An Ugly Coverup Revealed

The Associated Press reported on Friday that the United States Military lied to us (again). But more importantly, they lied to the families of the fallen. It was a blatant lie when the military reported that five Soldiers were killed "defending their positions" in that January 20 raid on the Iraqi provisional government facility in Karbala. Only one soldier died at the scene.

Four were kidnapped and executed, shot in the head, their bodies recovered 25 miles away.

Really, I want to rant and rage about this, but I am just too sickened. I am disgusted by a military culture that has so soon forgotten the lessons of Vietnam and the lies that trashed the Honor Code. I am sickened by the fact that the men who are in the power positions now and who are sanctioning the lying - were the junior officers who were lied to during that war. I am mad as hell that I dedicated 20 years of my life to supporting my husband (and my brother) as they picked up the tattered remnants of the Honor Code and undertook the arduous task of stitching it back together, bit by bit. I am angry that the sacrifices we made are so cynically discounted and dismissed. I am furious that the military it took men and women of honor thirty years to restore has been broken and crassly tossed aside in such short order.

Right now, I feel like a world-class chump.

I will be back ranting soon enough. But for the moment, I am simply too sickened and saddened by the actions of those we have been asked to place our trust in "one last time" that I can't focus the outrage. I just have to weep.

From the story linked:

"The precision of the attack, the equipment used and the possible use of explosives to destroy the military vehicles in the compound suggests that the attack was well rehearsed prior to execution," said Lt. Col. Scott Bleichwehl, spokesman for Multi-National Division-Baghdad."The attackers went straight to where Americans were located in the provincial government facility, bypassing the Iraqi police in the compound," he said. "We are looking at all the evidence to determine who or what was responsible for the breakdown in security at the compound and the perpetration of the assault."

The Karbala raid, as explained by the Iraqi and American officials, began after nightfall on Jan. 20, while American military officers were meeting with their Iraqi counterparts on the main floor of the Provisional Joint Coordination Center in Karbala.

[SNIP]

"The precision of the attack, the equipment used and the possible use of explosives to destroy the military vehicles in the compound suggests that the attack was well rehearsed prior to execution," said Lt. Col. Scott Bleichwehl, spokesman for Multi-National Division-Baghdad.

"The attackers went straight to where Americans were located in the provincial government facility, bypassing the Iraqi police in the compound," he said. "We are looking at all the evidence to determine who or what was responsible for the breakdown in security at the compound and the perpetration of the assault."

The Karbala raid, as explained by the Iraqi and American officials, began after nightfall on Jan. 20, while American military officers were meeting with their Iraqi counterparts on the main floor of the Provisional Joint Coordination Center in Karbala.

[SNIP]

The Defense Department has released the names of troops killed Jan. 20 but clearly identified only one as being killed because of the sneak attack.

Capt. Brian S. Freeman, 31, of Temecula, Calif., "died of wounds suffered when his meeting area came under attack by mortar and small arms fire." Freeman was assigned to the 412th Civil Affairs Battalion, Whitehall, Ohio.

The only other troops killed that day in that region of Iraq were four Army soldiers said to have been "ambushed while conducting dismounted operations" in Karbala.

The four were identified as 1st Lt. Jacob N. Fritz, 25, of Verdon, Neb.; Spc. Johnathan B. Chism, 22, of Prairieville, La.; Pfc. Shawn P. Falter, 25, of Homer, N.Y., and Pvt. Johnathon M. Millican, 20, of Trafford, Ala. All were with the 2nd Battalion, 377th Parachute Field Artillery Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, of Fort Richardson, Alaska

Their memory deserves the truth; but when our government lied to cover up the details of their deaths, they dishonored their service, their sacrifice and their memory.

I have to ask: How in the hell can we be asked to trust them again, with the real lives of real Americans, when they don't trust us with the truth?