Posted on 10/17/2004 6:56:37 AM PDT by Phsstpok
The earlier thread about the October Surprise "Mutiny" hit piece on this mornings Today show prompted me to do some Googling to try to see if there were any connections of note. I felt that even the little evidence I found warranted a quick heads up and (forgive me) a separate thread as a call to action. I have no particular standing to do this, but this concerned me enough to fire off a flare.
It looks like the extreme left is orchestrating an October Surprise propaganda campaign against the war in Iraq and President Bush by staging a "mutiny" of reserve troops (appears to be 5 of 'em, when you get down to it) and playing it the way they played Abu Gharib.
First, the basic story. Reports surfaced on Friday, the 15th, that troops in Iraq had refused a "suicide mission" and were under arrest and held in close guard. A small handful of "frantic" family members began reporting "unfair practices" and "unsafe conditions," desperately calling on (the usual suspects) politicians to save their loved ones from cruel fate.
Some excerpts:
Daily News, October 17, 2004:
Calls, E-mails explain troops' alleged mutiny
The military has begun punishing some of the 19 Army reservists who balked at what they called a "suicide mission" and a "death sentence" in Iraq last week.
Some members of the South Carolina-based 343rd Quartermaster Company refused to transport fuel between the Iraqi cities of Tallil and Taji Wednesday morning, saying they had no protection for the dangerous trip.
now here's the kicker from the Daily News piece:
Citizen Soldier, a New York-based, nonprofit military rights group, has offered ... its help.
Citizen Soldier is not a "military rights group." It is a virulently anti-American and anti-Military extreme left front group. Their motto on their web site is: "Prepared to Challenge U.S. Militarism in the New Millenium."
Citizen Soldier also has close ties to John Kerry, as it's director Tod Ensign, was one of the organizers of Kerry's discredited Winter Soldier propaganda event in 1969, along with Jeremy Rifkin. This connection is the one that set off my alarm bells.
I couldn't figure the Mississippi angle till I found this in The Clarion-Ledger of Hattiesberg, Mississippi:
Platoon with Mississippi soldiers defies orders 17 soldiers placed under arrest in Iraq
A 17-member Army Reserve platoon with troops from Jackson and around the Southeast deployed to Iraq is under arrest for refusing a "suicide mission" to deliver fuel, the troops' relatives said Thursday. The soldiers refused an order on Wednesday to go to Taji, Iraq - north of Baghdad - because their vehicles were considered "deadlined" or extremely unsafe, said Patricia McCook of Jackson, wife of Sgt. Larry O. McCook.
and again, buried in the piece, is the clue to the source and spin:
U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson said he plans to submit a congressional inquiry today on behalf of the Mississippi soldiers to launch an investigation into whether they are being treated improperly.
Bennie Thompson is one of the more radical members of the Black Caucus. He is a leader in the "fair play for Fidel Castro" movement in Congress. He is often the designated "hit man" in attacking minority members of the Bush Administration, particularly Dr. Condoleezza Rice. He was a rabid Deaniac, but shifted his loyalty to Kerry when Dean fell on his own scream.
The Salon hit piece ties this squarely to the Washington/DNC/Carville slime machine:
The inside story of the Army platoon that refused to carry out a "death sentence" mission.
is by Mary Jocoby, Salon's Washington Correspondent. Jacoby is one of Salon's "reliable" writers who can always be counted on to spew hate at George Bush, in particular, and Republicans in general. She rates Seymour Hersh as a "crack investigative reporter" and has authored anti-Bush hit pieces such as "The Dunce," "George W. Bush's Missing Year" and "Swaggering toward Election Day."
What is truly amazing about these pieces on the "mutiny" is that they appear to have been ready to go before the incident took place. These folks had their stories straight and remarkably consistent in record time, even before the news had reached the regular news cycle on CNN, who jumped on this in record time.
Folks, this is a set up. But it's a set up that, like many of the Kerry camps dirty tricks, they've had to fire off prematurely to try to distract the news media from a Kerry gaffe. Pulling the trigger on this was timed to try and keep the disastrous Mary Cheney attack off of the Sunday morning talk shows. These soldiers are pawns who were told that they would be used to unseat a sitting President (with undoubted hints of vast rewards from a Kerry administration) but they are being sacrificed, just like pushing a pawn, to protect the dims' king.
Chetry wasn't at the news conference, instead she is one of the anchors on Fox News Channel. She conducted an interview with two members of Congress concerning this matter, and she was definetely trying to imply that our Government and Military had not provided the security and equipment needed to operate in Iraq.
As I said, just another liberal Democrat carrying water for Edwards-Kerry. These people are determined to defeat Bush, no matter what.
I actually started googling this while in the tub early this AM, from my wifi equipped Dell Axim pocket PC. I waited to post until I could sit at a keyboard, since posting anything with the stylus and small screen is a real pain.
