I want to start by saying i love my Country, it is the greatest Country on earth at this time, when you take into consideration all factors. But we do have our problems. I touched on one of them in the article about the Government trying to spy on us and use companies to spy on us.

Here is a series of articles that really made me sad when i contemplated them. It deals with the military. I did not serve, but i have family that did and do. You can't fix a problem unless you know what it is. The more i thought about how they are treating the service men and on the waste money on themselves it makes me sick. Anyway here they are, some are just links, because i did not want to waste more space.

What i would like to say about the first one is, if we are going to war, then let us win, let them do what they do best, what they were trained for. We could cut this number in half if we did not not have all the PC and junk going on there. If we are going to put the soldiers into harms way, let them win, let them destroy the enemy.

US military deaths in Iraq war at 4,124
July 20, 2008 - 7:16pm
By The Associated Press
(AP) - As of Sunday, July 20, 2008, at least 4,124 members of the U.S. military have died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.
The figure includes eight military civilians killed in action. At least 3,360 died as a result of hostile action, according to the military's numbers.
The AP count is the same as the Defense Department's tally, last updated Friday at 10 a.m. EDT.
The British military has reported 176 deaths; Italy, 33; Ukraine, 18; Poland, 21; Bulgaria, 13; Spain, 11; Denmark, seven; El Salvador, five; Slovakia, four; Latvia and Georgia, three each; Estonia, Netherlands, Thailand, Romania, two each; and Australia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, South Korea, one death each.
___
The latest deaths reported by the military:
_ No deaths reported.
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The latest identifications reported by the military:
_ No identifications reported.
___
On the Net:
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/

http://www.wtopnews.com/?nid=105&sid=578357



The next one is about the stupid short sited oversight we have there and back here. What is going on with these stupid people we have running the war? They think of their own personal comfort above the lives of the service men there.

Terrorism Funds May Let Brass Fly in Style
Luxury Pods for Air Force Debated


Friday, July 18, 2008; Page A01
The Air Force's top leadership sought for three years to spend counterterrorism funds on "comfort capsules" to be installed on military planes that ferry senior officers and civilian leaders around the world, with at least four top generals involved in design details such as the color of the capsules' carpet and leather chairs, according to internal e-mails and budget documents.
Production of the first capsule -- consisting of two sealed rooms that can fit into the fuselage of a large military aircraft -- has already begun.
Air Force officials say the government needs the new capsules to ensure that leaders can talk, work and rest comfortably in the air. But the top brass's preoccupation with creating new luxury in wartime has alienated lower-ranking Air Force officers familiar with the effort, as well as congressional staff members and a nonprofit group that calls the program a waste of money.
Air Force documents spell out how each of the capsules is to be "aesthetically pleasing and furnished to reflect the rank of the senior leaders using the capsule," with beds, a couch, a table, a 37-inch flat-screen monitor with stereo speakers, and a full-length mirror.
The effort has been slowed, however, by congressional resistance to using counterterrorism funds for the project and by lengthy internal deliberations about a series of demands for modifications by Air Force generals. One request was that the color of the leather for the seats and seat belts in the mobile pallets be changed from brown to Air Force blue and that seat pockets be added; another was that the color of the table's wood be darkened.
Changing the seat color and pockets alone was estimated in a March 12 internal document to cost at least $68,240.
In all, for the past three years the service has asked to divert $16.2 million to the effort from what the military calls the GWOT, or global war on terrorism. Congress has twice told the service that it cannot, including an August 2007 letter from Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.) to the Pentagon ordering that the money be spent on a "higher priority" need.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/17/AR2008071703161.html?hpid=topnews

Then we have 4 articles picked at random but with a message about the waste. I understand we have waste, i expect some. But it is a problem that needs to be addressed. We need to face and fix it.

U.S. Pays Millions In Cost Overruns For Security in Iraq ...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/11/AR2007081101378.html

U.S. ousts Iraq hospital contractor Cost overruns and delays
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-126853232.html

CorpWatch : IRAQ: U.S. Pays Millions In Cost Overruns For Security ...
http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=14625

Audit Finds U.S. Hid Actual Cost of Iraq Projects - New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/30/world/middleeast/30reconstruct.html?_r=1&oref=slogin



Last article is why i'm really ticked. We spend and waste so much money but won't go to the extra mile to make them safer in their own barracks. We will not let them use the body armour they want, we force them to use body armour that is to hot and restricts their movement. We won't up armour the humvee until the press makes them. But we can spend billions on comfort capsules for the generals.



House wants details on electrocutions in Iraq

By Rick Maze - Staff writerPosted : Wednesday Mar 19, 2008 12:56:09 EDT
A House committee is investigating accidental electrocutions of U.S. troops in Iraq to determine if inadequate oversight of government contracts played a role in the deaths.
Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, asked the Pentagon on Wednesday to provide details on 12 deaths in Iraq since 2003 that are believed to have been caused by electrocution.
In particular, the committee is interested in maintenance contracts for troops’ living areas to see if contractors have been slow to make repairs when electrical problems have been reported.
Once the information is in hand, the committee will decide how to proceed, aides said. Waxman’s committee does not have direct oversight of the military, but it does have power over federal contracting, and is considering revising some rules after finding a variety of problems with other Iraq-related contracts.
The committee investigation was prompted by the Jan. 2 accidental death of 24-year-old Army Staff Sgt. Ryan Maseth, who suffered cardiac arrest after being electrocuted while taking a shower in Iraq.
Army investigators found that Maseth’s death was the result of improper grounding of electrical wiring to the pump supplying water for living quarters at the Radwaniyah Palace Complex in Baghdad, Waxman said.
“When Staff Sergeant Maseth stepped into the shower and turned on the water, an electrical short in the pump sent an electrical current through the water pipes to the metal shower hose, and then through Staff Sergeant Maseth’s arm to his heart,” Waxman said.
Maseth’s death was not an isolated incident, Waxman said.
“According to the Army and Marine Corps, at least 12 service members have died in Iraq as a result of electrocution since 2003,” he said in a letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates asking for information on contracts.
In October 2004, the Army issued a safety publication noting that five soldiers died from electrocution in 2004. The service warned that improper grounding of electrical wires is “a factor in nearly every electrocution” and “a serious threat” to soldiers in Iraq.
Waxman is seeking uncensored documents about the Maseth death, including investigative and medical reports. The committee also wants copies of any communications between the military and contractors in Iraq involving improper electrical wiring or the need to repair electrical systems at Camp Slayer or Camp Victory.
The committee also seeks the name, rank and last known address for all U.S. military or contractor personnel who have been injured or killed as a result of electrocution in Iraq at facilities maintained under contract to the U.S. government.

http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/03/military_iraq_electrocutions_031908w/

It just stinks we get them to go, them they die from slipshod work. My nephew has re upped to go back. Just let them go in and win, leave the cameras at home. I guess what is bothering me also is i saw the movie the Valley of Elem. A sad story, but more sadly it might have some truth in it. We ask them to go in our stead, the least we can do is to keep them as safe as we can. One last burr in my saddle is that it took the media (give even the devil credit when it is due) to get the death benifit raised to a reasonable level. You can not put a price on human life, but at least it is enough for the family to start over now.

http://dying.lovetoknow.com/Veterans_Death_Benefits