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Army Detains U.S. Reservists Who Refuse to Carry Out "Suicide
Mission" In Iraq
Sinclair Spokesperson Discusses His Former CIA Job and Whether
He Will Air Anti-Kerry Special
Indymedia Servers Seized in Britain Shutting Down 20 Websites
Army Detains U.S. Reservists Who Refuse to Carry
Out "Suicide Mission" In Iraq
Army National Guard 1st Lt. Paul Rieckhoff discusses how
the Bush administration has failed to adquately protect soldiers
on the battlefield. Rieckhoff served in Iraq from April 2003
to February 2004. He is also the founder of the group Operation
Truth.
19 members of a U.S. Army Reserve platoon were placed under
arrest last week for refusing to obey orders to go on what
they considered a "suicide mission."
Stationed at Tallil Air Base south of Nasiriyah, members
of the 343rd Quartermaster Company were ordered to drive a
fuel supply convoy up to Taji, north of Baghdad. The soldiers
had previously only focused on local missions in safer parts
of southern Iraq and had never driven through Baghdad more
than 200 miles away, where U.S. forces regularly come under
fire. One soldier later claimed that the chance of being attacked
was "99 percent."
On average, American soldiers were attacked 87 times a day
in August. Over 1,100 U.S. soldiers have been killed in Iraq
since the war began.
The platoon refused the order considering their trucks to
be extremely unsafe. They said the convoy tankers lacked bullet-resistant
armor and were not able to travel faster than 40 miles an
hour. Some of the supply trucks were in disrepair and prone
to breakdown. And while the armed escort of Humvees and helicopters
normally provided, was not available. One the soldiers later
described the mission as a "death sentence."
The platoon's commanding general, Brig. Gen. James Chambers,
admitted yesterday that the unit was one of those whose trucks
are still unarmored. In addition, the Washington Post is now
reporting that Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the top U.S. commander
in Iraq, complained to the Pentagon last winter that the lack
of key spare parts for gear vital to combat operations, was
so poor that it threatened Army troops" ability to fight.
In addition to the high-risk nature of the mission, the objective
itself has been called into question. The jet fuel that the
platoon was ordered to transport may have been contaminated
with diesel and wasn"t even usable - Some of the soldiers"
claim the fuel had already been rejected by one base and would
be rejected again at Taji.
After refusing the orders, the U.S. Army placed the men and
women of the platoon under arrest. They were corralled in
a tent and detained at gunpoint for nearly two days. During
this time, some of them managed to phone their relatives back
home. In Alabama, Teresa Hill woke-up to hear a recorded message
on her answering machine from her daughter, Spc. Amber McClenny.
On the tape McClenny says "I need you now, Mom. I need
you so bad...please help me. They are holding us against our
will. We are now prisoners."
According to the father of one of the soldiers, five members
of the platoon were told they would be punished with a general
discharge. Chambers said all 18 soldiers have returned to
duty. The Army has begun an inquiry, and the soldiers could
face disciplinary measures, including possible courts-martial.
- Paul Rieckhoff, Executive Director and Founder of Operation
Truth, a nonprofit organization set up to give voice
to troops who served in Iraq. He served a tour of duty in
Iraq from from April 2003 to February 2004 where he was
stationed in central Baghdad.
Sinclair Spokesperson Discusses His Former CIA Job
and Whether He Will Air Anti-Kerry Special
We speak with Mark Hyman, Vice President for Corporate Relations
at Sinclair Broadcast Group, which created an uproar last
week when plans surfaced it ordered its 62 TV stations to
pre-empt regular prime-time programming in favor of airing
what many call an anti-Kerry film. Before working for Sinclair,
Hyman served as an officer in Naval Intelligence and did work
for the Central Intelligence Agency.
The Sinclair Broadcasting Group created an uproar last week
when plans surfaced it ordered its 62 TV stations to pre-empt
regular prime-time programming in favor of airing the film
"Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal." The documentary
was produced by Carlton Sherwood, a former Washington Times
reporter who used to work for Department of Homeland Security
director Tom Ridge while he was governor of Pennsylvania.
In response, 18 Democratic Senators urged the Federal Communications
Commission to investigate Sinclair"s decision to air
what they view as an unpaid 90-minute attack ad against Kerry.
FCC Commissioner Michael Copps released a statement calling
Sinclair's decision to air the program a "abuse of public
trust." And some groups complied databases of all of
Sinclai"r advertisers so individuals could contact these
companies and directly threaten to boycott their businesses
if they did not pull their ads.
Well last Friday, I had a chance to speak with the Vice President
for Corporate Relations for Sinclair, Mark Hyman. He joined
me on the air in Canada while I was guest-hosting a radio
show for CBC, Canada"s national public broadcaster.
- Mark Hyman, Vice President for Corporate Relations for
Sinclair Broadcast Group.
Indymedia Servers Seized in Britain Shutting Down
20 Websites
In the latest crackdown on the Indymedia network, the FBI
with Spanish and Swiss officials oversaw the confiscation
of the servers. Indymedia's Internet provider is under a gag
order not to talk about what happened.
Earlier this month, two United Kingdom-based Internet servers
containing data for more than 20 local Independent Media Center
websites were seized A week later, the webservers were returned
to Indymedia and their hosting company, Rackspace Managed
Hosting.
It is still unclear who actually took the servers, the reasons
for the seizure, or the legal authority under which they were
impounded. Citing a gag order, Rackspace would not comment
on what had happened both in the original seizure of the servers
or their return.
What is known at this point is that the subpoena that resulted
in the seizure was issued at the request of a foreign government.
Although initial reports suggested that the FBI had taken
the servers, the FBI has now denied any involvement.
Indymedia and the Electronic Frontier Foundation are planning
legal action to find out what really happened to Indymedia"s
servers.
The seizure has come under heavy criticism from civil liberties
and press freedom groups. Aidan White, General Secretary of
the International Federation of Journalists, called it "an
intolerable and intrusive international police operation against
a network specializing in independent journalism ... [that]
smacks more of intimidation of legitimate journalistic inquiry
than crime-busting."
For a copy of today’s program, call 1 (800) 881 2359.
Our website is www.democracynow.org.
Our email address is mail@democracynow.org.
Democracy Now! is produced by Mike Burke, Sharif Abdel Kouddous,
Ana Nogueira, Elizabeth Press, Jeremy Scahill and Parvez Sharma.
Mike Di Filippo is our engineer.
Thanks also to Uri Galed, Angela Alston, Orlando Richards,
Simba Russeau, Johnny Sender, Rich Kim, Joe Murgio, John Randolph,
Chris Zucker, Karen Ranucci, Denis Moynihan, Eric Rweyemamu,
Jenny Filipazzo and Isis Phillips.
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