ABC News Blog: The Army Says It Was Suicide, Her Father Thinks She Might Have Been Raped & Murdered

[Hissyspit]

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicsasusual/2007/05/the_army_says_i.html

the army says it was suicide, her father thinks she might have been raped and murdered
May 01, 2007 12:03 PM

army private lavena l. johnson was just 19 years old. she had been in iraq for only a few weeks before she was found dead at balad airbase on july 19, 2005. the army said she died of a "self-inflicted wound" but when her father identified her body he discovered she had a disfigured lip, was missing some teeth and looked like she had been in a fight. and then there was that phone call to her mother just a couple of days before her death. private lavena johnson was talking about coming home for christmas. something about her death just didn't add up. that's when her father, dr. john johnson, started asking questions and that is when the army stopped being helpful.

last week while most congressmen who sit on henry waxman's committee were riveted by the testimony of pat tillman's brother and mother, rep. william lacy clay was talking about private johnson.

just like corporal tillman, PRIVATE JOHNSON WAS AN EXCEPTIONAL YOUNG AMERICAN she was an honor student, a gifted musician and very active in her church and community. and just like corporal tillman, after 9-11, she was inspired to join the army to help protect her country...for almost two years dr. and mrs. johnson have been trying to get to the truth about what happened to their daughter. unfortunately they have been met by a WALL OF DISRESPECT, EVASION, AND A FAILURE TO PROVIDE THEM WITH THE ANSWERS THAT THE PARENTS OF ANY FALLEN SOLDIER DESERVE."

waxman and clay have written to pete geren, the acting secretary of the army, and asked for a photo cd of all the autopsy photos, all original photos included in the criminal investigation into her death, a missing page from the medical exam performed on her, the results of all lab work, all psychological evaluations, and the identity of the lead agent of the 37th military police detachment. dr. and mrs. johnson has been trying to get the same material for nearly 2 years.

WAXMAN AND CLAY HAVE GIVEN THE ARMY 1 WEEK.

[Blackhatjack]

1. This is the kind of non-cooperation that raises legitimate questions about what was hidden...

These families and their loved ones have made the ultimate sacrifice for their country, and it is the least the Army can do to see that they get answers and documents the family requested.

[AlecBGreen]

53. here she is

What a lovely young woman. RIP.

[Blackhatjack]

55. Just makes me sick to think fine young people are dying because Bush will not admit his mistake...

... and all of those killed to allow Bush to push this war off on the next Democratic President.

IMHO her life was just as valuable if not more valuable than the lives of those inhabiting the White House.

I feel for her family, and all who knew her.

[BlooInBloo]

2. We do know this is the sort of thing our military does - can't put it past 'em....

... I wonder if they have any openings for some ex-Atlanta cops?

[HCE SuiGeneris]

3. Absolutely tragic

:cry: :cry: :cry:

[illinoisprogressive]

4. Don't mess with Henry. he won't stand for it ...

We really need to do something to show how much we appreciate the work he is doing for this country.

[quiet.american]

5. Thank you, Henry Waxman. n/t

[lpbk2713]

6. Following their CinC's fine example.

Find yourself in a potentially difficult situation?

No problem.

Just lie and deceive your way out of it.

[JohnyCanuck]

7. Here's another suspicious army suicide.

This is a snip from an interview published in "The Lone Star Iconoclast" with a former US Captain and military intelligence officer, Eric May

MAY: There was a West Point professor of ethics, Colonel Ted Westhusing, who in 2005 volunteered to serve in Iraq. He was posted under Petraeus’ command and was assigned duties as an oversight and quality control officer in the Iraqi training program. One of the specific companies he oversaw was USIS. Before long Col. Westhusing began to make reports that there was widespread corruption in the program, that the mission wasn’t being achieved, and that all that seemed to be happening was that money was being flushed around. He said it was illegal and immoral and he wouldn’t put up with it. He was told to shut up and stand down by Petraeus and others in his chain of command. A devout Catholic man, with a wife and a family back home, he began to write letters to them saying that he couldn’t tell the whole story of corruption now, but would when he returned from Iraq.

