Can You Hear Me Now? - GIs Struggle to Phone Home From Iraq [View All]

[dArKeR]

Both AT&T and MCI are providing phone services to the U.S. military in Iraq. But miscommunication over their different roles has made it harder—and more expensive—for soldiers to call home

Like so many other military family members, Heather Dunkel has come to think of the phone line as her lifeline. Every time the phone rings, or the call waiting clicks, her heart skips. Is it Stephen?

HER HUSBAND, an Army reservist, is stationed at the Baghdad International Airport. Until recently, he was able to call home once or twice a week. “You can imagine how beneficial these calls were to me,” she explains. “They also helped our 2-year-old daughter to know that her daddy still exists.”
But about two weeks ago, the frequent calls came to an abrupt halt. The Department of Defense ordered MCI, the provider for cheap cell-phone calls home, to cut off those phones for soldiers. They were intruding, it seems, on AT&T’s territory as well as clogging up official lines. Suddenly, soldiers not only had to go to calling centers, but they were paying a lot more to call home. AT&T got inundated with complaints. “A lot of family members I know have cancelled their service with AT&T over this,” Dunkel says.

http://msnbc.com/news/987615.asp?0cl=c1

I think we get lost in all the terrible 'Evil Doers' in the GOP and The Bush Crime Family and GOP Corporate America. In my opinion, this one issue is enough for the American Public to throw Bush and the rest of the GOP out of office next election.

Our soldiers should have free calls home to their loved ones.

This is absolutely disgusting!