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»Letter
To Senator Schumer 10/01/07 |
"New US battle rule: No
fighting near Afghan homes"
27 June 2009
United States Senate Armed Services Committee
Room SR-228
Russell Senate Office Bldg
Washington, DC 20510-6050
Attention: Senator Carl Levin
Senator John McCain
It is my troubled heart that commands me to address this Committee and
Senators Levin and McCain. Attached please find an article dated June 22,
2009, Christian Science Monitor, entitled "New US battle rule: No fighting
near Afghan homes". As the daughter of a WWII Navy Veteran, the sister of
a Marine, Vietnam, and the mother of a son who has served 4 deployments,
Bronze Star Recipient, in this "war on terror", I reach out to each of you
as a very proud Patriot whose family has fought the fight for freedom for
the oppressed and who risked their own lives for the safety and protection
of this great country.
I am deeply troubled and quite frankly, outraged, by this "new rule". What
troubles me most is what appears to be the cause of this new policy in
fighting the terrorists:
"Afghan President Hamid Karzai has pressed U.S. forces for years to reduce
civilian casualties, but his pleas have done little to stem the problem.
The U.N. says U.S., NATO and Afghan forces killed 829 civilians in the
Afghan war last year."
Where is the outrage from President Karzai and the entire Muslim world
over the enormous deaths of their Afghan and Iraqi brothers by other
Muslims, ie the Taliban and suicide bombers? What is that number and why
isn't your committee pounding on this fact daily. What is going on here?
There must be more dialogue and vocal outrage by this Committee and you
Senators! There needs to pressure from this government on President Karzai
and Iraqi Leaders to express outrage every time another suicide bomber
kills hundreds of Afghans or Iraqis! This is ludicrous that now our
Soldiers are told to "to break away from fights with militants hiding
among villagers". AND the General plans to measure his effectiveness by:
"Gen. Stanley McChrystal, who took command of international forces in
Afghanistan this month, has said his measure of effectiveness will be the
"number of Afghans shielded from violence" — not the number of militants
killed."
What is going on here? Are we fighting a war or not? So our troops are
going to run away from the terrorists now, who for certain will be hiding
in the houses of civilians, so the terrorists can fight another day. Where
is the logic here? If I were the terrorists, I would love this "new rule."
Even Ms. Holewinski of Victims For Conflict sees this as a drawback:
"Still, she said the policy has potential drawbacks, specifically that
once Taliban fighters learn of the directive, civilian homes will be the
perfect place to seek cover."
Further, and what is really concerning, is we are going to step up these
operations:
"Smith said McChrystal will address in the coming months how U.S. and NATO
forces are deployed around the country, and forces could be withdrawn from
remote regions in order to concentrate troops around population centers."
Senators and members of this Committee, I suggest to you that this will
not save the lives of Afghan civilians, this new rule will further
endanger the lives of the civilians and our troops. This new rule will
only encourage the Taliban to further exploit their own people. What do
you think will happen to these civilians when these savage and brutal
terrorists invade their homes? Does rape, torture and murder come into
your mind? What I fear the most however, is that our troops will be framed
and blamed for the deaths of these civilians and now we will see more of
our brave and noble Heroes heading off to Leavenworth for killing
civilians.
This is outrageous and unacceptable and so very hard to take! The time has
come to stop appeasing President Karzai and the Muslim world! The time has
come to stop tying our Soldiers hands behind their back as you hand them a
gun. This is the time for frankness and truth from this committee.
I implore you to put the pressure where it belongs, on the Muslim leaders
such as Karzai, who should be required to demand the Taliban stop killing
their civilians!!! This Committee should be putting the pressure on all
Muslim leaders to express their outrage every time a Muslim suicide bomber
kills hundreds of civilians.
Lastly, I find President Karzai's statements to be so very offensive in
that so many brave Americans have given their lives so that his people can
live without brutality and oppression. So many noble Americans have lost
their precious limbs and will never be the same, and where is Karzai's
appreciation and gratitude!!! I find this reprehensible and quite frankly,
it makes this mother's blood boil.
A very dear friend and Vietnam veteran pointed out to me recently that we
fought WWII in less than 4 years and we won. However, those brave men and
women were allowed to fight the war and the objective was to win and come
home! This is a new kind of war you are all fighting and I ask you to stop
appeasing the enemy and put the safety and welfare of our troops first and
foremost. I can tell you, as the founder of The Band of Mothers, I am
involved in a huge troop support network and this new rule has enraged
many. We are Americans and our first concern is for the brave men and
women who have done and continue to do an outstanding job keeping this
country safe. I ask you to take a serious look at this new rule and ask
yourselves one question: Is this in the best interests of the noble and
honorable men and women who have volunteered to lay their very precious
life down for you and me? That should be the first concern of every member
of
this committee!
I would appreciate your response.
The Very Proud Daughter of a WWII Navy Veteran, the Very Proud Sister of
Marine, Vietnam, and the Very Proud Mother of a Soldier who served 4
deployments in this "War On Terror",
Beverly Perlson
Founder
The Band of Mothers
www.thebandofmothers.com
3615 Blue Ridge Court
Aurora, IL 60504
cc: Senator Lieberman
Senator Graham |
