Soldiers Anger over Dean Brother (Drudge)

[Francis]

Active duty soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines are upset over being forced take part in a military repatriation ceremony today for remains believed to be those of the none-military brother of presidential candidate Howard Dean, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned.

"His brother will receive full military honors...flag over the coffin and all!" fumes one soldier, who asked not to be named.

Governor Dean is set to visit to the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) and the repatriation of his brother to Hickam AFB, Hawaii


link: http://www.drudgereport.com/dean9.htm

Wow That Dean's got some pull at the pentagon

[dave29]

1. Leave it to Drudge

to try to ruin the ending of an incredibly painful chapter in someone's life

[wicket]

4. it's shameful

I'm so disgusted, but I expect no less from Drudge.

[wicket]

2. Another Drudge hatchet job

Don't you just love all of those "unnamed" sources he uses? They are afraid of Dean.

[monobrau]

31. Sources

Unamed *cought* Rove *cough* sources, my ass.

[whirlygigspin]

3. upset at honoring the dead?

how cheap can you get?

[trotsky]

5. Gimme a f'ing break.

Sad that this kind of story will be mild to the extreme should Dean be the party's nominee next year.

[Jerseycoa]

23. Right

The GOP has set Dean up good and proper. Be very afraid.

[Eloriel]

25. Or if we have a nominee at all

Dean's getting ripped because he's the front runner. The treatment will be EXACTLY the same, no matter who is our nominee. Don't imagine it will be worse in any way with Dean. Just different since each candidate offers different "opportunities."

Eloriel

[Upfront]

49. Won't matter

Who the nominee is it will be the same shit. Wake up, and quit cutting our candidates. It is going to be an all out blood bath no matter who we run. You think different. Tell us why.

[annxburns]

6. Honest to God, Drudge is sickening ...

... what - he talks to one freeper and prints a story like this? God, what a jerk. I seriously hope this kind of stuff starts to backfire. This is just an indication of the type of right wing crap journalism our candidates are going to have to deal with.

[trogdor]

14. There's lots of freepers in the military.

Speaking from experience.

[IndianaGreen]

7. It has been rumored for decades that Charlie was doing CIA work

As to the soldier that is bitching, how about sending him to Iraq, that way he can pay honor to the fallen as they are shipped back to the US in their "transfer tubes" in the middle of the night.

[AP]

19. US gov't claimed Charlie Dean was a civilian when he was killed.

The Geneva Convention says that the only civilians who can be designated POWs (as US designated Charlie Dean) are those who take up arms agains the enemy, or when there's some question as to what their status really is.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

79. Yes, and the U.S. Government has always listed Charles Dean as...

...having POW/MIA status. That's indisputable, just by itself.

Why do you think the U.S. Government did that for the last thirty years?

What does the Geneva Convention have to do with Charles Dean or the way he is being honored by the U.S. Government?

What's your point?

[area51]

27. CIA & C. Dean

The Houston Chronicle had an article mentioning the rumor that Charlie Dean was working for the CIA when he was killed. I can't imagine that a civilian would be buried w/full military honors unless he was working for one of the USA clandestine organizations. But apparently that's too much for Drudge's poor "brain" to figure out.

[lostnfound]

46. Seemed pretty obvious to me, too. n/t

[aquart]

72. Civilians didn't hang out in that neighborhood.

And if he's being given military honors that clinches it for me. He was a US gov't agent when he was killed.

[Red State Rebel]

8. What is normal protocol for remains of a civilian recovered?

We were at war there at the time, doesn't that cover it??

[wicket]

10. POW

Dean's brother was also listed as a POW even though he was a civilian. Drudge "conveniently" left that out of the article.

[brainshrub]

12. Who knows if he really was a civilian?

By the way the government is treating this, I suspect not.

[demdave]

13. I do not agree with Drudge's spin ...follow his own link in the story..

link------Dean's brother and an Australian friend treked into Laos as civilians


in linked story-------
He and Sharman took off for Southeast Asia and were arrested by the communist Pathet Lao on Sept. 4, 1974, during a trip down the Mekong River in Laos. They apparently were suspected of being spies, although the U.S. and Australian governments said they were merely tourists and strongly protested their detention.

The two men were held in a small, remote prison camp for three months before they were believed to have been executed on Dec. 14 while driving toward Vietnam with their captors.

