Houston Democrats

The letter was written by a relative of two soldiers who have served in Iraq and are now being redeployed there. It was addressed to Cindy Sheehan, who, like Lila Lipscomb of Farenheit 9/11 fame, is a national spokesperson for the Gold Star Families for Peace. Here is the main text of the letter:

Responding to the e-mails and Cindy's question below, yes, I have been trying since January '05 to get the word out regarding my own two loved ones and the soldiers in their division. Both served in Iraq, and their division, 1st Armored, was the first to be "extended" so they served fifteen months in Iraq, April '03 - July '04. They came back to their bases in August '04. A mere five months later, in January '05, their division was told they were under orders to redeploy to Iraq as part of Stop-Loss, and they would redeploy in Fall '05. I have been trying to call attention to the "Retention" practices ever since.

In March '05, it was time for both to make the decision to re-enlist. As already under orders to redeploy and as already under Stop-Loss, their choices were: 1) don't re-enlist but you will wind up in Iraq anyway under Stop-Loss or 2) re-enlist and while you will still wind up in Iraq under Stop-Loss, at least you'll have the attractive bonus being offered.

The point is that the "Retention" rate that is being touted as demonstrative of soldier's fervor and good faith in the war is another deception being foisted on the media and public. Closer to the truth of the situation is that once they are in, they cannot get out: it is entrapment from the front end with deceptive recruitment practices, again at re-enlistment time with the threat of deployment to Iraq under Stop-Loss, again when their contract ends and they are kept in and deployed via Stop-Loss. What continues to be called an "all voluntary military" has become an involuntary military through the use of strategies of deception and legal maneuvering for which there seems to be no remedy.

The Stop-Loss, I learned from the Santiago v. Rumsfeld trial, is a mechanism that the President can employ at his discretion in times of National Emergency. He can simply renew it annually due to an ongoing National Emergency, and the effects of Stop-Loss serve to keep soldiers deployed and in service involuntarily, apparently indefinitely.

Thus, this group of soldiers, who have already given so much, is being held captive indefinitely for Bush's folly. How ironic, in view of Bush's own stellar record of "service" in the National Guard during that other quagmire.

Amy Branham, our Houston area member of Gold Star Families for Peace, asks us to help expose this travesty by writing LTEs or by writing our members of Congress ... or by posting a comment here if we know of any similar cases. The Houston area has been in the vanguard of exposing unethical recruitment; let's do the same for unethical retention.

Also, don't forget to sign the petition to get more media coverage for the Gold Star Families for Peace:

Media Coverage for Cindy Sheehan and the Gold Star Families for Peace