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Name
Maria
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Profession
Question
Hello,
Well my question is:
Is the govt of USA under your pressure? And, if yes, then what are the US soldiers doing in Iraq?
What is the plan of your govt for Iraq? Is this plan a part of great Israel?
I will be thankful to you for ur answer.
Answer
I am not quite sure I understand, but will try to answer. The US government has been under pressure by a large number of people in this country and around the world since before the war. Our leadership decided not to listen to what I estimate as at least half the US population who were opposed to the invasion of Iraq.
I believe that the Bush Administration has been completely imcompetent in this situation, and perhaps now does not have a good plan.
Many people see this invasion as deeply connected to the official US relationship with Israel; others believe that the wealthy of this country wanted control of Iraqi oil. I think it is a combination of many factors, but do not agree that this is solely about US support for the Israeli government. Many people in the United States do not support the Bush Administration's stance, and people of all political views have been horrified by Israel's actions in Palestinian areas this past year.
I think we all need to distinguish between the beliefs of common people of all our countries and the actions and policies of the governments. These do not match in many cases, I think that this is the biggest problem that must be overcome.
As George Bush and other American political leaders went against the wishes of the many Americans who opposed the invasion of Iraq, and showed a complete lack of concern both for Iraqi people and our children who were sent into Iraq as soldiers, Saddam Hussein also showed a lack of concern for the well-being of Iraqis. Common people in both countries had little control over these events.
Name
Rizwan Hussain Zackria
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Profession
Question
Assalamalaikum,
My question to Mrs. Reed:
I appreciate your courage Mrs. Reed to voice your opinion. Some of the people who have family members in the US military have opposed the war in Iraq. Most of the time their concern is the safety of their beloved ones in the army. I want to know what Mrs. Reed feels about the innocent Iraqi civilians that have been killed and that continued to be killed in this war of which Mr. Cody has an involvement directly or indirectly.
Thanking you,
Answer
To be perfectly truthful, my major concern even before this began was more for the many Iraqi civilians that would be harmed than for my son. I knew that although there would be US casualties, more Iraqis would be hurt or killed, and would suffer the destruction of their country. My son was very opposed to being part of this as well.
Of course now, I have great concern for all people in Iraq, both the citizens of Iraq and the soldiers there, all are facing grave danger and terrible conditions, with the US government and military showing little concern.
Name
3arab 3arab
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Profession
Question
Salamu Aleikum
1- How can you not stop your son/daughter from participating in this unjust war and convince him/her that he/she can't hold responsibility for the policy of their administration?
2- Who will you attack if your son/daughter is injured or even killed?
Answer
My son was under the complete control of the Army. There were many young people who attempted to refuse to participate; they were simply sent anyway. At the present time, there is not a way for my son to refuse. We tried to find a way for him to refuse to go as he was being deployed, but this was simply not possible.
The soldiers were also led to believe that they would simply go to Kuwait for a couple of months and go home. Many people did not believe that George Bush would continue with this invasion.
As for revenge should my son be injured or killed, I certainly will not be willing to attack anyone. I want this to stop. I did not support any of the actions of the US government after September 11; I believe that wise nations do not use revenge as a motivation.
Name
Salah Dosky
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Profession
University Student
Question
Before the war on Iraq start, your governments contented you to send your sons to Iraq to destroy the global weapons of mass destruction, but now after the war is over and the pretenses of US came false, are you ( mothers) going to content your babies in Iraq to return to home and stop following the liars in Washington??
Answer
I want to make it clear that I never wanted my son to participate in this. I did not believe that they would find weapons of mass destruction; I believe that the United States has most of the WMDs and is the country that has been willing to use these weapons.
The Bush Administration used fear to continue this horrible action--using all kinds of things to terrify people into believing that Iraq was a threat to the United States, and that scary biological and chemical agents would be unleashed on the world if the US took no action. I did not believe this, and many, many people did not believe this either. As it is now discovered that we were correct, that Iraq not only was not a threat but was unable to even defend itself, more Americans are realizing that they were wrong in supporting this action and feel betrayed by the lies of George Bush and other leaders.
I can assure you that the US government is in a lot of trouble over here at the present time.
Name
Hassan
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Profession
Janitor
Question
What are you doing to inform the public about payne that you and other family member are going thru?
Answer
I am a member of Military Families Speak Out, a group of families with loved ones in the military who have opposed this invasion and occupation starting last fall.
Some members filed legal action against Bush and Rumsfeld before the war, attempting to get a ruling stopping this because it is against the US Constitution for the President to declare a war such as this without approval of Congress. Unfortunately, this was unsuccessful.
We spend much time seeking media attention in order to publicize our views, and attempting to persuade our leadership that this should not continue. We recently initiated a national campaign called Bring Them Home Now, in conjunction with some veterans' groups, which raises the demand to remove all US troops from Iraq and end the US occupation, restoring sovereignty to Iraqi people.