Charles Dean, although a civilian, was considered by the U.S. government to have been a prisoner of war. The effort to recover the bodies of Dean and Sharman was coordinated by the Defense Department's Joint Task Force Full Accounting, a Pentagon unit created 11 years ago to find remains of Americans missing in Indochina.

[monobrau]

33. Holiday in Laos?

I'm surprised that they aren't trying to spin it as a drug thing. There may be a variety of reasons why an american would be in Laos in 1974, but I would say the least likely one would be tourism.

[9215]

9. The soldiers don't like having to honor a "Commies"

brother. :eyes:

[Postman]

18. interesting, because everything about military life resembles "socialism"

everything is provided for you. From your job to healthcare. And these idiot soldiers make comments like that?

[Military Brat]

24. Don't forget the travel benefits

Military families get to travel, some of our relatives even visit exotic places like Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq. And of course, coming soon, Syria, Iran, Saudi Arabia.

But I see your point about socialism, although the military always reminded me of a very strong paternalistic society. Perhaps that's why it appeals to the Repubs; they like that strong "father image."

[saigon68]

26. Soldiers first Sheep second

Re-up for the bennies

[alfredo]

68. Spoken like a real soldier.

I haven't heard that term for decades.

Our group lost a good friend. He was a soldier, a brother, a friend. He was also a damn good spook. We crawled the eastern highlands of Eritrea, (then Ethiopia) together. He was one of many who shared my mission. He had to make sense of what I presented to him. That was a very tough thing to do.

[Maple]

11. They are likely annoyed

because the bodies of military people are snuck home late at night with no notice, much less fanfare, and then hustled further out of sight.

Then Dean's brother gets full military honors.

[wicket]

15. then they are bitching about the wrong thing

They should be bitching about their fallen comrades not getting military honors or the press being locked out from covering their return or funerals.

[Classical_Liberal]

44. Who says the story is even true

It isn't like Drudge hasn't been known to make stuff up.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

16. Gets a whole freeper thread

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1029372/posts

[Gman]

32. Do these two things with the FR posts

1) imagine it's Bill Clinton's brother and not Dean's. Substitute "Clinton" where ever you see "Dean". Do you see any resemblance to FR posts when Clinton was president?

2) Now imagine it's W's brother. Substitute "Bush" for "Dean". Whoa...! That looks wierd, doesn't it?

[helleborient]

17. Charlie Dean had POW/MIA status...

Isn't this how we deal with returned POWs?

From what I've read, it is an open question whether Charlie Dean was working for the military or the CIA or not...and Howard Dean doesn't necessarily know for sure.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

22. To verify your comments, I found this information on Charles Dean...

Charles Dean
<http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?pow:1:./temp/~frd_Lm1L::>

Laos: Civilian MIA Charles Dean
Country: Laos
Name: Charles Dean
Subjects: Missing
Reel: 141
Source Number: 7087
Page: 19-20
Type of Document: Message
Date of Report: 89 02 01
Date of Information: 89 02 01
Document Number: 010851ZFEB89
Originator: AMEMBASSY Vientiane
Category: Source Reports

...and the data came from this website:

WELCOME TO THE VIETNAM-ERA PRISONER-OF-WAR/MISSING-IN-ACTION DATABASE - Federal Research Division
<http://memory.loc.gov/pow/powhome.html>

...this is a written history of the database:

History of the Vietnam-Era Prisoner-of-War/Missing-in-Action Database
<http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/pow/powdbhis.html>

I doubt seriously that any American citizen not somehow associated with the military and/or intelligence agencies would be listed in this database.

[Gman]

20. Is this a Rovian technique designed to get back some military support

for W...

Are they expecting Dean to get the nomination and are they preparing to use this within the military to stir up anti-Dean sentiment in the military. The reason I think of this is because of all the bad morale and bad deals the military is getting here recently including pay cuts, and longer than expected tours in Iraq.

[seventhson]

62. I think its a Rovian technique like with the Nigerian uranium lies

nt

[Snellius]

21. Have you no sense of decency sir, at long last?

Have you left no sense of decency?

[TryingToWarnYou]

28. I wonder why Drudge

isn't doing a story on the honors NOT being given to the hundreds of soldiers that have returned from Iraq?

