priority attention” to the slaying today of five U.S. servicemembers in Baghdad. “I would like to express my horror and deep regret over today's shooting incident at Camp Liberty in Iraq,” Gates said at a Pentagon news briefing. “I offer my sympathy and condolences to the families of those who were killed.” As details about the incident continue to emerge, the U.S. military is holding in custody an American soldier suspected of involvement in the shooting deaths that occurred around 2 p.m....

WASHINGTON, May 11, 2009 – An American soldier suspected in involvement in the shooting deaths of five U.S. servicemembers today in Baghdad is in U.S. custody, defense officials said. The incident occurred around 2 p.m. local time at the U.S. military base Camp Liberty in the Iraqi capital. Defense officials characterized the killings as an unexpected tragedy. “Any time we lose one of our own, it affects us all,” said Army Col. John Robinson, Multinational Corps Iraq spokesman. “Our hearts go out to the families and friends of all the servicemembers involved in this terrible tragedy.” Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman...

LATEST:Five US soldiers killed in shooting at American base in Baghdad, US military says. More to follow. _

It has been said that director Howard Hawks made Rio Bravo (1959) as a reaction to two popular westerns which angered him - High Noon (1952) and 3:10 to Yuma (1957). His comment on the former was, "I didn't think a good sheriff was going to go running around town like a chicken with his head off asking for help, and finally his Quaker wife had to save him." Hawks also considered 3:10 to Yuma, which had outlaw Glenn Ford playing psychological games with lawman Van Heflin, "a lot of nonsense." So Rio Bravo was the director's take on heroism...