Petraeus ordered Col. Westhusing to accompany him to USIS company headquarters at Baghdad Airport a few weeks before the colonel was to return home. It was a final showdown, and ominously Westhusing’s bodyguard had been dismissed. The colonel had written and carried a letter that said, "death before dishonor" and he was sticking to his guns, he wasn’t going to back down. He spent the morning in a very heated argument with the USIS people about their corruption, with Petraeus there, and refused to budge from his principles. In my opinion, Col. Westhusing epitomized everything admirable about a good West Point officer, one who had learned from his Academy days that he would neither lie, cheat, nor steal, nor tolerate those who did. Around noon, the meeting broke up for lunch, and Col. Westhusing went into another office. The next thing we know he is dead from a bullet through the head, with the USIS security chief’s fingerprints all over the gun, and the dubious excuse that the security chief had heard the shot, found the pistol, then picked the pistol up to make sure nobody else got hurt by it.

Every detail of that most suspicious story was brought out in the LA Times, but no one else in the U.S. media did any further investigation into it. Smelling a rat, another cover-up, a la Jessica Lynch and Pat Tillman, I called the West Point and Department of the Army public affairs offices, and both asserted that Westhusing’s death had been a "suicide," because the Army had conducted a "psychological autopsy." I requested the credentials of the officer who had done the psychological autopsy, and was surprised to find that the officer in question was a reserve major who had no psychology credentials whatsoever. They refused to let me interview her. In other words, a rubber stamp report was written by a rubber stamp officer. These are the kinds of cover-ups the military has been conducting since 9/11, in one case after another.

It’s as if George Orwell has been writing everything in the U.S. media for the last five years. Nowadays, people are "suicided." Suicide is supposed to be a noun, but it has become a verb, as in the phrase: "Write the wrong thing and we will suicide you, just like we suicided Col. Westhusing." The Westhusing family doesn’t believe the colonel’s death was a suicide, though, and neither do I. I think the Army killed a man of conscience, then added ultimate insult to ultimate injury by labeling him, a devout Catholic, a suicide.

The people who are fabricating and repeating lies now are the kind I used to serve with when I was on general staff, train with when I was in military intelligence, or work with when I was in the U.S. media. I know that all of them have enough sense to know what’s going on. There’s not an absence of sense, but of courage in this crop of military and media professionals. Everyone has toed the line, and gone along with the official story — and that is the story of the entire Iraq war.

Petraeus is emblematic of everything wrong with the U.S. military. He will do anything, no matter how corrupt, to serve his political masters. He should never have been appointed to lead our forces in Iraq without first answering serious questions about what happened to Col. Westhusing.

http://www.lonestaricon.com/absolutenm/anmviewer.asp?a=1386&z=132

[Morgana LaFey]

51. OH NO!! Not Colonel Ted Westhusing -- this is the first I've seen of

this. Thanks so much for posting it, but it really deserves its own thread.

There was a suicide note --- or WAS it a "suicide" note??? Or just a letter of complaint that got interpreted as a suicide note? Hmmmm.

Please post in its own thread if it hasn't seen the light of day prior to this.

[Az_lefty]

8. there have been a number of female soldiers attacked in Iraq and Kuwait

they need to get to the bottom of this. If anyone in the Army tried to cover this up, start going upstream.

[EFerrari]

10. There have been women who died of dehydration because

they didn't want to go to the latrines after dark so they didn't drink liquids in the afternoon.

:(

[joshcryer]

13. That's horrible!

OMG, that's the worst thing I have heard in awhile. Those poor girls.

[KittyWampus]

19. Your post reminded me that because recruiting standards have been lowered more violent types

and more hardened criminal types may be over there.

[Horse with no Name]

24. Let me provide a link to go with this

:hi:
http://www.vermontguardian.com/dailies/022006/020806.shtml
>>>>snip
Karpinski testified that a surgeon for the coalition’s joint task force said in a briefing that “women in fear of getting up in the hours of darkness to go out to the port-a-lets or the latrines were not drinking liquids after 3 or 4 in the afternoon, and in 120 degree heat or warmer, because there was no air-conditioning at most of the facilities, they were dying from dehydration in their sleep.”

“And rather than make everybody aware of that — because that’s shocking, and as a leader if that’s not shocking to you then you’re not much of a leader — what they told the surgeon to do is don’t brief those details anymore. And don’t say specifically that they’re women. You can provide that in a written report but don’t brief it in the open anymore.”

Karpinski said Maj. Gen. Walter Wojdakowski, the top deputy to Lt. Gen Ricardo Sanchez, the former senior U.S. military commander in Iraq, saw dehydration listed as the cause of death on the death certificate of a female master sergeant in September 2003. Under orders from Sanchez, Wojdakowski directed that the cause of death no longer be listed. The official explanation for this was to protect the women’s privacy rights, she said.

