Artemis

A letter worth reading,

• NOVEMBER 16, 2014
Article Abstract:
Submitted by Mike Krieger via Liberty Blitzkrieg blog,
Last March, I came across a letter written to George W. Bush and Dick Cheney from a paralyzed and dying Iraq war vet named Tomas Young. It touched me to such an extent, that I highlighted it on Liberty Blitzkrieg at the time. He died on Monday, the day before Veterans Day. If you really want to honor our nation’s soldiers, you should read the following and share it.
RIP Tomas Young.


Full letter below, from Counterpunch.
My Last Words to George W. Bush and Dick Cheney
by TOMAS YOUNG

I write this letter on the 10th anniversary of the Iraq War on behalf of my fellow Iraq War veterans. I write this letter on behalf of the 4,488 soldiers and Marines who died in Iraq. I write this letter on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of veterans who have been wounded and on behalf of those whose wounds, physical and psychological, have destroyed their lives. I am one of those gravely wounded. I was paralyzed in an insurgent ambush in 2004 in Sadr City. My life is coming to an end. I am living under hospice care.

I write this letter on behalf of husbands and wives who have lost spouses, on behalf of children who have lost a parent, on behalf of the fathers and mothers who have lost sons and daughters and on behalf of those who care for the many thousands of my fellow veterans who have brain injuries. I write this letter on behalf of those veterans whose trauma and self-revulsion for what they have witnessed, endured and done in Iraq have led to suicide and on behalf of the active-duty soldiers and Marines who commit, on average, a suicide a day. I write this letter on behalf of the some 1 million Iraqi dead and on behalf of the countless Iraqi wounded. I write this letter on behalf of us all—the human detritus your war has left behind, those who will spend their lives in unending pain and grief.

I write this letter, my last letter, to you, Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney. I write not because I think you grasp the terrible human and moral consequences of your lies, manipulation and thirst for wealth and power. I write this letter because, before my own death, I want to make it clear that I, and hundreds of thousands of my fellow veterans, along with millions of my fellow citizens, along with hundreds of millions more in Iraq and the Middle East, know fully who you are and what you have done. You may evade justice but in our eyes you are each guilty of egregious war crimes, of plunder and, finally, of murder, including the murder of thousands of young Americans—my fellow veterans—whose future you stole.

Your positions of authority, your millions of dollars of personal wealth, your public relations consultants, your privilege and your power cannot mask the hollowness of your character. You sent us to fight and die in Iraq after you, Mr. Cheney, dodged the draft in Vietnam, and you, Mr. Bush, went AWOL from your National Guard unit. Your cowardice and selfishness were established decades ago. You were not willing to risk yourselves for our nation but you sent hundreds of thousands of young men and women to be sacrificed in a senseless war with no more thought than it takes to put out the garbage.

I joined the Army two days after the 9/11 attacks. I joined the Army because our country had been attacked. I wanted to strike back at those who had k**led some 3,000 of my fellow citizens. I did not join the Army to go to Iraq, a country that had no part in the September 2001 attacks and did not pose a threat to its neighbors, much less to the United States. I did not join the Army to “liberate” Iraqis or to shut down mythical weapons-of-mass-destruction facilities or to implant what you cynically called “democracy” in Baghdad and the Middle East. I did not join the Army to rebuild Iraq, which at the time you told us could be paid for by Iraq’s oil revenues. Instead, this war has cost the United States over $3 trillion. I especially did not join the Army to carry out pre-emptive war. Pre-emptive war is illegal under international law. And as a soldier in Iraq I was, I now know, abetting your idiocy and your crimes. The Iraq War is the largest strategic blunder in U.S. history. It obliterated the balance of power in the Middle East. It installed a corrupt and brutal pro-Iranian government in Baghdad, one cemented in power through the use of torture, death squads and terror. And it has left Iran as the dominant force in the region. On every level—moral, strategic, military and economic—Iraq was a failure. And it was you, Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney, who started this war. It is you who should pay the consequences.

I would not be writing this letter if I had been wounded fighting in Afghanistan against those forces that carried out the attacks of 9/11. Had I been wounded there I would still be miserable because of my physical deterioration and imminent death, but I would at least have the comfort of knowing that my injuries were a consequence of my own decision to defend the country I love. I would not have to lie in my bed, my body filled with paink**lers, my life ebbing away, and deal with the fact that hundreds of thousands of human beings, including children, including myself, were sacrificed by you for little more than the greed of oil companies, for your alliance with the oil sheiks in Saudi Arabia, and your insane visions of empire.

I have, like many other disabled veterans, suffered from the inadequate and often inept care provided by the Veterans Administration. I have, like many other disabled veterans, come to realize that our mental and physical wounds are of no interest to you, perhaps of no interest to any politician. We were used. We were betrayed. And we have been abandoned. You, Mr. Bush, make much pretense of being a Christian. But isn’t lying a sin? Isn’t murder a sin? Aren’t theft and selfish ambition sins? I am not a Christian. But I believe in the Christian ideal. I believe that what you do to the least of your brothers you finally do to yourself, to your own soul.

