URGENT: A Liberal Soldier in Iraq Condemns Bush's War

WeHoldTheseTruths

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Sun Jun-26-05 11:05 AM
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URGENT: A Liberal Soldier in Iraq Condemns Bush's War

Recently I came across this site thanks to a post by susanhu at Booman Tribune. Leonard Clark is a member of the the 860th MP Company of the Arizona National Guard who recently deployed to Iraq. He's a kindergarten teacher in the public school system.

He's also (in his own words) "A Damned Liberal" and wants to be a Democratic candidate for the US Senate seat held by John Kyl.

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And what does he say? That everything Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and Rove, LLP is telling you about Iraq is a lie. It is a quagmire. The troops are not being demoralized by anti-war statements but by the facts on the ground. That this is a needless waste of American lives for the benefit of "KBR and Halliburton." That even dyed in the wool GOP soldiers want us to get out.

For example, read this entry:

"I have been talking to my fellow soldiers about this whole situation and I have told them about how the leadership in Washington is trying to get the American people to silence their criticisms of the continued lunacy we call the occupation of Iraq. I tell them that they are saying to the Congress: Well, ya know our poor soldiers wanna stay and finish the fight in Iraq but you people in Washington D.C. are under cutting their morale by bringing up this "time table stuff" and "what the hell are we doing in Iraq do we have a plan ? stuff.

"When I tell this to my fellow soldiers they immediately begin to laugh and then they get pissed off that such bull shit is being spouted back home because we are the ones who are calling home and telling our families what a bunch of lies and crap they are telling the American people."

He reserves particular venom for Karl Rove, as you can imagine. He urges him to come to Iraq, and stay, not just in the ultra protected Green Zone, but out on the front lines where soldiers such as himself are stationed. His condemnation of Rove for Rove's slurs against liberals is all the more forceful because of his restraint and because he is calling from a forward base in Iraq, not some safe rear area in Kuwait or Qutar.

It's a powerful message and one that needs to be spread as far and as wide as we can. As for the issue of copyright, Mr. Clark has given his blessing to as wide a dissemination of his emails and voicemail transmissions here:

"I don't know how much longer it will be before they cut off my communications to you and before they possibly arrest me. If this happens I only ask that you please take my case to the American people and declare me a political prisoner and a prisoner of conscience to the American public. Don't believe their lies--I am not a traitor, I am only gambling everything because I love my country and my fellow soldiers. I will continue to call and leave messages for as long as possible. You can record them and replay them and also put them in journal form; in fact, I might just start sending phone journals, because it's easier and less stressful than having to stay up late and write them.

I hope and pray that GOD protects all of you and my fellow activists in this righteous cause that we are fighting for: to bring our soldiers home and end this lunacy we call `the occupation of Iraq'!"

Your friend,
Leonard Clark

. . .

and this, from another email posted at the site:

"By all means make public my voice mail and disseminate as far as possible. Please, by all means don't let up!"

And here is the statement of the woman who set upm this website for him:

"Recently, I had the pleasure of meeting a soldier, Leonard Clark, who was on leave for his father's funeral, and is now back in Baghdad. He is in the Arizona National Guard. He is writing a journal of his experiences in Iraq and has asked me to share his writings with as many people as possible, as he wants Americans to get a clear picture of the situation being experienced by him and other soldiers and civilians in Iraq.

"I will continue to send out Leonard Clark's letters as long as he sends them to me. I ask you also to remember Leonard Clark and the many soldiers in your prayers for their safe return, and also for the other people Leonard discusses in his journals.

"These letters have been edited only for minor grammar/typos for clarification, as Leonard has to write his journals very quickly."

Thank you,
Esther Duran Lumm

So let's do what this brave man asks and make these emails and voicemails known as widely as we can. He knows the risk he is taking, and that the the military authorities may take a dim view of the exercise of his free speech rights guaranteed under the First Amendment. In this regard the more people know of this, the better protected he will be, in my opinion, because of the outrage any official action against him would generate. So the least we can do is let our fellow citizens know what one soldier is saying about Bush's atrocity in Iraq.

And, at the least, go and listen to his voicemail mp3 files and read his emails posted here. http://leonardclark.com/blog/

Thank you.
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The above stolen from
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/6/26/11433/3003
where it is better formatted.

Let's do what this brave man asks and make these emails and voicemails known as widely as we can.