Letter from an angered Aunt
Donald H. Rumsfeld
Secretary of Defense
1000 Defense Pentagon
Washington, DC 20301-1000
January 10, 2005
Secretary Rumsfeld:
It is hard to believe that it has been almost one year since my
nephew,
Pfc. William Ramirez, was killed in Baghdad while on night
patrol in his
unarmored Humvee. The improvised explosive device that killed
him and
Sgt. Patrick Tainsh last February 11th is still the weapon of
choice for
the Iraqis who oppose our occupation of their country. It is
particularly effective against the Humvees that our soldiers are
forced
to drive through combat zones that they were never designed to
be used
in. Bombs rip through the sides and bottoms of these vehicles as
if
they are cardboard. William died of massive trauma to his head
and
torso. It is equally hard to believe that deaths like his are
still
occurring almost daily because of the failure to better equip
these
soldiers to do the jobs they are being asked to do.
I listened with interest to the question you fielded from Spc.
Tom
Wilson a few weeks ago. Despite all the allegations that his
question
was set up by the media, he still spoke from his heart and,
judging from
the enthusiastic response of the other soldiers in attendance,
he spoke
for them as well. I know his question has run in the minds of
family as
we try to make sense of the senseless loss of a 19 year old
life. The
"if onlys" go on and on but they do not bring William back to
us.
Your response to Spc. Wilson's question was extremely troubling.
"You
go to war with the army you have, not the one you wish you had."
Every
time I hear your voice replayed saying that I have to control my
screams. You have skipped the most important point of the whole
situation--WE DID NOT HAVE TO GO TO WAR!!!!! There was NO
immediate
threat, in fact there was no threat at all. And, even if after
better
intelligence and time spent on strategy, you would have still
decided
that Iraq must be invaded, you should never have sent our
children into
harm's way without the tools and the plans to be effective and
safe. You
have proven your complete disregard for our soldiers and their
families. Your cavalier attitude displayed in your actions and
in your
response show the true colors of you and this entire
administration.
Soldier casualties are just another cost of war in your mind. It
is
apparently more cost effective to sacrifice lives instead of
time and
money preparing and equipping our military. I wonder if you
would feel
the same if your child or grandchild was riding around Iraq in
one of
those Humvees?
Your remarks about working on the armor issue were later proven
to be
false. You never even placed the order to step up production of
armor
kits for the Humvees. The manufacturers were not working to
capacity.
As hard as it is for my family to sleep at night as our thoughts
keep
straying to William and all those suffering in the quagmire you
have
created, I can only wonder how you and the rest of the
administration
find peace. I also wonder how the military in Iraq keep their
sanity as
they feel first hand the effects of your lies and complete
disdain for
their lives. I cannot imagine how they keep going each day.
I cannot imagine how you keep going each day. How hard you must
work to
believe in what you are doing and saying. Please take a break
from it
and tell the public and our military the truth, admit the
horrible
mistake of this war and put your efforts into fixing this mess.
William
is gone along with the lives and well-being of thousands. Please
take
the time to meet with the families of these victims and answer
our
questions and accept our input.
Sincerely,
Annette Pritchard
