Maine and Vermont Members of Congress and Staff Members:
Over the past several days I have been struck by the similarities between the chaos in Iraq and New Orleans. One major difference is that the media have been more critical and questioning about the debacle in New Orleans/Mississippi/Alabama. Perhaps it is because they aren't "embedded" in the organizations they are reporting about as they are in Iraq and they have unfettered access to the city. I wonder if it even occurs to the press how related the incompetence, arrogance and cruelty that we see in Iraq is to the mess in New Orleans. The same people are in charge of both debacles. It is a problem from the top down.
I wonder if people can now understand how the Iraqis feel, especially in the populated areas and the Sunni Triangle, after two and one half years of the same treatment we see in New Orleans. It is brutal to contemplate.
Our son, Ben, wrote yesterday to Jackie Smith of Senator Leahy's office and Jay Cummings of Senator Snowe's office the following: "Thought I would give you an update that we received all our 1114's most likely thanks to you. Our tanks though have been having trouble and have not received their parts. I cannot stress enough that you look into man power and you'll find out some pretty big problems. Our upper leadership, Battalion Commander and Brigade Commander and their officers have in my opinion and many other(s) lost the confidence of their soldiers. The fight here is being poorly run. The 1114 humvee problem is just the tip of the iceberg. My fear is you guys will find out too late after men have been needlessly endangered and or killed. Hope this helps, take care, SGT Kamilewicz" The similarity between Iraq and New Orleans is striking and horrifying.
There are tough questions that the Congress must raise if the world's greatest democracy is to survive: Is it right to occupy a country for its oil reserves? Is it right to ask Americans and Iraqis to die in an occupation that is pitiless and by its very operation rises to crimes against humanity? Will America get a plan to reduce dependence on oil instead of giving the wealthy and corporations tax credits that do not address the subject oil dependence and do not result in reinvestment (and the thanks we get is gouging)? Will the Congress allow the highway bill to build roads to nowhere instead of building a viable public transportation network? Will the Congress continue to support a homeland security bureaucracy that cannot deliver services and only serves to limit liberties? Will the Congress allow the military continue to use "stop loss" as a back door draft and recycle troops into slavery just to avoid its responsibility to raise a volunteer army and to avoid discussion of the War in Iraq? Will the Congress continue to avoid questioning the faulty arithmetic used to create panic in the Social Security system at the risk of moving more senior citizens into abject poverty? Will the Congress continue to ignore the runaway health care and drug costs to the point that the poor and elderly are locked out of getting care? Will the Congress continue to cut benefits to veterans while telling us that they are not (Ben is in real danger of having his mind turn into jello because of the relentless stress of war for another 10 months)? Will the Congress ignore reinvestment in education? Will the Congress get sidetracked on smokescreen issues while emerging nations and corporate greed drive our economy into the ground?
In my 60 plus years, I have not been as pessimistic and depressed about my country's direction as I am today. I would do anything I could to turn that around, and I believe that is the condition of many other Americans today, too. I am proud that Ben has raised his questions to you, and has faith that you will respond. I hope you do and are successful. There are silver linings in his experience over the past six months, but we have a lot to do before things really begin to turn around. I sincerely hope they do, but I continue to be very concerned.
Dexter J. Kamilewicz
