by James Glaser
June 29, 2004

Except for the Iraqis we have bought, the images of the prisoners we tortured are what every Iraqi citizen thinks of when they think of our occupation.

With over 138,000 of our troops and maybe 15,000 hired mercenaries and now the addition of over 1,000 new people in our embassy, the United States has more people in Iraq than before we handed over sovereignty.

Tell me now, isn't that a joke? With over 150,000 armed-to-the-teeth Americans all over their country, we are telling the Iraqi people and the world that Iraq is free and we have ended our occupation. We can say that, because the puppets we put in charge have asked our troops to stay. Imagine That.

Does anyone else think that this whole hand-over is an election-year ploy? I should hope so. Who really can believe that the Nation of Iraq is ready to take charge of their own destiny? The only thing we have handed over to the Iraqi people is a State of Chaos.

An American Mother, Who Honors Her Son

In Sacramento California, Nadia McCaffrey, whose son was killed last week in Iraq said, "I don't care what [President Bush] wants." McCaffrey doesn't care about the Bush administration's policy that bans photographing coffins returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

According to the Los Angeles Times, she planned to hold a short ceremony in front of reporters and photographers inside a Delta Airlines cargo terminal at the airport shortly before flight 1583 was scheduled to arrive from Atlanta at midnight with the body of her son, National Guard Spec. Patrick McCaffrey, 34.

Patrick McCaffrey and Lt. Andre Tyson, were both members of the Santa Rosa-based 579th Engineer Battalion, when the two were ambushed by insurgents near Balad, Iraq.

Patrick's mother invited the media to photograph the casket of her only son. Patrick was married, had two children, and enlisted right after the 9/11 attack on this country. His mother said, "He said we had no business in Iraq and should not be there." She also said, "Even so, he wanted to be a good soldier."

On the eve of the war the Pentagon banned the photographing of the caskets of soldiers killed overseas. Sacramento Airport is not a military installation and so it in under no obligation to keep the media away.

Many critics have accused the Bush administration of banning the photographs in an attempt to limit opposition to the war. Many of us that are against the war questioned how the Pentagon could publish pictures of Pat Tillman, the NFL player who was killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan, but would allow no other pictures of dead vets to be shown.

Ms. McCaffrey, has given a real tribute to her son and all American's suffer her loss. America should at the very least acknowledge the sacrifice that over 950 Americans have made in this War on Terrorism and to have George Bush keep these men and women, who have given their all, anonymous, is a real slap in the face to their service.

I Want to Thank Our Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has told the Bush Administration that even they have to adhere to our Constitution. Steven Shapiro of the American Civil Liberties Union said, "Today's historic rulings are a strong repudiation of the administration's argument that its actions in the war on terrorism are beyond the rule of law and unreviewable by American courts."

In one ruling the court said the hundreds of foreign terror suspects at the US military base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba could turn to American courts to challenge their confinement. The Bush administration believed that they could keep these men forever if they wanted to and the Supreme Court could say nothing. It has been reported that some of these men are actually young children and infirmed old men. No matter what, Bush and his people believed that they could do what ever they wanted with these people, innocent or not. They even told those prisoners, if they were found innocent by a military tribunal, Bush would keep them anyway.

You know, it is sad when your President scares you and makes you feel like he doesn't understand what it is to be an American, and that would be George Bush. Now, when ever I listen to the man, I get embarrassed that he our President. There is little doubt why our close allies no longer are willing to help us. Our President scares them too.