We also attempt to reach out to other families of soldiers, some who have supported this war because they believed it was in the interest of the soldiers. Many of these are now changing their minds and joining us, now that the lies that were used to get support for this invasion have been exposed, and it is quite clear that the US has been a complete failure in helping to re-stabilize Iraq and clean up the mess that the US made.
Next week, I will be traveling to Washington, DC to join other families to speak to members of Congress about the conditions in Iraq and to try to persuade them that this occupation should be ended immediately. This is the kind of thing we are doing.
I should add that many families believed, since Bush declared the war over some months ago, that the military force would leave Iraq. Many people don't know why they are still there, and many soldiers express the same confusion. They did not believe that they would become an occupying force, and do not believe this is an appropriate activity for the United States, since they have been brought up to believe that the United States represents democracy. So you can see how the rhetoric that these young people have been brought up with now clashes with the reality they are facing in Iraq. I can assure you that many of the soldiers believed that they would stay in Iraq to help the Iraqi people, and were concerned with conditions. They did not imagine they would be in this situation. It is quite clear to the soldiers that the Iraqi people do not want them there.
Name
Yusuf Saidu
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Profession
Question
1. Do you feel comfortable allowing your son to participate in killing innocent people including women and children?
2. Assuming it is another nation doing this to your people, how will you feel?
3. Don't you think that your ward was sent to kill Iraqis and distabilize the country under the pretext that Iraq habours weapons of mass destruction and terrorists?
Thank you
Answer
I understand the anger held against the US government; I feel the same anger myself, which is what I am trying to express. My son feels the same way, he has a non-combat position.
Name
A world citizen
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Profession
Question
To Sara (the wife): Do you agree that your sons join the army in the future ???
Answer
No, I dont agree that my sons join the army in the future; and as I dont want them to join now I wish my husband, who is in Iraq, never did either.
Name
Ali Mansour
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Profession
Question
Will u vote for Bush in the coming elections?
Answer
I never, never voted for George Bush and certainly would not even consider it.
Name
Jenny
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Profession
Question
I am an American and I am so proud to see many of my own people stand up for what is right. God bless you.
Answer
Just make sure that you are standing with us--we have been betrayed by our leaders and need to do all we can to stop this occupation.
Name
Anai Rhoads
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Profession
Question
Jeri,
Has your general level of patriotism changed according to status of your
son's deployment? And was it altered due to your son's direct
involvement militarily or the government's lack of evidence against the
country of Iraq?
Thank you,
Anai Rhoads
Veriana Media
http://www.veriana.org
Answer
I have to be frank and tell you that I do not believe in strong nationalism at this stage in the world's history. Most of the things that have been portrayed as patriotism since September 11, I believe, are quite shallow. I am much more concerned with being a citizen of the world; I think we are all in this together, and it is this kind of patriotism that allows for such terrible attacks on innocent people.
So I don't think I have changed, I found all of this alleged patriotism displayed after September 11 to be quite alarming. I don't believe in one country's people putting themselves before the rest of the people in the world, and I think that is why the United States has so many problems to begin with. I do not support terrorism against anyone in any form, but I also understand the amount of anger directed against the United States due to its foreign relations.
I think the true way to end terrorism, as many people in America have also said, is through true and honest international relations that consider the situation of all the world's people important. I do not believe that choosing various scapegoats to attack - Bush's alleged Axis of Evil - prevents further attacks on the United States. It just makes more people want to attack us.
Name
Dionysis
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Profession
Question
Dear Sara Comancho and L. Reed - My sincere sympathy to both of you. We all get lied and cheated and make mistakes sometimes but the most important thing is addmiting it, which frankly people like those in the American government don't even have a clue what it means. Cabal Bush and Rummy & Cheney CO should serve life for crimes against humanity.
My question is, do you feel that the American government is not telling the truth about the real casualities in Iraq, since their casuality reports are pretty much self-contradicting.
Second, what do you think of the pneumonia cases in Iraq? Is it some kind of cover-up by the American corporate gang government?
Thanx and Peace.
Answer
I do believe that they are reporting all deaths of soldiers, I just think they would not be able to get other soldiers including commanders to cooperate in concealing this. What they are not reporting well are all the injuries sustained by US soldiers. As far as I'm concerned, this is done because it downplays the number of attacks against soldiers. I know from my son and from communicating with other parents that these attacks are commonplace. We only hear about those in which soldiers were killed. The US media, backed by the government, attempts to make the public feel that the situation in Iraq is coming under control, that it is getting better - and I think the opposite is true.