Sanchez’s attitude was: “The women asked to be here, so now let them take what comes with the territory,” Karpinski quoted him as saying. Karpinski told Cohn that Sanchez, who was her boss, was very sensitive to the political ramifications of everything he did, Cohn reported.

[EFerrari]

27. Thank you.

:hi:

[TheMadMonk]

35. What comes with the territory looks like rape by one's so called mates.

[Mabus]

40. That was my first thought when I saw the article

I sent that out to my e-mail lists when Karpinski's article came out. I've told people about it and they find it hard to believe. It's heartbreaking, absolutely heartbreaking. I just know there's so much more going on than will ever see the light of day.

Go Waxman. I hope he helps this family find some answers.

[wicket]

26. Yep - and some have taken to carrying knives to protect them from their "comrades"

:grr: :grr: :grr:

[TheWraith]

45. Actually, as far as I can tell from searching, no credible source has ever reported that.

The only sources I can find on it are the Vermont Guardian, which is far from a heavy hitter; Truthout (no credibility); and a variety of blogs which picked up the story from those two.

If this were true, there would have been more than enough time for the AP to verify it. I suspect that it's simply a rumor that got out of hand, was repeated as fact, and someone made a story out of without having bothered to do the proper leg-work.

[TheWraith]

46. Okay, turns out that this has been debunked.

It was originally started because Karpinski claimed three women at Camp Victory had died of dehydration under those circumstances. Somebody went over all 12 of the female US troop deaths during Karpinski's tour in Iraq, and determined that 7 were hostile action, one was cancer, one was an accidental gunshot wound, one was suicide, one was killed in a fall, and the last one was unspecified natural causes--a Navy sailor who hadn't even been at Camp Victory. In other words, Karpinski was lying, and either reporting rumor as fact or simply making the whole story up out of whole cloth.

[Morgana LaFey]

54. Where are YOUR sources? I'd like a link, please. nt

[TheWraith]

58. Here you go.

"Even if you assume that every senior officer in the Army is a total jerk, concerned about nothing more than protecting his or her own ass and getting promoted, and even if you assume that they don't have concern for their troops as human beings, hiding dehydration deaths still runs against basic self-interest. Having unnecessary deaths reflects poorly on a commander. Losing people can make it harder to do the mission - others need to pick up the duties of the fallen. It also has a really bad impact on morale, which can again make it harder to get the job done. A commander who has a hard time getting the job done is likely to find that their next job will not be in the military.

A cover-up, under the circumstances described by Karpinski, would be much more stupid than is commonly seen in the military. It would risk resulting in further deaths from the same cause, which would call attention to the problem even more certainly than addressing the root causes would.

So, I figured that a fact-check would be in order. Fortunately, doing a fact-check on this one is pretty simple. The icasualties.org website tracks all Iraq-war fatalities. They keep statistics for a number of different things, one of which is female deaths. It took about 30 seconds to discover that a total of 12 American servicewomen died in Iraq in 2003. Seven of those were classified as due to hostile activity. Of the remaining five, one was the result of a fall, one was the result of cancer diagnosed in the war zone, two were the result of weapons discharges (one accidental, one suicide), and only one was due to unspecified natural causes - a Navy seaman who didn't die at Camp Victory.

Karpinski was suspended from command and sent home from Iraq in January of 2004. However, extending the look at female deaths to include that month doesn't help her - there were three more deaths, but two were hostile and the third the result of a vehicle accident."

http://scienceblogs.com/authority/2007/03/karpinski_salon_lies_and_pitif.php

The above page also links to ICasualties.org's female deaths listing, so you can verify it for yourself.

[Morgana LaFey]

59. Oh dear

I appreciate your response, and perhaps all the more so because it absolutely validates my own suspicions. Let me just say that I'm not impressed by your gullibility. These two paragraphs from the blog you cited stand as testimony to just how gullible. The suppositions by the man you relied on for valid information are just garbage:


Even if you assume that every senior officer in the Army is a total jerk, concerned about nothing more than protecting his or her own ass and getting promoted, and even if you assume that they don't have concern for their troops as human beings, hiding dehydration deaths still runs against basic self-interest. Having unnecessary deaths reflects poorly on a commander. Losing people can make it harder to do the mission - others need to pick up the duties of the fallen. It also has a really bad impact on morale, which can again make it harder to get the job done. A commander who has a hard time getting the job done is likely to find that their next job will not be in the military.

A cover-up, under the circumstances described by Karpinski, would be much more stupid than is commonly seen in the military. It would risk resulting in further deaths from the same cause, which would call attention to the problem even more certainly than addressing the root causes would.