I guess that's different :rolls eyes:

[IndianaGreen]

30. That's an excellent point!

Why aren't we honoring the fallen as they arrive from Iraq inside their "transfer tubes" at Dover AFB?

[Snellius]

40. No kidding. This is pure Rove bull.

Nobody but Drudge calls this non-story news. His source, one soldier, "who asked not to be named" and yet he concludes "Active duty soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines are upset".

[Fleshdancer]

29. So what do we do?

We're all understandably disgusted...keep in mind, baseless crap like this can and will be written about all the Democratic candidates, but what exactly should we be doing about it?

Everytime I email drudge, the email gets returned.

[RetroLounge]

35. How about somebody track down that little

fucker and pound the tar aout of him.

If anyone deserves an ass-kicking, it's Drudge.

[mark in atlanta]

34. Expect more sludge

As a Clark supporter I am disgusted - not entirely surprised - at the depths to which Drudge and Faux news will descend.

This is just the beginning - whoever the nominee is - expect the old Max Cleland type smear tactics to start flowing like raw garbage.

Dean will be depicted as an anti war traitor - pro terrorist left wing psycho.

Clark as having "integrity" issues . . .

I think both Clark and Dean have come out swinging at our real target - as long as they both stay on message may the best man win -

[BiggJawn]

36. "Asked not to be named" Bull crap!

"Former PFC John Doe, who served in the GA NG from 1978 to 1981, told Matt while he (Drudge) was in his favourite bar 'His brother will receive full military honors...flag over the coffin and all! I shore hope Rush gits that kinda treatment when he goes'...."

[underpants]

37. Will they let TV cover the arrival? Will W attend?

:shrug:

[janx]

41. I hope not. The less media, the better. This is an emotional

time for the Dean family. I hope the media leaves them alone. Drudge obviously hasn't.

[underpants]

43. I meant that if you do see coverage of it...

That means that Drudge was just testing it out for them and he got positive (to them) feedback.

[janx]

50. Oh, I see what you mean. It's already been mentioned

on CNN--but there was no negative coverage, just the fact that the ceremony was coming up (today? tomorrow?).

[pippin]

38. and they're not upset at

AWOL in chief? give me a break!

[janx]

39. This will backfire. If (and that's a big IF) this Drudge tabloid

junk is true, then I think Charlie must have been more than a civilian POW.

Full military honors don't come to every American citizen killed overseas--or an Aussie, for that matter. They must have been in service somehow.

This is just another right-wing assault at Dean. (See thread in GD forum.) It's despicable.

[Nashyra]

42. I want to support the troops

but comments like the ones the soldiers are making about Dean's brother make them look like a bunch of dumb jarhead sheep, if they are pissed off about something like this how can let the f)(*&^% chimp dance around in flight suit and back him when they know he was an AWOL *. Who do they think took his place in Vietnam? There bretheren. Idiots. God Bless Dean and his family I hope this helps the healing process.

[saigon68]

48. a bunch of dumb jarhead sheep-- Rove set them loose

They are ignorant, and fortunately for them they are in the service now. Otherwise they would be ignored.

Its all bullshit, there are a lot of criminals in the military, and a lot of people dumb as Planks.

I wonder how many (residents) Leavenworth has???

[janx]

51. Don't let this lessen your support of our military. Drudge doesn't

even name his source. He could just as well have made this up.

[mzmolly]

45. "Wow That Dean's got some pull at the pentagon??"

Dean has "Pull at the Pentagon"?! :eyes: Hardly...

[Francis]

47. It's tongue in cheek

The whole point is that he hasn't
the article implies that Charlie has leap frogged over the bodies of others to be I.D.'d first and that he was unfairly being favored.

However, if he HAS got pull at the pentagon now, just imagine the power if he occupies the White House !!

[SideshowScott]

52. Why OH Why do we post Slimeball Drudge stuff as breaking news????

I can see it in GD..But Drudge is nothing more than one of the biggest arms of the Rove/GOP/Bush smear and propaganda machine and i really dont think it has anyplace in Breaking News unless confermed by another scource.. They will smear anyones dead brother to discrace or demean any Democrat that threatens the largest american ripoff in history run by Bush and freinds to show you how far they will go. Drudge uses this but neglects anything about the fallen troops from Iraq that are shipped home in the night and under no type of attention witch I think is more news than this..
Drudge is nothing more than a Whore second only to Fox news who will print anything Rove will tell him to print

[wabeewoman]

53. We REALLY REALLY

need to intercept some of these memo's from Rove to rush and the rest of the rw lemmings. My wingnut brother was just telling me about this. It is such an obvious coordinated effort to put out the same message in all their RW outlets. Why doesn't Drudge ask the pentagon why they are doing this if he is so concerned?? I hope they choke on their hypocracy!

