by James Glaser
July 17, 2003

More and more I hear that from people talking about our government. It doesn't matter if it is a Senator, Congressman, or our President, Americans are learning that those in Washington have little regard for what is the truth. "Tell them what ever you need to" or "promise them anything," are now the mottos of elected officials in Washington.

Social Security reform, Prescription Drug Coverage, and the fixing of Medicaid have been a promise by elected officials for well over a decade, but nothing happens. Do you remember that Lock Box? This President found the key and Congress watched him open it.

Iraq and all the propaganda thrown at the American people was just to get us into another war and all of that was before we were finished with Afghanistan. We are still pumping billions into that country and we never did get Osama bin Laden nor Mulla Omar. The government we set up there is a joke, with 90% of the country ruled by ruthless War Lords that now control the 5-6 billion dollar a year opium trade. The same Opium that is made into heroin and sold in every city in the United States.

Who do you think is making money over here on that? We have been having a phony War on Drugs for over twenty years, we have spent billions of tax dollars on it, and now we pay the very people in Afghanistan that control the supply, to be our friends. Who is doing that? The Senate, The House, and our President. They will all call, "Foul" and tell you all the good they are doing trying to stop the drug flow into America, but they are lying. I don't believe them and if you do, you are a patsy.

Now there is a new complaint in what Washington is telling us. First Sergeant Christopher Coffin, 51 was reported killed in Iraq after his vehicle ran into a ditch on July 1. First it was reported that his vehicle swerved to avoid a civilian vehicle. Soon his family learned that his convoy was hit by "an improvised explosive device. Time Magazine has a article this week about this very subject. "The case raises a very troubling question, which is, are combat deaths being disguised as accidents...so it would appear less harm is being caused by the Iraqi resistance than is the case?" This was asked by Representative Tom Allen of Maine.

Since May 1st, when President Bush said major combat was over and we had accomplished our mission, many more Soldiers and Marines are getting killed in accidents than from the enemy. Bush and the Pentagon will do anything to stop the American people from thinking we have an organized guerilla war on our hands and it would not surprise me at all if they would play with the numbers to suit their goal.

Tom Allen went on to say, "I believe we don't want to go through what we went through in Vietnam, where the reports of causalities could not be relied on, I think there should be an investigation not just of this one accident, but the remaining deaths, so the American people know the whole story.

Today it was reported in the New York Times, that 300 American soldiers had been wounded in Combat and 315 in non-hostile incidents since May 1st. With those seventy five killed since "mission accomplished," we have been losing about nine Soldiers each day to hostile fire and accidents

You can believe what ever you want when it comes to what the President and the Pentagon say about what is happening to our troops in Iraq, but if you buy their story of that many getting killed and wounded in accidents, then you would have to believe that our military has become something like that old TV show, "F-Troop." Our guys would have to be the clumsiest army the world has ever seen.

I prefer to believe that we have highly trained men and women over there risking their lives for some vision that George Bush has and that is a shame. It would not surprise me if we find out that we are getting told a story about what is happening over there.

It is the truth that we still have no Exit Plan to get the troops home. It is the truth, that we had no workable plan, for after the combat ended in Iraq. It is the truth that we have no plan to rotate troops home and replace them with other units. It is the truth that we are still printing money for the Iraqi people to use, with Saddam Hussein's picture on it. It is the truth, that that on average, we have nine soldiers each day either killed or taken out of service from injuries.

What we don't know is how our men and women are getting killed and hurt. When members of Congress doubt what is being told to us, it is time to start worrying. I was in a war for our country and know that the higher the rank, the more likely they are to lie and our President has the highest rank of all.

POST SCRIPT: Another American was killed in combat in Iraq today and as the report stated, "New Attacks Kill One and Wound Several Others in Iraq." Several is, "more than two, but not very many," according to Webster's Dictionary. If you read the story, one soldier was killed and three were wounded in one attack with rocket propelled grenades. In another attack two were wounded from an explosion-- suspected to be a landmine. In a third attack at a bank another soldier was wounded from an explosion. So in this report, several, means six wounded Americans.