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About The Program 60 Minutes: War Profiteering and Wounded Soldiers
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(source: quotes and specifics in this article: cbsnews.com and link 60 minutes)
WAR PROFITEERS
(AFP/File/Mauricio Lima)
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Someone once said to me, "If someone is looking for something to zap you about, you always give them plenty of fuel," which is very true. I often feel the same way about our mismanagement in Iraq.
On Sixty Minutes the other night, there was this unbelievable story of things happening with contractors in Iraq; it was almost laughable. One contractor, Custer Battles, was paid millions of dollars to secure Baghdad airport.
The company was supposed to provide bomb sniffing dogs. Col. Richard Ballard, the top inspector general for the Army in Iraq, said he saw one dog who could not be forced to sniff; when taken to checkpoints, the dog would just lie down. The colonel laughingly concluded the dog must have been a pet, not a trained and certified animal liked he should have been.
In a memo written by the airport security director to the Coalition Authority it was determined: "Custer Battles has shown themselves to be unresponsive, uncooperative, incompetent, deceitful, manipulative and war profiteers. Other than that they are swell fellows."
A GOOD AND SAD STORY
REUTERS/Ceerwan Aziz
| Another story showed wounded young American soldiers who were courageous beyond all belief. One, was Jessica Clements (what ever happened to the idea of no women in combat? That's been out the door for a long time in reality.)
Jessica is an amazing kid who came back from a brain injury with the help of good doctors. When a bomb exploded under her truck, shards of shrapnel shoot into her brain. She had the right portion of her skull taken off for four months spending most of that time in a coma. She was given a two percent chance of coming out of the coma and surviving; and, as she said "someone had to be that two percent." She had to learn to walk and talk again.
Even crusty, hired gun, Mike Wallace, never known for his compassion, was visibly moved as he talked to this brave soldier. One exchange was priceless and we old soldiers can definitely identify. He said something like, "How do you feel about it all now?" She hesitated and then said, "I think we're doing the right thing and that we should finish the job. I'm still a soldier." He looked at her and said,
A soldier?" Yes, at heart, I'll always be a soldier." She also said "I’m still a soldier. Even though I’m discharged from the Army—medically discharged, I’m always gonna be a soldier, And I’m always gonna have that mentality. So if I can continue to help other soldiers, other veterans, that’s what I really want to do."
Other veterans like Brian Neuman and Edward Wade lost an arm and Tomas Young was paralyzed from the nipple down. The plight of these young men and women brought tears to my eyes and I was proud of how "stand up" they and their spouses were. The thought hit me which I often have and have said: I am not sure if the country is worthy of these young soldiers' sacrifices.
I also thought again, here is the legacy of the Vietnam veteran. Had not it been for the shabby treatment received by the Vietnam veteran, these kids would not be hailed today as the brave individuals they are. Nobody blames them for Iraq, regardless of where they stand unlike what happened during the Vietnam War.
During Vietnam, programs like this one on Sixty minutes about the American soldier would not air, unless it were shown in a "negative light." No one would think of doing a personal story on the plight of Vietnam veterans during the Vietnam war. My belief is that when Vietnam veterans see stories like this, we ought to pat ourselves on the back and say "Well done Vietnam vet, you've paved the way. KT
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 My Grandma Has a Blackberry book signing for women with breast cancer .
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 Now Available: Newly revised paperback General Lee:Father of the Airborne. Order from Amazon.
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