As for the pneumonia cases, I believe that there is a possibility that these cases could be caused by all the vaccines given to soldiers before they went to Iraq, vaccines that were avoided beforehand by many including my son, who was unsure of their safety. I also think there is some possibility that depleted uranium could be a cause. These are long term investigations. In the short term, soldiers are in terrible living conditions, often without adequate food and water as has been well-publicized, and are under severe stress. They are falling prey to many conditions that you would find among malnourished people, including many respiratory ailments.
So again, people are quick to become afraid of the unknown, as if this pneumonia is a rare mystery caused by unseen forces. It is perfectly logical to me that the source is the terrible physical and mental conditions that many soldiers are in. It will take time to prove that the vaccines or DU could be the cause, and I hope investigations continue, but we have enough on our plate with the things we know now--not only has the US been unable to rebuild and stabilize Iraq, it has also been unable to provide care for its own soldiers.
Name
Ameera
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Profession
Question
Americans and Muslims,
I am an American Muslim and have love for both
Americans and Muslims, and hate to see many Muslims getting killed for the simple fact that they are Muslims. This war is unjustified. It should have never happened in the first place.
I admire your courage for speaking out and loud.
Answer
Yes, I think that Muslims in America understand better the situation over here, and know that there are many Americans who are sickened by the actions of the US government. Other people around the world only see media propaganda of everyone standing behind George Bush and supporting the terrible attacks on Afghanistan and Iraq. A large percentage of the US public did not support these actions, and one reason I wanted to participate in this discussion was to let people know that even families of the soldiers in Iraq have opposed this all the way.
Name
Mona
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Profession
Question
I will ask you a very difficult question:
If the US army were victorious and in peace in Iraq and none of the killing of US soldiers occured, would you still be on your mission in opposing the occupation and asking for your son to come back?? Suppose that the US army puts all the evil people in prison, takes their weapons and settles the US soldiers in airconditioned hotels in Iraq, and the oil starts to flow to the US, and economy starts to stand on its feet... will you still keep your position?
Answer
As I said to start, my main concern was that the US should not go into Iraq and harm the Iraqi people and destroy their homes and country. I was horrified that my son would be forced to participate in this, as was he, I might add. He joined the military for a job, choosing a non-combat position, and would not listen to me when I urged him not to join in the first place, that he could be forced to participate in action that he thought was very wrong.
Unfortunately my fears came true. Many parents recently have started to call for the return of US troops because they are most concerned with the safety of their sons and daughters, this is not my position, although, since I think this is such a serious situation, I welcome any opposition no matter how selfish the reasons might be.
You have to understand that we are poor people, we do not benefit from the oil. My son joined because there are a lack of jobs here in the United States, and according to even the military's statistics, this is why most young people join the Army.
There is no way that the US could have been victorious; this invasion and now the occupation were completely wrong and unprovoked--what would victory have been? I would feel the same way if no US soldiers were killed, or if they were living in air-conditioned hotels, which is not the case. I do not think that an American life is more valuable than an Iraqi life, and that no amount of "collateral damage", as the death of Iraqi children has sometimes been referred to, is acceptable. This was a completely unnecessary war, and now it is a big mess and both the Iraqi people and our US soldiers will continue to suffer because of the decisions of the US government.
Name
Human being
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Profession
Question
To Jeri & Sara: In your priorities, which comes first: the national duty or the human conscious?
If u both feel that what the American army is doing is wrong, do u agree that he has the right to escape from the army ?
Answer
I certainly believe that my son should have had the opportunity to just leave the Army. We looked for a way to do this; the government was not assisting in this process, and did not even follow its own procedures. I did not want Cody to join the Army in the first place, but the recruiters made it appear that they will receive a lot of money and never have to be in a war.
He joined before 2001, so this was the situation then. For years the Army has recruited young people by portraying it as a good job opportunity, and since there are few job opportunities here, this is why people join.
I believe that the human conscience has priority. You have to understand the powerlessness that many parents and soldiers felt in this situation, which is the reason for the formation of the organization that I belong to - Military Families Speak Out. We objected so strongly to our sons and daughters being forced into this situation, but found ourselves powerless to stop it. We tried very hard before this war started.
I think the real situation is that there is a crisis in democracy in this country, that George Bush is saying should be the model for the world. Our leadership was completely unresponsive to the wishes of the people, and the media has seemed only to reflect the ideas of the Bush Administration.
This is from Sara: To I got to say that right before we got married I knew already he would be sent over to Iraq. My first thought was what I could do to let him stay with me. We had a lot of discussions about that and, as you know, he left two weeks after we got married. I think for him there was no way to escape so it had to be this way. But my priority is the human conscious as for Cody.
Name
Ahmad
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Profession
Machinist
Question
We hear about many Israeli soldiers publicly opposed for being sent to West-Bank & Gaza strip & were prosecuted for that; why we never hear about such movement by US soldiers and not by their families?
