Death brings a faraway war home-Capt Seifert, Shot by U.S. Soldier, Died of Gunshot to the BACK

Express-Times ^ | 3/25/03 | EDWARD SIEGER and JENNA PORTNOY

[Dr. Scarpetta]

Seifert died of a gunshot wound to the back.

[Uncle Miltie]

"Seifert died of a gunshot wound to the back."

Islam at work in America.

[MEG33]

If this doesn't deserve the death penalty,nothing does.

[Born Conservative]

Islam-the religion of peace...

[PISANO]

This no good TRAITOROUS b..t..d, better get the death penalty! I pray that this is NOT be swept under the rug of Political Correctness!!!!!!

[Dr. Scarpetta]

*Ping

[First_Salute]

I would have said, "Fascism in one of its many disguises, this time, 'in the name of radical Islam.'"

[Dr. Scarpetta]

This in an editorial about Capt Seifert in my local paper this morning:

"One of us, but Better"

http://www.pennlive.com/editorials/expresstimes/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1048586748157860.xml

[dennisw]

How come the perp is still drawing breaths? It's an outrage!

[NYKbyD]

I think if the embedded press was not there, the death penalty would have already occurred!

[Dr. Scarpetta]

This no good TRAITOROUS b..t..d, better get the death penalty! I pray that this is NOT be swept under the rug of Political Correctness!!!!!!

Local residents here are outraged.

[Use It Or Lose It]

This no good TRAITOROUS b..t..d, better get the death penalty! I pray that this is NOT be swept under the rug of Political Correctness!!!!!!

I'm hammering down the carpet tacks now so it won't be swept under the rug. It may be up to us to keep this story at the forefront. I will if you will.

[Sangamon Kid]

The court martial should be quick and the execution public.

[Jeff Head]

"What's really tragic is that Chris didn't die fighting for his country, he died at hands of a fellow soldier. He's the kind of person who probably thought about what it would be like to die in combat," Remer said.

He did die fighting for his country ... and he did die in combat.

His killer was an enemy fifth columnist, a traitor in the uniform of a U.S. soldier. His killer should be given a quick military tribunal there in Kuwait and then summarily executed.

The Captain was doing his job in a war zone when he was attacked by the enemy. God rest his soul, and God comfort hos loved ones.

[Dr. Scarpetta]

God rest his soul, and God comfort his loved ones.

My daughter's fiance said last night that Chris Seifert was a great guy and was a friend of his brother.

[2nd amendment mama]

One of us, but better

Capt. Christopher Scott Seifert's death shows the true, awful cost of the war.

Tuesday, March 25, 2003


The war on Iraq has ripped a gaping hole on the side of Mammy Morgan's Mountain in Williams Township -- and in our hearts. It is a chasm that can never be filled, a pain that will not go away.

On Sunday, Army Capt. Christopher Scott Seifert was sleeping inside his tent at a 101st Airborne Division command center in Kuwait City when several live grenades were tossed into tents. Seifert, 27, died in the attack. Fifteen fellow soldiers were injured.

We all knew this war would eventually hit close to home. But we didn't realize just how directly -- or how quickly -- it would hit us.

Christopher Seifert grew up in the shadow of that mountain. His parents, Helen and Thomas, still live there. As a student at Wilson Area High School and Moravian College, he touched the lives of those who live and work and play in the Lehigh Valley.

Those who knew Seifert have described a well-mannered, pleasant person who thrived in academics, the band, cross-country and the military.

He leaves behind a wife, Theresa, and a 4-month-old son, Benjamin.

During a memorial service at Camp New Jersey in Kuwait on Monday, Maj. Kyle Warren, Seifert's boss, said, "He was the awesome soldier that everybody here wanted. He was the soldier you wanted to lead, he was the soldier you wanted to
follow."

He was one of us. And he chose to risk his life to defend us. For that, we are eternally grateful.

We are numb. We are hurting. And we are angry -- angry because, authorities say, Christopher Seifert died at the hands of a fellow soldier.

When the Seiferts and other families hug and kiss their children, their fathers and mothers, their husbands and wives and watch them march off to war, they know there is a very real possibility that "their" soldier might never come home.

They hit their knees at night, asking God to protect the one they love, or they just hope against hope that harm will not come.

But how could they ever imagine that death would come at the hands of a brother in arms?.

It wasn't an enemy attack. It wasn't terrorists. It wasn't even friendly fire. It was someone Christopher Seifert was supposed to rely on, someone who was supposed to look out for him.

Instead, Sgt. Asan Akbar, a man military authorities have described as a soldier with an "attitude problem" who was recently reprimanded for insubordination, chose to lob grenades into tents while his victims slept.

What a coward.

We must not confuse what happened to Christopher Seifert with an act of war. This was no act of war. It was an act of
cowardice, an act of hatred, an act of premeditated murder.

Christopher Seifert may have died in the course of a war but he is not a war casualty. He is a crime victim.

The military must act swiftly and decisively against Akbar. He should be tried in a military court and, if found guilty, sentenced to pay with his life.

On Monday, much of the discussion in Washington, D.C., turned to the cost of war. Lawmakers were tossing around the $75 billion figure.

$75 billion?

On a mountain in Williams Township there is a family that is grieving, a family that knows the real cost of war can't be measured in dollars and cents.

Copyright 2003 PennLive.com. All Rights Reserved.

[faithincowboys]

jealous of the white christian guy's competency and decency. evil and envy animates the jihadists. how cowardly to attack others while they are asleep in their beds. what a sickness we have on our hands!!

[Dr. Scarpetta]

Thanks for posting the editorial. It's beyond sad that this fine young man is dead in such a way.

(BTY, this paper endorsed Al Gore in 2000.)

[Dr. Scarpetta]

how cowardly to attack others while they are asleep in their beds. what a sickness we have on our hands!!

These people understand nothing but force.

[skeeter]

Thank you, Capt Seifert. RIP