We've seen nothing BUT cover-ups and lies from the military and the DoD throughout this war, starting well before Jessica Lynch but including her to as a sterling example. Most of them were quite stupid (the ham-fisted Pat Tillman cover-up immediately springs to mind). And does any one here remember anything about Abu Ghraib, for another example?

Speaking of which, discrediting Karpinski because she was relieved of command is exactly what everyone responsible in the military would want, EXACTLY what they would want and what her being relieved of command was all about -- that and scapegoating, of course. For my money, she was one of few who were telling the actual truth, and as is SO common in the Army, THAT's why she got canned.

And here's yet another paragraph that ought to give you pause:

Karpinski first made those accusations in January of 2006, and at that time right-wing bloggers were able to quickly conduct the same checks that I just did, and reach the same conclusions.

If you find yourself on the same side as rightwing bloggers, you REALLY need to rethink the whole thing. SERIOUSLY rethink it -- no matter what the subject. They are not known for their veracity or logical and rational thought processes. They ARE known for carrying the water of the GOP by hawking GOP lies talking points and coming up with plenty of their own.

FINALLY, any listing of casualties in Iraq (or Afghanistan) is going to be the DoD's own data -- what it wants the public to know, and NOTHING about what it doesn't want the public to know. Here's a sample press release for a female death listed as "non-hostile" this year:

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a sailor who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Petty Officer 1st Class Jennifer A. Valdivia, 27, of Cambridge, Ill., was discovered deceased on Jan. 16, 2007, in Bahrain. Valdivia was assigned to the naval security force for Naval Support Activity, Bahrain.

Valdivia’s death was a non-combat related incident in Bahrain, which is located within the designated hostile fire zone. Valdivia’s death is under investigation.

For further information related to this release the media can contact commander, U.S. 5th Fleet Public Affairs Office at 011-973-1785-4027 or [e-mail] .

http://icasualties.org/oif/female.aspx


You can go on and believe what you want but I'm not persuaded by your data at all. Thanks, tho, for posting it.

[TheWraith]

60. Uh, I'm gullible for knowing the facts?

"We've seen nothing BUT cover-ups and lies from the military and the DoD throughout this war, starting well before Jessica Lynch but including her to as a sterling example. Most of them were quite stupid (the ham-fisted Pat Tillman cover-up immediately springs to mind). And does any one here remember anything about Abu Ghraib, for another example?"

You know what all those things had in common? They all blew up quite quickly. They were also badly covered up, and there are vast amounts of evidence on them. This claim can be researched by any credible media organization, but it's solidly remained on the fringe "independent" news sites for months. That says a lot.

Furthermore, please ask the ICasualties people about the idea of the military falsifying death reports. They'll tell you, rightly, that they could never pull that off for very long--there are simply too many witnesses, too many ways of knowing what really happened. You can't mis-report deaths like that and get away with it for long, any more than you could under report the KIA numbers.

"Speaking of which, discrediting Karpinski because she was relieved of command is exactly what everyone responsible in the military would want, EXACTLY what they would want and what her being relieved of command was all about -- that and scapegoating, of course. For my money, she was one of few who were telling the actual truth, and as is SO common in the Army, THAT's why she got canned."

Personally, I don't have an opinion on Karpinski, other than the fact that she's evidently gone on a personal crusade to get revenge on the people who terminated her, a campaign which clearly includes either fabricating embarassing stories, or restating rumors as facts.

"If you find yourself on the same side as rightwing bloggers, you REALLY need to rethink the whole thing. SERIOUSLY rethink it -- no matter what the subject. They are not known for their veracity or logical and rational thought processes. They ARE known for carrying the water of the GOP by hawking GOP lies talking points and coming up with plenty of their own."

So if a right-wing blogger says the sky is blue, then you have to automatically believe they're wrong? That's dangerous and flawed thinking. As a matter of fact, it's the way a lot of right-wingers think about anything that Dems say. But that's not the way the world works. Facts are facts.

"FINALLY, any listing of casualties in Iraq (or Afghanistan) is going to be the DoD's own data -- what it wants the public to know, and NOTHING about what it doesn't want the public to know."

Except that that information is a matter of public record, and falsifying it would be painfully easy to catch. Again, ask the ICasualties people whether the Pentagon can really report whatever the hell they like. You'll be surprised by the answer.

"Here's a sample press release for a female death listed as "non-hostile" this year:"

Point? There are tons of non-hostile deaths of all sorts in the operational theater. Accidents, murder, suicide, disease... Citing one death under slightly vague circumstances from 2007 doesn't prove the death-from-fear claim from 2004.

