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Posted on 02/23/2004 11:18:45 AM PST by Celtjew Libertarian
AR-RAMADI, Iraq -- A letter to his wife by a Florida National Guard soldier simply intended to express his belief in America's mission in Iraq.
But the soldier didn't realize that a show business personality would latch on to his letter and make a political statement.
Spc. Joshua Madsen, 26, of Indian Harbor Beach, serves as a rifleman with Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 124th Infantry. Stationed at a base called The Combat Outpost in the eastern section of Ar-Ramadi, one of the toughest parts of the Sunni Triangle of Iraq, he has dodged explosions and bullets on patrol.
"I know a bunch of veterans back home and wrote down everything we were doing in a letter, asking them to continue to support the president," Madsen said. "I believe he (President Bush) is doing what it takes to secure the country and not looking at what is politically correct at the time."
Madsen's letter was mailed to his wife, Rachel, and he hoped she would share it with his veteran friends.
"I'm wondering what happened to all the support for our president. All the headlines I see are bashing him," he wrote. "Don't blame him for sending me away. I knew it was a possibility -- we all did. We knew what would happen and the price we had to pay, as did many others before our time."
Rachel Madsen sent her husband's letter on to Florida Today, a newspaper in Melbourne that covers their hometown. The paper published the text on its Web site. It was also published on the Florida National Guard's Web site in its "Letters from the Front" section.
Madsen, a firefighter for Brevard County Fire Rescue, said other Web sites published it across the country.
Then Mark Crispin Miller, who publishes news commentary on his own Web site, quoted "a solid source in Washington" who wrote that Madsen's letter was "an obvious example of military propaganda" that's "pure and simple partisan Republican campaign pitch for votes."
Not long after Crispin's comments, Moby, an internationally known techno musician and recording artist, also posted Madsen's letter on his Internet site.
Moby, 39, whose real name is Richard Melville Hall, told his fans:
"In an earlier e-mail, I mentioned fake letters that the Bush administration sent to local newspapers around the U.S. These letters supposedly came from soldiers in Iraq, but the truth is they were generated by the Bush administration. I think you'll agree with me that Bush and his cronies have reached a new low in distasteful and despicable behavior. This letter has made me despise the Bush administration more than I ever thought possible. It is utterly disgusting."
Madsen said he became very angry at being considered a fictitious person.
"At first, I couldn't believe it," he said. "I was appalled. What was he saying, that a soldier couldn't write a letter like that? I responded with a letter to my wife to forward to him.
"To my knowledge, nothing appeared."
Lt. Col. Ron Tittle, spokesman for the Florida National Guard, said the public affairs section had asked troops in Iraq to send in letters from the front.
"We try to report on what the troops are saying," Tittle said Friday. "We have to be neutral and non-partisan, and didn't think the letter was a political statement. It was one of our soldiers proud of the president."
Tittle said he heard of the controversy the letter caused.
"They slammed us pretty hard. I just let it go," he said.
Madsen addressed a second letter to Moby and all others who "have nothing better to do but slander the citizen-soldiers who are out here in the arena, putting their lives on the line" to protect freedom.
He said Iraqis have told him that 3 million to 5 million of their people had been killed by the Saddam regime, and a couple of hundred thousand Kurds.
"Those numbers are catastrophic. There are things that have to be done here," he said. "This is our responsibility. We're a great nation, but to just take care of ourselves would be selfish and irresponsible. Evil grows and builds and eventually hits America. Every soldier here knows that war costs lives. They know what they signed up for and do it because they want a safe future."
Just when you think the left can't go lower. Here's a link to Moby's commentary:
The word "actionable" immediately springs to mind. Hopefully there's a lawyer out there that would take Spc. Madsen's case pro bono and sue the no-talent commie pr**k for slander.
Don't worry, the democrats are working night and day to make sure the military vote will be voided...
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