Posted on 05/12/2009 7:00:22 AM PDT by rightwingintelligentsia
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- The U.S. soldier who fired on fellow troops in Iraq has been identified as Army Sgt. John Russell, and he's been charged with five counts of murder, a military spokesman said Tuesday.
Russell killed five people when he fired on other troops at a stress clinic at Camp Liberty, near Baghdad International Airport, U.S. officials said.
Along with five counts of murder, Russell also was charged with one count of aggravated assault, said Maj. Gen. David Perkins, who briefed reporters in Baghdad.
Russell is on his third tour in Iraq. He's with the 54th Engineering Battalion, based in Germany. He is in military police custody at Camp Victory.
There are no immediate insights on a motive, Perkins said.
The military is conducting a criminal investigation and another probe that explores whether the shootings could have been prevented, Perkins said.
Among the five killed, two were on the staff of the clinic -- one from the Army and the other from the Navy. Both were with the 55th Medical Company. The other three were enlisted soldiers. None of the victims have been identified.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
You’ve ever seen “Johnny Dangerously?”
Freepmail.:)
When a man, which I assume you are, is speaking to a lady he should not use that kind of language.
Thank you for letting me know. I assumed things were OK, but there's always that little sliver of fear until you actually here your baby's voice.
Yippeeee!!!!
I said I didn't know anything about you other than what you wrote on this thread, you little contortionist.
Now - are you an American? Do you support Operation Iraqi Freedom? Do you support our troops? Are you a pacifist? Are you a Democrat?
The people on this thread arguing with you are ALL military supporters, ALL understand the stress of combat, and ALL still respect our troops - perhaps even more because we DO understand.
The fact that our military has endured what most of us could never deal with IN ORDER TO KEEP US SAFE and come back strong, and LESS suicidal or violent than their peers is an indication of their strength and stability. Do you believe that?
So far you have posted NOTHING in support of the men and women in uniform, so until you do, it is fair to believe that you are anti-military, just like CNN and the NYTimes that you quoted.
Tell us who you are and what you think of our military and their mission, and we can go from there. Unless you can do that, consider my conversation with you finished.
I love the "uniform-friendly" caps. Great stuff!
“I said I didn’t know anything about you other than what you wrote on this thread” No. You said, “Every post you’ve written indicates that you’re an anti-military leftist.” I was responding to that.
“I’d like to see proof that you’re not.” Prove that someone is not ______ (fill in the blank.) Can’t prove this negative as much as you can’t prove the negative that you’re a _____ (fill in the blank.) Using the argumentum ad ignorantiam is intellectually dishonest.
Now, to your specific questions:
Are you an American? My whole life (Or, because it’s funny, to quote Rick Baline: “I’m a drunkard.”)
Do you support Operation Iraqi Freedom? The dust on my boots from Iraq and Afghanistan should answer that.
Do you support our troops? In thought, word and deed.
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Are you a pacifist? As much as Ike was. “I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity.”
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Are you a Democrat? “There are many men of principle in both parties in America, but there is no party of principle.” Alexis de Tocqueville
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“The fact that our military has endured what most of us could never deal with IN ORDER TO KEEP US SAFE and come back strong, and LESS suicidal or violent than their peers...” IMHO, “LESS” is immaterial. Through April, the Army reported 64 confirmed or potential active-duty suicides, compared with 39 confirmed suicides in the same period last year. The 129 confirmed suicides for all of 2008 marked a record high since the Army started tracking them in 1980. (20.2/100K Mil avg & 11/100K Nat’l avg.) They are stressed, they are suffering and putting one’s head in the sand or using “patriotic platitudes” won’t change the facts.
Query: What’s an acceptable number of military suicides?
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“...is an indication of their strength and stability.” It’s a sure indication that combat changes everyone — some more than others. It’s our responsibility to give the necessary and appropriate treatment to those who need it — both service members and thier families — and make sure they are neither punished nor ostracized for seeking help.
Query: Do you believe that?
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“it is fair to believe that you are anti-military, just like CNN and the NYTimes.” To quote Gates, “The press is not the enemy.” They aren’t our friends, but they aren’t the spawn of Satan, either.
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“What you think of our military and their mission.” A little broad, would you not say? Maybe at a later date or after a more refined question
Query: “What do you think of life, death and immortality?”
Your "queries" are fascinating. Many on this thread supporting our troops have indicated that even one suicide is unacceptable. OF COURSE one suicide is unacceptable - in the military or in civilian life. This is a horrible situation, and my first response was to pray for all involved, including this dear man's family. It was your citing suicide statistics without any supporting statements or disclaimers that made you suspect. If you are unaware of the leftist tactic of stating such evidence in order to accuse our troops and belittle them, then you need to become aware of that vile tactic and not emulate it. The casualty count, the suicide rate, the murder rate - all have been celebrated by the left as fodder to turn the American people against our military, President Bush, and OIF. Your list of partial information pointed to the probability that you were doing the same exact thing here. The greatest lie is that which contains the greatest amount of truth. What you left out was critical. Your omiting your support for the troops was critical.
Of course I absolutely believe that everything possible should be done to deal with the effects of serving this nation in combat. Our personal experience has been that help has been readily available to all who are returning - and obviously the presence of this clinic at Liberty is an indication that it is being dealt with in the field as well. Your insinuation that any of us here think differently is reprehensible....especially those of us with families involved.
As to the Gates quote, it is terribly naive. The press is not only in bed with the enemy, it is indeed the enemy. If you trust anything the NYTimes says about our troops, you are also naive.
I still want to know what you think of the mission in Iraq. It is not as broad a question as you have said, and it is quite relevant to the discussion and your insistence on citing statistics without corresponding support of the men and women in uniform. I wonder why you have continued to evade answering it?
btw, anyone can claim anything on the Internet, so my believing that you indeed have served in the military without any supporting evidence would also be naive (Leftists also do that all the time). Once again - what is your rationale for refusing to answer basic questions about your views on the military until now? Why the lack of straightforwardness? Why the contortions to avoid declaring your intention?
You could have saved us both a lot of time by being up front and honest. There must be some reason you were not.
“Your insinuation that any of us here think differently is reprehensible ....especially those of us with families involved.”
This is the crux of the issue which irritates me to no end. I don’t have the time to go thru the posts of every article dealing with combat stress or PTS to pull out all of the asinine comments that call the condition a lie, the ones who claim it are p*ssies, soldiers in WWII didn’t get it, and my particular favorite, “they just need to suck it up.”
The condition is there, it’s real and I will continue to decry those who dispute otherwise and will continue to be a clarion to change the cultural stigma associated with seeking help.
If that categorizes or characterizes me as not patriotic, supposedly naive, not pro-whatever enough, that’s OK. Emerald Shellback can take it.
It would have saved you a whole lot of energy and emotion if you had been straightforward and honest from the beginning.
Perhaps next time you will be.
I agree. Civility appears to be a lost art...even here on FR.
OK...we need a gender indicator on each screen name.
TankerKC (Pure Man)
LOL! Yeah - I guess I am. :)
Allegra has a feminine ending. If she were a man, she would be “Allegro.” :)
Kinda like any one with first-hand military experience might key in on the word “purple” in a screen name.
Yes, sir! :)
A point I hadn’t considered............but a good one!
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