[emilyg]

11. Don't believe the army

[EFerrari]

9. We have to support this family and we have to get to the truth.

The reality of women's lives in the armed forces is horrendous. No one should be able to cover it up.

Oh, God.

:cry:

[me b zola]

12. I am so glad that Congressman Waxman is going to investigate this

I remember when the article of her greiving father and his doubts about the official story first hit the papers. It was heartbreaking to read that the familiy had legitimate concerns that were not being addressed by the military.

I wish for Private Johnson and her family peace and the real answers to their questions.




Just what the hell are we doing over there?

[joshcryer]

14. Did she have a (third party) autopsy?

I'm afraid if not that this will be covered up badly.

[gipper66]

15. later autopsies usually echo original results out of prof courtesy

[joshcryer]

16. Later autopsies will echo the original results out of professional courtesy?

Is that true? WTF! Even if the facts are different?

[Gelliebeans]

17. My thoughts too

If it was my family member I would have an independent autopsy done. If her father is a doctor I am sure he knows someone professionally that could guide him through the process. I know this is quite morbid conversation but I would have her body exhumed immediately.

If my daughter's face was disfigured and I suspected foul play I would not let it stand without a second opinion.

[Richard Steele]

22. "Gipper"

:eyes:

[TheWraith]

43. No, it's not even remotely true. NT

[Horse with no Name]

23. Simply not true.

There isn't a reputable pathologist out there that is willing to stipulate bad facts simply to "go along to get along".
As with any profession, if you look hard enough you will find someone to say anything for money, however, I am sure the attorney for this family will not seek one of those types of pathologists.

[Hissyspit]

18. .

[UpInArms]

20. ...

:cry:

[jean]

21. Petition: "Help find the truth about the death of Pfc. LaVena Johnson"

The petition currently has 3082 signatures:
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/pfc_lavena_johnson/

Excerpt:

Once upon a time lived a young woman from a St. Louis suburb. She was an honor roll student, she played the violin, she donated blood and volunteered for American Heart Association walks. She elected to put off college for a while and joined the Army once out of school. At Fort Campbell, KY, she was assigned as a weapons supply manager to the 129th Corps Support Battalion.

She was LaVena Johnson, private first class, and she died near Balad, Iraq, on July 19, 2005, just eight days shy of her twentieth birthday. She was the first woman soldier from Missouri to die while serving in Iraq or Afghanistan.

...

After an investigation, the Army declared LaVena's death a suicide, a finding refuted by the soldier's family. In an article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Lavena’s father pointed to indications that his daughter had endured a physical struggle before she died - two loose front teeth, a "busted lip" that had to be reconstructed by the funeral home - suggesting that "someone might have punched her in the mouth."

...

Little more on LaVena's death was said for many months until a recently televised report on KMOV in St. Louis disclosed troubling details not previously made public:

• Indications of physical abuse that went unremarked by the autopsy
  
• The absence of psychological indicators of suicidal thoughts; indeed, testimony that LaVena was happy and healthy prior to her death
  
• Indications, via residue tests, that LaVena may not even have handled the weapon that killed her
  
• A blood trail outside the tent where Lavena's body was found
  
• Indications that someone attempted to set LaVena's body on fire
  

...

The petition is connected to this website:

"The Pfc. LaVena Johnson Petition"
http://www.lavenajohnson.com/

The mother of Pat Tillman once put the matter in stark and honest terms:

"This is how they treat a family of a high-profile individual," she said. "How are they treating others?"

[DinahMoeHum]

25. Her father's a doctor? I'd believe him before I believe anything

the Army authorities say - given their track record with the likes of Pat Tillman and Jessica Lynch.

Something smells really rotten about this whole situation.

:evilfrown:

[Kurovski]

28. K&R. (nt)

[IWantAChange]

29. Rep Waxman continues to open can after can of whupass on the Bushco's...

[Nikki Stone1]

30. Go get'm Henry. This young woman's family deserves the truth.

What do you want to bet it was a fellow soldier whom she turned down sexually?

(I'd bet the farm on it.)

[orleans]

31. jeez....good luck to the family getting at what really happened.

hopefully waxman can be a help.

how horrible.

[Roland99]

32. If this admin and the Pentagon supported our troops any more than they do....

they'd ALL be dead or paralyzed.

