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.
They are a bunch of ghouls, one step, a small one, above those "Anti Queer" protesters that will probably show up at these guy's funerals.
I grieve for their loss.
Even if the uncle doesn't have time to mourn.
I don't know who the bigger bastard is here. The uncle or the reporterette.
Of course it was. You don't think the Jihadies could respond that quickly to saturate the area with IEDs do you? They had 'em ready and prepositioned, to try to catch the recovery forces. But only one went off before it was found, injuring no one. Several Jihadies caught up in the sweep were killed, and more were captured however.
Forgot to add that he lost toes to frostbite, those Brit ships couldn't get there nearly fast enough to prevent that sort of thing. Neither he, nor his brother (my Dad) spoke of it. But my mother remembers my paternal grandmother talking about visiting my uncle in the military hospital, which was halfway across the country from where she lived, and the only way to get there was by train, almost certainly not in a sleeper car (she was a single Mom, and they had little money)
bastardy is not necessarily mutually exclusive; maybe they are both bastards.
Amen.
Since this horrible crime just happened, I don't think I'm going to criticize the Uncle for handling his grief in whatever way he sees fit.
That is exactly why the Left chooses people who have a fallback position of "How can you attack those people". Many people see any comment against someone on the moral high ground as an attack on that person and their grief. Obviously, this is not the case. Those people certainly cannot handle the truth but then look at the attackers as the mean ones, not the exploited aggrieved family.
I would be willing to give him a pass too but don't you find it odd that of all the relatives to choose from, they find the ONE that is anti-war as their posterboy?
Plan for what? The soldiers got picked off. Others will be prep[ared for this tactic.
Nope, I don't find it odd, unfortunately. If any of his other relatives have any "pro" mission statements we'll never hear it.
piece of shi# Geraldo just dedicated an entire few minutes to this jerk Mackenzie and Michael Berg and Sheehan...and how they have the right to say how they feel without being label unpatriotic. He showcased them all and made sure he repeated every damaging word that they have said. Not a single supportive comment. I had his stupid show on the tv by accident and I am furious. Did anyone else see this? Is is possible to get an email campaign going to this ahole?
I pray for peace in our country and Iraq. I pray that all who do not know God, come to Him, now.
And, I also believe what Ann said .....
And, may our retaliation be swift and just....do not let them die in vain, America. Never ever forget.
No- I didn't see it- but what an SOB for doing that on the very day when these soldier's families and comrades are going through unimaginable hell.
This- from the guy who labels himself a "war correspondant" ...loves our troops..blah-blab-blah...
Tell him what you think here:
comments@geraldoatlarge.com
Amen Grammie -- prayers for the families.
I also agree with Ann.
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