[janx]

54. What other wingnut media have pushed this today?

I had no idea.

[Roon]

55. Why all this anti-Americanism all of a sudden?

We have a retired General quipping about suspending the constitution and soldiers behaving in this shocking manner towards their fallen comrades. Sickening.

[janx]

56. WAIT A MINUTE--

What does "full military honors" actually mean?

Drudge quotes his (notice) *unnamed* source as saying "full military honors...flag and all" or somesuch. Maybe the unnamed source is griping about a flag on the casket. Good grief.

The right wingers are going gangbusters after Dean.

[truthisfreedom]

57. the kerry people would say that this is a sign that the rethugs are behind

dean... look at it this way. if the rethugs are pressuring to get dean's brother's remains back to help draw attention to dean...

it's hard to precisely de-spin this one, but i don't see how it could make dean look bad. he's in no position to put pressure on people in the military.

[MaineDem]

60. An unfair characterization

I do, however, hope the Dean family finally has closure.

[truthisfreedom]

74. sorry, i didn't mean to suggest anything specific about Kerry... in fact,

i have my own personal suspicions about why dean is collecting so much money... it makes me nervous that someone who rove has said is the best bet for bush to beat has gained so much stature and gathered so much money so fast. i like dean, but i'm not absolutely sure he's got everything it takes to win against bush. it's possible, i suppose. something about it just rubs me the wrong way. can't put my finger on it.

i'm happy for dean's family as well.

[KittyWampus]

58. My Deeply Felt Sympathy For The Dean Family

This is so despiccable, even for Drudge.

[janx]

59. Dean Welcomes Brother's Remains In Hawaii

This article (there a link to some video of Dean's comments) shows a different picture of what the repatriation ceremony was about:

http://www.channel4000.com/sh/news/stories/nat-news-266734720031126-131106.html

[janx]

61. Here's another article on the subject:

http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20031126/APN/311260949

HICKAM AIR FORCE BASE, Hawaii --
Democratic presidential contender Howard Dean joined family members Wednesday for the emotional return of the remains of three Americans and an Australian missing since the Vietnam war.

Dean believes one of the Americans was his brother, a 24-year-old University of North Carolina graduate when he disappeared.

Remains tentatively identified as those of Charles M. Dean and his friend, Australian Neil Sharman, civilians traveling in Southeast Asia when they were killed in 1974, were discovered this month buried in a rice field in central Laos. The other two sets of remains were unearthed in northeastern Laos.

"While we are saddened that he is not still with us, we are comforted by the fact that he is finally coming home," Dean said.


(more at link)

[seventhson]

63. WHY is this happening NOW???

To out the antiBush dude (Howard) as CIA-connected (via Charles) with "leaks" to right wing fools like Drudge.

Just like with the guy whose wife was an antiterror spook operative.

It smells the same to my sophisticated bullshit radar: there is no doubt in MY mind that Charlie as well as Dean's father had some intelligence ties. But there's were honorable as far as I can determine.

Did they use them to line their pockets the way Dubya did? NOPE!!!

And that is why this ploy will fail:

Buch LOVES to yell foul and claim somebody is CIA to try to discredit them. Boy, though, I think this will just piss the REAL LOYAL DECENT spooks off at Bush - trying top make one of their fallen comrades look bad. DENIGRATING him with blackops spin.

This Drudge story is part of the spin - to make it obvious Charlie was a spook and that Dean is thereby "tainted" for lefties.

It's bullshit. Nice try, but it won't work. If anything it makes Dean look like MORE of an American hero: Dean's brother DIED for his country around the same time as Bush Hides FROM his country.

It just goes to show how STUPID bad Psyops like Rove's are: PITIFUL STINKING ROTTEN and POORLY THOUGHT OUT. That is why DEAN will win in 2004, b3cause Bush and Rove are innately generically stupid fascists like all dumb Nazi assholes.