Answer
In the Army, they were simply taking the soldiers by force to Iraq. There is one soldier now on trial for refusing to go, but as it turned out there was little way to oppose this. Most of these soldiers are quite young, and, unlike the Israelis, had little comprehension of what this war would be like. They simply did not believe that the US government would put them in this situation, and it would have taken more personal resolve than young soldiers who had no experience with war at the time.
I investigated this and the Army's procedure would be simply to return the soldier to their companies and punish them. Many who tried to object were sent to Iraq anyway, and you can imagine being in such a situation that you were completely under the control of the Army that there was not much they could do. Most just kept hoping that this war would not happen, but this was not the case.
Name
Omar
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Profession
Student
Question
You opposed this invasion of Iraq . Did you also speak out against the invasion of Afghanistan? Please could you give reasons for your answer , whether you supported or opposed the war.
Thank you.
Answer
I also opposed the attack on Afghanistan strongly. You have to understand that at that time, so soon after September 11, there was not a good organized opposition that could make its voice heard at the time of the bombing of Afghanistan. It is difficult to describe the situation in the US at that time, but there was great pressure against speaking out against anything the Bush administration did.
More people in the United States believed that there was a reason to attack Afghanistan, that in effect it was was going after those who attacked the World Trade Center. I did not believe this at all. One of the problems here has been a lack of leadership in opposition to George Bush; there just has not been an organized leadership that could direct people in their opposition due to a long-time political problem in this country. It is only now that we are becoming well-organized in an effective way, and oddly enough it is families of soldiers in Iraq and veterans of the military who are often leading the way.
Name
Leila
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Profession
Question
How do you feel about the US military using non-citizens in combat? If you're not aware, there's an article on Al Jazeera's new English website on how over 40,000 of the troops in Iraq right now are not even US citizens.
Answer
There has been much publicity about this and I would like to clear some of this up. I think that this has been portrayed in the non-US press as somehow the US is importing people into the Army from other countries. Non-citizen immigrants have served in the US Army at least since WWI. By doing so they receive special treatment in receiving citizenship. This is not new; it is a normal practice.
Most of these young people are from various parts of Latin America and have lived in the United States for many years, perhaps, but do not have citizenship papers.
I find the whole military recruitment process here terrible, waving citizenship papers in front of young people to get them to join, but think that the issue is being understood otherwise as I have read it in the Muslim press. The US military has allowed non-citizens to join for a long time. This is not some special practice just happening now. And many of them may have been in the Army long before the war.
Name
Bassem
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Profession
Question
Would you say your sons still think the same way about Moslems or Islam in general when they were in the states, than now?
Is it true that 60% of the troops that are in Iraq are not US citizen, and does this make you feel worse?
Answer
I am afraid that my son will feel great guilt toward Muslim people when he returns. He did not want to participate. He certainly grew up and went to school with many young Muslim people, but I really don't know how he will feel now. I don't sense that he has a new-found hatred towards Iraqi people or Muslims in general at all. But I am afraid that this will cause continued emotional problems for him as he returns.
He has generally expressed concern for the poor conditions that he saw people living in mostly in the southern countryside. And many of the soldiers continue to deal with Iraqis daily. I think many may return with a hatred for Muslims, but many will not. They are not merely puppets of the US military, and have found it to their advantage to get to know people in Iraq in their daily lives.
This is how he grew up anyway, in Chicago, where people from all over the world come to terms with eachother. But I am afraid that this experience will haunt him, because he knows it is so wrong.
Name
A media watcher
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Profession
Question
Have you suffered from talking against the war in the american media?
Answer
No, there is not much they could do to me. I have been called names by other military families, and we have all been portrayed as traitors to our own children by many, especially those who felt they were supporting their soldiers by going along with George Bush.
I have never understood this thinking, but it is pushed by the military, that the best thing you can do for your children who are soldiers is to tell them you believe in what they are doing, to lend them moral support. Of course, Cody would have thought I had gone out of my mind if I did this any way, but I do not think it was the right thing to do. How can a parent support their children doing something that is morally wrong? I would not be doing my job as a parent, which, even though he is an adult, continues.
Name
Alladin
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Profession
Oil/Gas engineer
Question
I'd like to present my sincere sympathy to both of you guys, Jeri L. Reed and Sara Camacho.
Knowing that the American people are drametrically opposed to the "business-hijacker" who have taken over the white house, what would be your advice to the youth who are willing to enrol into the army because they are submitted to financial dilema(carrier, college...)?
Thanks
Answer
What can I say? It is a big mess here, and the economy has grown even worse due to the actions of George Bush and the high cost of his military adventures. Some people have started counter-recruiting, attempts to inform young people about the truth about joining the Army.
I argued with Cody for a long time; unfortunately, at that age they do not like to listen to their mothers and think that the government must be telling the truth. The recruiters prey on young people who do not have advantages and opportunities in life, and this continues.
I urge all young people to think twice, I know very few people who gained much from belonging to the military.
