Posted on 06/20/2006 1:47:14 PM PDT by blam
Missing Soldier's Uncle Criticizes U.S.
By LYNN BREZOSKY
BROWNSVILLE, Texas (AP) - As the families of two missing soldiers waited to hear if two bodies found Tuesday were their loved ones, the uncle of one lashed out at the government, saying it didn't do enough to bring the men home safe.
``Because the U.S. government did not have a plan in place, my nephew has paid for it with his life,'' Ken MacKenzie, uncle of Army Pfc. Kristian Menchaca, told NBC's ``Today'' show.
U.S. Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said the military has recovered what are believed to be the remains of two missing soldiers, but he said the cause of death was ``undeterminable at this point.'' Menchaca's family said they had been told that DNA testing was under way.
Menchaca's mother, Maria Vasquez, was sobbing when she answered the door of her Brownsville, Texas, home.
Her niece, Felipa Gomez, was with her and said a U.S. military official had told them it could take several hours to complete DNA tests to confirm the bodies' identities. She said the family had been watching television news reports of the Iraqi military announcement.
The first report that the soldiers had been found came from Iraqi Maj. Gen. Abdul-Aziz Mohammed, who announced that the bodies of Menchaca, 23, of Houston, and Army Pfc. Thomas Lowell Tucker, 25, of Madras, Ore., had been discovered on a street in Youssifiyah, just south of Baghdad.
The two soldiers had been manning checkpoints when they were attacked Friday, and another soldier with them was killed.
A group that includes al-Qaida in Iraq claimed Monday it had kidnapped the two soldiers, but it did not name them and the U.S. military was skeptical of the claim. The group posted another statement found on the Internet Tuesday saying it had killed the two.
``I think the U.S. government was too slow to react to this,'' MacKenzie said Tuesday. ``They should have had a plan in place.''
MacKenzie said the government should have offered a $100 million reward and offered to exchange mujahideen detainees for the soldiers' lives. The government seized enough money from Saddam Hussein to afford it, he said.
The military has said more than 8,000 U.S. and Iraqi troops were searching for the missing men.
In Tucker's hometown in Oregon, yellow ribbons adorn the trees and store reader boards offer prayers of hope for his safe return.
A spokesman for the Tucker family, Oregon National Guard Sgt. Randy Everett, said Tuesday they had not heard any specifics from the military but that they were expecting the worst.
Tucker's relatives declined interviews but released the text of a phone message Monday that Tucker recently left on an answering machine, telling his mother to be proud of him.
``I'm defending my country,'' Tucker says on the recording. ``Tell sis and my nephews hello for me, I'm OK, I'm on my way.''
The family said in a statement Monday that their son had joined the military because he wanted to ``do something positive.'' They also sent their sympathy to the family of Spc. David J. Babineau, 25, of Springfield, Mass., who was killed in the attack.
Lyndsay Kowaleski, a high school classmate of Tucker's, described ``a sense of helplessness'' after learning Tucker was missing.
``Our hearts are broken with our friend being in this situation,'' she said.
So how is this uncle privy to what is planned in Iraq or any military manuevers as far as that goes.
I would like the war prosecuted much more aggressively but I don't have a clue as to what is actually happening on the ground behind the scenes. And we have a son that has fought in Iraq and I STILL don't have a clue (realistically speaking).
I pretty tired of extended family members (and sometimes immediate family memebers) making political hay out of their loved ones death in combat.
The families of those soldiers I have listed in my tagline are amazing, still actively supporting our military's efforts and speaking out. I am awestruck by the quality of these fine folks.
Check your freepmail.
He was.
Now there is a good plan. Offer ransom for POWs. Only a leftist could come up with an idea like that.
If it's the grief talking, I feel for him. I suspect it's the agenda. There is no talking to these types on how many of our boys die when the terrorist have a 100 million
to spend
If I didn't know any better, I would think the MSM were offing them... they get to places quicker than the missions sent to find them.
tin hat rant off/
Thus putting a price on every allied soldier in the theater
I know that the man is in grief but he should be keeping his mouth shut.. At least the MSM should respect the fact the man may not be in a stable state of mind right now ,,, but that IS what the MSM live fore..
^%$^%ing leaches
OK, it's not me... i've said that for years.
Me too!
The MSM TOLD the enemy that these soldiers were missing days ago! and gave them a location as well! I for one am not suprised that they turned up dead.
The blood is clearly on the hands of the MSM
Traitors all!
the uncle will no doubt be on the stump with Cindy S..
You're kidding me? How do you get the audio or stations list? Damn shame.
What an incredible lie! Line units always have a plan in place involving ground forces and supporting arms to come to the aid of a unit under attck. Also, you cannot possibly get 8,000 troops involved in a search that quickly unless it is a planned evolution.
E-mail Glenn's website.
That's why it's even more BS. Think about it. This was set up.
Don't forget Berg
Thanks.
Well-said!
Good response. The media would like us all to believe that they have a right to people's opinions or "feelings," that the "public has a right to know," but they don't. People should start responding to the media like your uncle did.
He was just, purposely I'm sure, being indelicate about the matter.
However if it's the truth, and the families had already been notified, I think you should cut him some slack. His way of putting it serves the useful purpose of hitting those not paying attention right in the face.. might even wake them up to what sort of enemy we are facing. And then again, maybe not, some folks don't learn until its them being gutted, ripped asunder or otherwise treated in an indelicate manner by the more enthusiastic members of the RoP.
Well, my crazy, boozing, woman chasing Uncle took a little dip in the North Atlantic in November of '42, courtesy of a German U-boat. It went down like this:
The William Clark (Liberty Ship, hull # 172), with a cargo of planes, tanks, auto tires, ammunition, and a crew of 71 men, was an easy mark for a waiting U-boat shortly after noon on 4 November. The sky was overcast, with a moderate sea running. Visibility was seven miles. The first torpedo hit amidships, flooding the engine room. The order was given to abandon ship, and after the lifeboats pulled away, two more torpedoes broke the vessel in two and sent her to the bottom. The St. Elstan and the Cape Pallister (Brit ships, I exchanged emails with a guy who served on the Cape Pallister after this incident) picked up the 41 survivors.
My uncle, one of those 41 survivors, was part of Clark's Naval Armed Guard. They were bound for Murmansk, and with the cargo to be used by Russians to help kill Germans.
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