[VolcanoJen]

64. Oh, what a load of steaming crap.

This story has so many holes in it, it would make Swiss cheese jealous.

First of all, speaking from experience, soldiers bitch. They moan and complain about practically everything. It's part of the job, and it's part of the comraderie. It's no different from the average American workplace. If there wasn't a military repatriotion ceremony to perform, the soldiers would likely be stuck in drill practice all day anyway, and they'd be complaining about that, too.

This is an obvious political smear/hit piece, and it's an utter tragedy. There's nothing to see here, nothing of note, nothing to concern ourselves with. An American son has returned home after decades lost, and regardless of the circumstances surrounding his "status" when he disappeared, he's home with us now. We owe him dignity, honor and justice in death. We owe his family the same.

This story is disgusting. Not the events, but the story. Yawn, shake your head, and move on. Until Novak brings it up, of course, and at that point, we should unleash the Holy Dogs of Hell upon him (Novak, that is).

Welcome to the Smear,
Jennifer :-(

[killbotfactory]

65. NEWFLASH: Drudge is officially a lying asshole

If you didn't know before, now you do.

[Dogmudgeon]

66. Another anti-CIA oddment

This is getting wierd.

Charles Dean was very probably a CIA operative, and he's being slimed by the Rectal Right. For what?

Just like Valerie Plame and John Wilson. And George Tenet, who has fallen on his sword time and time again for the Coward-in-Chief.

So much anti-CIA karma coming out of the White House. The CIA has actually been looking good lately.

Who'd'a thunk it?

But I'd like to know just WTF is behind it all. Team Bush seems to have it in for the Company, and it makes no sense to me at all.

--bkl

[FredScuttle]

67. So let me get this straight....

the wing nuts go apeshit over "The Reagans" because it's such an "insult" to poor Ronnie, who's infirm but still alive.

but it's OK for them to insult Dean and his family on the occasion of his brother's remains (a man who has been missing for close to 30 years)being returned Stateside.

Sometimes, I just want to yell out loud...then, move somewhere the fuck else in the world.

[juajen]

80. Yeah, I agree

This is despicable. They sink to the lowest lows and nobody calls them on it because they use people like Drudge, Hannity and Limbaugh to do their dirty work, and everybody knows who they are.

Some reverse spin needs to be put on this immediately by someone high up.

[davidinalameda]

69. they were just sorta hanging around in a war zone?

okay this is my WTF post of the day

:wtf:

[RowWellandLive]

70. I'm with you

:wtf: Tourists in a war zone :wtf:

[Sterling]

71. I this really LBN?

The opinion of some rude asshole?

[Chomskyite]

73. Drudge is as nasty a scum ball as ever put pen to paper

Just hearing his voice accidentally on his stupid talk show is enough to make you want to stand in a hot shower for week.

In the immortal words of Bill Hicks, Drudge, "you continue to prove my point."

[Chomskyite]

75. Call his stupid f**kin radio show!

Pretend to have a point about how desperate the Dems look or some such rot, then ambush him with this info about C Dean possibly being in the CIA and defending our country. Ask him why he resents an honor burial for someone in our service.

I'm making plans this Sunday to try it.

Anyone want to join me?

[SideshowScott]

76. Hell Yah! Im with you...

I think my question will be why are you giving attention to one man when you ingore over 400 that have died in Iraq?..Or better yet what does it feel like to be a Lie'in right wing whore Matt?

[RamboLiberal]

77. Any military people here who could comment - my take on this

is the word "tenatively" identified. I'm wondering if the reason the military put the flag on the casket is the fact there is not 100% certainty until the DNA tests are run that this is Charlie Dean. I know they are fairly sure based on location, items found with the body, etc. But there is a slim chance this could be someone else who was military - so I would bet the military is giving the honor of the flag just in case.

I'm not ex-military - just a educated guess on my part.

And what a jerk Drudge is for even putting out this piece of crap.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

78. They're honoring him with a flag-draped casket and full military honors...

...because the the U.S. Government has listed him as a POW/MIA for the last thirty years. Think about why the U.S. Government would honor a civilian who was allegedly "on vacation in a war zone". Think "cover story".

The soldiers who were grumbling, if that part of the story is true, obviously don't have a clue why Charles Dean was in Laos, much less what he was doing there.