So, no, I wasn't in my pajamas. I'm dressed now, however, so don't worry. ;^>
Check it!
I actually started googling this while in the tub early this AM....
&&&
Wow! No wonder we're getting the naked truth!!
Seriously, thanks for your dilgence.
BTT
He said he got the letter on Thursday? When did this incident take place? I don't think it's possible for him to have gotten a letter by Thursday.
From the Daily News article (linked in original post):
Some members of the South Carolina-based 343rd Quartermaster Company refused to transport fuel between the Iraqi cities of Tallil and Taji Wednesday morning
If the timing on this can be verified this may be our first "smoking gun."
Bump. Keep working on this. I am sure it was a coordinated attack by the Dems and people like Michael Moore, etc. who have been working very hard to undermine US troop morale.
I think we're also going to see a bunch of racial stuff being used here - the Dems are working the racial angle like mad, charging without proof that "1 million black voters" were disenfranchised, etc., and I think this would be right out of their playbook.
This is SO disgusting!
I guess the "Oil Truck Five" didn't get the message to stop digging.
Phsstpok, the incident took place at 7 a.m. Wednesday, Baghdad time, which would be 1 a.m. Mississippi time, I believe, and the congress critter can always claim he got the "letter" via e-mail, of course.
_________________________________________________
Unit That Refused Iraq Duty Said Released
LOUISVILLE, Ky. The grandfather of an Army Reserve soldier whose platoon refused to deliver supplies in Iraq said his grandson told him Saturday that he and other soldiers had been detained by military authorities but were later released. Meanwhile, military officials said commanders reassigned five members of the unit. Some in the platoon had told relatives they refused to deliver tainted helicopter fuel in poorly maintained vehicles by traveling a dangerous supply route without an armed escort. The Army is investigating up to 19 members of the platoon, which is part of the 343rd Quartermaster Company based in Rock Hill, S.C. The unit delivers food, water and fuel on trucks in combat zones. A criminal inquiry was expected. Harold Casey said his grandson, Justin Rogers, 22, called him Saturday to tell him that he and other soldiers were put under armed guard after refusing to deliver the supplies. "The fuel was contaminated for the helicopters," Casey said his grandson told him. "It would have caused them to crash. ... They saved lives." Maj. Richard W. Spiegel, spokesman for the 13th Corps Support Command & Logistic Support Area Anaconda in Balad, Iraq, denied that the soldiers were detained. He said the soldiers were simply told to remain in the unit's area until an investigating officer contacted them. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said he filed a congressional inquiry on Friday and was told by a military liaison that the soldiers were detained but not arrested. The unit has at least two members from Mississippi. Casey, in a telephone interview from his Louisville home, said his grandson told him that some of the soldiers already had been reduced in rank. He said Rogers' rank had been reduced from sergeant to specialist and that he and another soldier, Sgt. Larry McCook of Jackson, Miss., were being transferred to the Alabama-based 2101 Transportation Company. McCook's wife, Patricia McCook, said her husband called Friday and said the soldiers had been released after being detained. She told The Clarion Ledger of Jackson that her husband said five members were reassigned because "they said these five really instigated the entire process." A coalition spokesman in Baghdad said "a small number of the soldiers involved chose to express their concerns in an inappropriate manner, causing a temporary breakdown in discipline." Military officials said the commanding general of the 13th Corps Support Command, Brig. Gen. James E. Chambers, had appointed his deputy, Col. Darrell Roll, to investigate and a team under Roll's command was questioning soldiers about the incident. On Wednesday, 19 members of the platoon did not show up for a scheduled 7 a.m. meeting in Tallil, in southeastern Iraq, to prepare for the fuel convoy's departure a few hours later, a military statement said. The mission was carried out by other soldiers from the 343rd, which has at least 120 soldiers, the military said. A commanding general has since ordered the 343rd to undergo a "safety-maintenance stand down," during which it will conduct no further missions as the unit's vehicles are inspected, the military said. The platoon has troops from Alabama, Kentucky, North Carolina, Mississippi and South Carolina. ___ |
BTTT
I agree with your thoughts. They are trying to subvert the armed services
with propaganda. If you can, check out MM big, fat, ugly face on the cover of his new book, "Will They Ever Trust Us Again?".
Mutiny story is a {{{Gasp}}} Set-up ~~~Ping~~~
Another thought on the "contaminated oil" story. It might be difficult for the five ringleaders to convince all 19 members of the squad to disobey orders based on safety concerns, but it would be easier if they could be convinced they were actually doing the miltary a service by preventing contaminated oil from being used in helicopters.
I KNEW IT! Were they all democrats????
Check out Harass the Brass
http://www.infoshop.org/military.html
There is something very fishy about this incident. I think it starts with the "contaminated" gas. How did it get this way? How did they know it was contaminated? etc..If others in the division delivered the gas safely, that kind of debunks the whole purported suicide mission theory.This needs follow up!
bttt
See #60
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