[Peace-discuss] A medic in the Iowa Army National Guard says......

[parenti susan rose]

Concerning the hospital side---through my connection with Patch
Adams, I know there's been an international call for doctors and nurses
to volunteer in Iraq with the EMERGENCIA clinic, an Italian based group
funded by the efforts of Italian doctors who have been in Afghanistan
treating people for land mine damage. EMERGENCIA is now trying to open
clinics in Iraq, because of what they claim to be a deplorable health
care situation. These Italian doctors have no reason to lie---why would
they say Iraq's health care situation is in a terrible state, far worse
than before the US invasion? EMERGENCIA is respected all across
Europe--they're considered heroes( a kind of Doctors without Borders who
go to dire situations) in the European scene.

They would not go to Iraq, or put out this call for doctors/nurses, unless
the situation was an emergency.

On Mon, 19 Apr 2004, Chuck Minne wrote:

> Yeah, I figured that he was just parroting the party line also. I haven't=
 a clue who he is and have no way of asking him anything. And if that is th=
e party line then those are the "facts" from our always-honest government. =
I was hoping someone could come up with some other numbers with a fairly so=
lid background that would dispute him. For example the statement, "100% of =
the hospitals are open and fully staffed" seems to me that it must be false=
 and could be easily disproved. All I would really like is to forward back =
to my friend who sent me this an email that indicates this guy's facts are =
actually fiction. I hoped that someone on this group would have that info. =
I hate to say it, but if this stuff is true, it sounds pretty good. 400,000=
 new phones sounds pretty good to me. I presume they are cell phones, but s=
o what? OTOH one might ask what 240,000 soldiers and police are needed for.=
 My gut feeling is that all these numbers are lies, but I wish someone coul=
d verify that.
>
> "Morton K. Brussel" <brussel at uiuc.edu> wrote:Have him send the references=
 for these figures! These "facts" sound
> like they came from Bremer's office.
>
> Ask him if the folks in Falluja and Nadjaf are really happy with
> American storm troops. Ask him about the reliability of the Iraqi civil
> defense police and soldiers, who even Rumsfeld admitted were a
> "disappointment". Etc., etc., etc. This guy seems, unfortunately, to be
> firmly committed to his happy "job", and as much divorced from reality
> as Bush. Suggest that he read Al Jazeera, or Robert Fisk, for a change.
>
> MKB
>
> On Apr 19, 2004, at 1:02 AM, Chuck Minne wrote:
>
> > A friend whom I pepper with anti-war postings sent me this. Any
> > comments?
> >
> > This is a letter from Ray Reynolds, a medic in the Iowa Army National
> > Guard, serving in Iraq:
> >         As I head off to Baghdad for the final weeks of my stay in
> > Iraq, I wanted to say thanks to all of you who did not believe the
> > media. They have done a very poor job of covering everything that has
> > happened.  I am sorry that I have not been able to visit all of you
> > during my two week leave back home.  And just so you can rest at night
> > knowing something is happening in Iraq that is noteworthy, I thought I
> > would pass this on to you.  This is the list of things that has
> > happened in Iraq recently: (Please share it with your friends and
> > compare it to the version that your paper is producing.)
> > * Over 400,000 kids have up-to-date immunizations.
> > * School attendance is up 80% from levels before the war.
> > * Over 1,500 schools have been renovated and rid of the weapons stored
> > there so education can occur.
> > * The port of Uhm Qasar was renovated so grain can be off-loaded from
> > ships faster.
> > * The country had its first 2 billion barrel export of oil in August.
> > * Over 4.5 million people have clean drinking water for the first time
> > ever in Iraq.
> > * The country now receives 2 times the electrical power it did before
> > the war.
> > * 100% of the hospitals are open and fully staffed, compared to 35%
> > before the war.
> > * Elections are taking place in every major city, and city councils
> > are in place.
> > * Sewer and water lines are installed in every major city.
> > * Over 60,000 police are patrolling the streets.
> > * Over 100,000 Iraqi civil defense police are securing the country.
> > * Over 80,000 Iraqi soldiers are patrolling the streets side by sid e
> > with US soldiers.
> > * Over 400,000 people have telephones for the first time ever.
> > * Students are taught field sanitation and hand washing techniques to
> > prevent the spread of germs.
> > * An interim constitution has been signed.
> > * Girls are allowed to attend school.
> > * Textbooks that don't mention Saddam are in the schools for the first
> > time in 30 years.
> >         Don't believe for one second that these people do not want us
> > there. I have met many, many people from Iraq that want us there, and
> > in a bad way. They say they will never see the freedoms we talk about
> > but they hope their children will.  We are doing a good job in Iraq
> > and I challenge anyone, anywhere to dispute me on these facts.  So If
> > you happen to run into John Kerry, be sure to give him my email
> > address and send him to Denison, Iowa. This soldier will set him
> > straight. If you are like me and very disgusted with how this period
> > of rebuilding has been portrayed, email this to a friend and let them
> > know there are good things happening.
> > Ray Reynolds, SFC
> > Iowa Army National Guard
> > 234th Signal Battalion
> >
> >
>
>
>
> "The mass media is little more than a public relations industry for the r=
ich and powerful. The media's job is to 'train the minds of the people' to =
believe in the virtue of the powerful goons who rule them." Noam Chomsky ..=
=2E.. My Web Site ..... ClickMeToo
>
>
>
>
>
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