Iraqi Veterans Speak Out!
June 20, 2006
(Archive
) (Download Time = 3-10 minutes.)
Guests from the Iraqi and Afghanistan Veterans of America:
Medic Patrick Campbell
Military Police Officer Richard Murphy (who served in Abu Gharib), and
Pilot and Embedded Journalist Cholene Espinoza
All three of them volunteered for service in Iraq.
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
G. I. Bill June 21, 2006 1:59 pm
Saw “The Dark Side” a PBS documentary about the administration’s selling of the War in Iraq–it left me with a real bad taste and a feeling for the diabolical criminality of Dick Cheney
Mark Levine June 21, 2006 1:12 pm
It largely reaffirmed my beliefs. I think my comments after each interview are self-explanatory. I don’t support a draft but recognize that we do not have enough volunteers to succeed. And that’s perhaps as it should be: if there is a real threat to America, I’m confident we will have enough volunteers. What pains me most — and we didn’t discuss — is the folks I know that volunteered for service after 9/11 and were sent not to Afghanistan (where they wanted to go) but to Iraq (where they didn’t believe we needed to be).
Vicky June 20, 2006 11:33 pm
I couldn’t listen live this afternoon Mark, but just finished listening to this and so appreciated the opportunity to hear what these vets had to share with us.
Did you come away from these interviews with a different mindset or did it reaffirm what you had previously believed about this war?
You mentioned “maybe a draft” – I oppose that but am not happy with these people being sent on 3rd tours either!
Thanks to Patrick Campbell, Richard Murphy and Cholene Espinoza for their willingness to share their experiences and thoughts and thanks to you as well for giving them the opportunity.
Appreciated your call and thoughts at the end of the show,as well Gordon.
G. I. Joe June 20, 2006 1:55 pm
How do the Iraqi vets react to the news of the torture-deaths of the two captured GIs?
As a viet vet accustomed to such atrocities I am amazed that the GIs let themselves be taken alive–and knew they would receive a gruesome fate–didn’t they know that–what kind of SOP is being filtered down the chain of command? Are our GIs operating with unrealistic attitudes?