My day of reckoning is upon me. Yours will come. I hope you will be put on trial. But mostly I hope, for your sakes, that you find the moral courage to face what you have done to me and to many, many others who deserved to live. I hope that before your time on earth ends, as mine is now ending, you will find the strength of character to stand before the American public and the world, and in particular the Iraqi people, and beg for forgiveness.

-Tomas Young
What’s so impressive about this letter, beyond the incredible emotion and pain behind it, is the fact that Mr. Young was so prescient about so many issues. He highlighted the debacle that became the Veterans Administration scandal before it broke, and he also pointed to the dangerous power vacuum created in Baghdad before the emergence of ISIS. We lost a special soul on Monday.

Thomas Young

MiamiPhil77

I honor you sir. You joined up after 9/11 because your patriotism spoke to you in a most personal way. I heard this voice during Viet Nam. I had numerous options to avoid the draft. There comes a time for some of us ( you and I) when we must come to terms with our love of Country. It is a very very high calling. Many have no concept of this. I will pray for you today, that God would release you from your pain. Thank you for your service my Brother.

Hemiman Loc: Communist California

I hope he sent the same letter to Obama.

Artemis

Maybe this is why he feels "no boots on the ground" and yes I hope they send him a copy too.

weneedrubio

Highlighting this is typical of why lib/Dems should not govern us or anyone else. This is emotional blackmail and despicable of you to use against people who are trying to protect us. I certainly feel for the author of this letter but it does not mean that he is correct. The entire world, even those who disagreed with the war, believed Saddam Hussein should be removed and nothing has been found to dispute this. Your belief that Bush lied is just not true and all of the lies the media told about him do not change this. You and your ilk elected, twice, the most dishonest coward to ever hold the presidency and the evidence is everywhere. STFU!

Dave Loc: Upstate New York

The veteran was the victim of Islamic f*****ts - and his victimization was made even more painful by the liberals who filled his head with all sorts of false information - not the least of which is the Bush lied meme. These folks, these elite liberals, who use the suffering of people and often even make it worse, in order to gain or sustain political power make me sick. In their ego inflated minds they must manipulate folks in order to make the decisions that they aren't capable of making for themselves - and this is exactly the genesis of people savers like Hitler, Mussolini, Mao Tse Tung, Joseph Stalin, Fidel Caster, and yes - even the people loving Kims of North Korea.

Radiance3

================================
Since history begun, wars had been turbulent witnesses of their survival. The Civil Wars, the WW1, and WW2, Vietnam, Korean war, and now the Islam war. Without fighting these wars, we human being won't be able to continue our human existence under they tyrannies of these evil people. The most important reasons for fighting is defending our freedom, and liberty, without it is just sub-human existence to the point of no return.

Those who volunteered defending our country are heroes. Our Constitution requires us leaders to exercise their most prudent judgment in order to protect us.

War in Iraq likewise was approved by Congress, a policy that is embedded in our constitution. My husband died as a result of illness he got from the Vietnam war. But he did not recent his service. he was proud to be an American, and did not blame the presidents and military leaders who also offered their lives for similar reasons.

Millions upon millions of service men and women died for our freedom. This is the first time I heard this regrets and disdain for serving the war.
I suggest that if you don't like to preserve our freedom, please don't join the war. For one in a million, 2% of those who served complained. I would support the 98%.
I thanked them for their service. If I give up my life for my country, I give it up with sincerity in my heart.
The most dreadful thing however was the veterans were denied of medical care by the VA hospitals, while those officials and employees had been raking millions of dollars for bonuses, and annual salary increases while the veterans died waiting for medical care.
Of course liberals and democrats' brain are so different. They'd rather embrace ISIS, now they are here in our country, beheading our fellow Americans, let them takeover our land, and follow them. Birds of the same feather flock together.
I honor all those who served. From George Washington down to the presidency of George W. Bush. Defend our freedom, and let freedom ring! May God bless America and all those who served and their families. Thank you!

Dave Loc: Upstate New York

Thank you very much for that - and while I grieve of your lose I hope you can take solace in knowing that he never took on the bitterness that many would use for political purposes - is there a more grievous act than telling a seriously injured vet that he was fighting based on a lie - even if that was true - I find these liberals with the Bush lied meme d********g - using the blood of our heroes in order to vilify a political opponent stoops as low as it gets in politics

Radiance3

===============
Remember John Kerry during his p**********l campaign, when he claimed he earned medals fighting in Vietnam. But all his comrades testified, the did not earn that.
Liberalism is a mental disorder!

Bruce

As I read Thomas Young's last letter it was obvious that it was a reasoned, heartfelt presentation and one has to recognize the depth of his frustrations. We should recognize also that this is his personal opinion based on his personal experiences. He willingly fought for, suffered, and ultimately died for his country. He has my profound respect, and we owe him a debt of gratitude. If we happen to have countering opinions, fine, but it does not give us the right to vilify those who do not think the way we do.

Radiance3

====================
I reserved the rights of his opinion and judgment, and I thank him for his service.

Dave Loc: Upstate New York

Didn't notice anyone vilifying him - what did I miss?