[LostinVA]

33. Mistreatment of female soldiers appears to be epidemic in Iraq

And, it's pretty bad on state-side bases too. My semi-Freeper BIL, who was a CW in the Army until a medical discharge, is disgusted by how women are treated in the military.

By hey, it's all the women's fault, right? Their presence around our brave boys make the said brave boys unable to control themselves.

[TheMadMonk]

36. Women in combat. They forced their way into places they weren't welcome.

Now they pay.

And yes that's bloody :sarcasm:

[Karenina]

44. Sarcasm not needed

You've spoken the truth of the current situation.

[alstephenson]

34. R.I.P., sweet LaVena..

Another young and wasted life. Damn this war, damn this army, damn this administration....how can these things happen? Please find out the truth, Senator Waxman!

[mtnester]

37. After everything previously, anything the Army said I would go 180

the other way to search for the truth.

[Sherman A1]

38. Excellent!

She is from Florissant, MO which is where I live. I am happy that this is finally being addressed. We knew it was "horse hockey" all along.

[ejbr]

39. And I dare say

that we needn't worry about Waxman and Clay having the appropriate outrage. I have just had a minute to process this story and I am LIVID!

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

41. K & R -- How sad and utterly appalling...

...responsible person(s) need to be tracked down and made to answer for this. The Army's stonewalling is inexcusable and should result in a major shakeup.

[LuckyLib]

42. In Iraq only a few weeks and she commits suicide? That doesn't make sense.

Yet one more miliary crime (both the event and the cover-up) that needs to be uncovered.

[Triana]

47. The Army Lies

My stepbrother was murdered by them. They killed him in boot camp. They crushed his chest with the butt of a rifle. They tried to say he died of pneumonia or some sort of congestive heart failure or some such.

BUT

His chest cavity was crushed, bruised. There were marks on it JUST LIKE THE BUTT of a rifle. HE WAS NOT AT WAR. He never made it even that far. This happened in boot camp.

When my step-dad tried to get the TRUTH about what happened, he was LIED to, STONEWALLED, treated like a parasite and told to "get over it" and "move on".

IF HE WANTED THE TRUTH, HE'D HAVE TO SUE THE ARMY to get it.

My stepdad didn't have it in him to go through with that. DO YOU KNOW WHAT IT TAKES to sue the Army or the Fed Gov't? It's damn near impossible.

We couldn't even mention his son without tears welling up in Dad's eyes. He just did NOT have the emotional wherewithall to try suing them and it would have done no good anyway.

THEY LIE.

DON'T EVER DOUBT IT.

THEY

LIE...

[IndyOp]

49. Triana, I am so sorry...

What a terrible, terrible situation for your family.

:(

[Triana]

56. My stepdad never got over that...

..he went to his grave with his heart broken over his murdered son. We all knew the truth. A big strapping guy like Paul Jr doesn't GET broken breastbones and marks like that from heart failure (or whatever). But there was nothing we could do about it. Unless HE (stepdad) was willing to go through with suits - and he just couldn't. I can't blame him. I'm not sure the whole family had enough strength to endure that. And in the end, we'd probably have lost anyway.

I tell this story every time I see something like this. Because I KNOW they LIE.

[japple]

48. The media needs to be harrassed about why there has been no

coverage of this story, except for the local piece. I'm going to write to the major "news" orgs and ask why not.

[democrat2thecore]

50. Typical

Good on this dad for not accepting the Army bullshit. Something, obviously, doesn't add up. This is just becoming typical crap that nobody should have to put up with.

[Sedona]

52. Another suspicious female suicide in Iraq

Specialist Alyssa Peterson died in Iraq in September, 2003. The military listed her death as the result of a "non-hostile weapons discharge." But newly uncovered military documents reveal Peterson actually shot herself with her service rifle. The documents also show her suicide came just two weeks after she refused to take part in further interrogations of Iraqi prisoners and had asked to be reassigned. We speak with the reporter who broke the story.



http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/11/07/1445239

[Nevernose]

57. Good kids kill themselves all the time

No, I don't know what the conditions are for women soldiers in Iraq, nor do I know what this poor girl's mental condition was like.

If the army is covering anything up, then good for Waxman and Clay.

But good kids kill themselves every day. Kids who are honors students, active in the church choir, girl scouts, and gifted musicians. Kids who tell their parents how much they look forward to coming home for Christmas. Maybe kids who got beat up, too.

Although there are usually -- but not always -- warning signs, there is no stereotype for suicidal people.

I'm not speculating on whether she was murdered or suicidal or anything else. I'm not passing judgment on anyone. Yet. This was just a mental health public service announcement.