KHH1

**PEOPLE HAVE EVOLVED...THEY KNOW HOW TO BE AGAINST A WAR BUT NOT AGAINST THE TROOPS**

WHEN i WENT HOME TO HOUSTON (ONE OF THE FEW TIMES I FLEW INTO INTERCONTINENTAL-NOW CALLED BUSH), I SAW A BUNCH OF YOUNG VETERANS, WHITE KIDS WITH LIMBS MISSING...I WAS SADDENDED AND INFURIATED AT THE SAME TIME...TAKING ADVANTAGE OF PATRIOTISM....AND "W" KNEW AFTER 9-11, THAT NO ONE WOULD GO AGAINST THIS COUNTRY, REGARDLESS OF PARTY AFFILIATION DUE TO PAIN AND GRIEF...AND THE CONSERVS TURN AROUND AND THROW THAT IN THE FACE OF LIBERALS AFTER WE WERE LIED TO...MY HEART GOES OUT TO THE FAMILY OF THIS BRAVE SOLDIER

Dave Loc: Upstate New York

The use of capital letters does not change the fact that if there were lies told regarding Iraq, liberal Democrats were as guilty as conservative Republicans - and telling veterans they fought for a lie is wrong on every imaginable level -

KHH1

**Factcheck time**

No WMDs in Iraq


Q: Were there really weapons of mass destruction in Iraq when the U.S. invaded in 2003?

A: No. The Iraq Survey Group determined that Iraq had abandoned its quest to develop chemical, biological and nuclear weapons and that it had already destroyed all of its existing stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons.


FULL QUESTION

I have friends in Texas, Seattle and Tennessee who say President Bush was right that there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. They claim that the weapons were hidden in caves in the mountains, and are still hidden there, but we have not found them yet. Where did they get such ideas, and is there even the slightest chance they are right, and if so why wouldn’t Bush have said this? How did such a belief get started, and is there a way I can dispel them of the idea?

FULL ANSWER


As for how you dispel your friends’ notions that Iraq really did have stockpiles of chemical or biological weapons when President Bush no longer makes such claims himself, we suggest ridicule. If that doesn’t work, you may be out of luck.

After the invasion of Iraq in 2003, the Bush administration formed the Iraq Survey Group and tasked it with the job of locating WMD stockpiles in Iraq. The ISG was staffed with hundreds of intelligence analysts and military personnel from the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. The group scoured Iraq, searching for deposits of weapons. But that was actually only part of the ISG’s focus.

According to the ISG final report, the search for WMDs actually began during the invasion phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom. A military task force was deployed to investigate suspected WMD sites on the theory that the Iraqi military might otherwise employ those weapons against coalition troops. After the invasion, the ISG was established to conduct "a more systematic collection of evidence to build an understanding of Iraqi WMD programs." In other words, the ISG did not simply look for WMDs. The group also looked at Iraq’s WMD capabilities and examined evidence relating to past WMD stockpiles.

During its investigation, the ISG reported that "[a] total of 53 munitions have been recovered, all of which appear to have been part of pre-1991 Gulf war stocks based on their physical condition and residual components." These isolated discoveries received significant media attention, and it’s likely that these overhyped reports contributed to your friends’ beliefs that Iraq really did possess WMDs. But the finds were rare, and the ISG concluded that they were not part of a significant stockpile of weapons. Indeed, after nearly two years of investigation, the ISG concluded that:
■"Saddam Husayn ended the nuclear program in 1991 following the Gulf war. ISG found no evidence to suggest concerted efforts to restart the program."
■"While a small number of old, abandoned chemical munitions have been discovered, ISG judges that Iraq unilaterally destroyed its undeclared chemical weapons stockpile in 1991. There are no credible indications that Baghdad resumed production of chemical munitions thereafter."
■"In practical terms, with the destruction of the Al Hakam facility, Iraq abandoned its ambition to obtain advanced BW [biological warfare] weapons quickly. ISG found no direct evidence that Iraq, after 1996, had plans for a new BW program or was conducting BW-specific work for military purposes."

Experts from the three nations failed to document any existent biological or nuclear weapons and discovered only a few random chemical weapons. The ISG concluded that contrary to what most of the world had believed, Iraq had abandoned attempts to produce WMDs. In his congressional testimony, the head of the ISG, Charles Duelfer, admitted, "We were almost all wrong" on Iraq.

The ISG report was sufficient to convince the Bush administration that there were no WMDs to be found; they called off the search in 2005. If that doesn’t convince your friends, we’re not sure what else might do the trick. Anyone who believes something without any positive evidence and in the face of evidence to the contrary is no longer acting on the basis of reason.

-Joe Miller

Sources

CNN. "Official: U.S. Calls off Search for Iraqi WMDs." CNN.com, 12 Jan. 2005.

Iraq Survey Group. "Iraq Survey Group Final Report." 30 Sept. 2004. GlobalSecurity.org, 14 Feb. 2008.

Priest, Dana and Walter Pincus. "U.S. ‘Almost All Wrong’ on Weapons." The Washington Post, 7 Oct. 2004.