Response from Rep. Gringrey (R-GA) on Contractors

Dear Mr. Spires:

Thank you for contacting me with your thoughts on U.S. policy in Iraq. I appreciate having the opportunity to respond.

Like most Americans, I want to bring our troops home as soon as it is possible and responsible to do so. In order for this to take place, U.S. policy in Iraq must focus on achieving victory and stability.

I believe that General Petraeus' strategy focusing on strengthening Iraq's military, economic, and political structures is yielding substantial progress. The United States is poised to hand over the Anbar province - which is the largest in Iraq and was once the heartland of the Sunni Arab insurgency and the most dangerous province for U.S. forces - to Iraqi Security Forces. Anbar will be the 10th of Iraq's 18 provinces to be controlled by Iraqi Security Forces. This is a monumental development which displays that the Iraqis are increasingly capable of providing for their own security, which will ensure that once our troops come home, our efforts are not washed away by another rogue regime or al-Qaeda terrorists.

The Department of Defense's most recent quarterly report to Congress - Measuring Security and Stability in Iraq - is also encouraging. Security incidents during the last two weeks of May 2008 across Iraq have returned to levels comparable to early 2004. In May 2008, Iraqi and Coalition forces report civilian deaths are 75% lower than July 2007 and 82% lower than the peak number in monthly deaths that occurred in November of 2006. The number of deaths due to ethno-sectarian violence remains relatively low, illustrating the enemy's inability to re-ignite the cycle of ethno-sectarian violence. Monthly high-profile attacks in Iraq also decreased in May 2008, falling below the previous two-year low reached in December 2007. The Sons of Iraq (SoI) program continues to make essential contributions to security in Iraq. Coalition forces have already found more caches in 2008 than were found in all of 2006, largely due to SoI assistance.

Considering these facts, now is not the time to risk impeding the progress we are making; rather we should continue building on the turn-around we have made. I also believe that the stakes are too high for political posturing. Ayman al-Zawahiri, al Qaeda's deputy leader, has said: "the Jihad in Iraq requires several incremental goals. The first stage: expel the Americans from Iraq." I do not believe we should give in to the terrorists' extremist views and sinister plans for the Middle East and the world.

Although we have made significant and undeniable progress, the Government of Iraq (GOI) still needs to make further gains on the political front or our achievements could be reversed. Further, considering the record-high oil prices and that Iraq's oil capacity is nearing pre-war levels, I believe the GOI should begin footing more of the burden associated with reconstruction.

I know that many are not satisfied with the direction of this war and the setbacks we have encountered. While I readily acknowledge I wish we had arrived at the point where we are today much sooner, I do believe we are on a path to victory, and that the results have proven that we are utilizing the right strategy. Further, I strongly oppose Congressional efforts to micromanage the war by tying troop funding to withdrawal deadlines, but I do support Congress's critical oversight duty. Rest assured I will continue asking tough questions of the Administration to ensure the money we spend isn't lost to fraud and abuse within the Iraqi system.

As a member of the House Armed Services Committee, this is an issue of paramount concern to me, and I appreciate hearing your opinions on the war. I will continue working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to ensure our troops have the tools and support they need to achieve victory.

Phil Gringrey

(Notice that he did not address anything from my e-mail but instead sent me a mass distribution response to anything labeled as Veterans Affairs on his contact page.)

Response From Rep. Linder (R-GA) on Contractors

Dear Mr. Spires:

Thank you for your email regarding private security contractors operating overseas. I appreciate hearing from you on this issue.

First and foremost, I was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of U.S. Army Staff Sergeants Ryan Maseth and Christopher Everett. Their devotion to the United States and the freedoms and liberties we hold so dear does not go unnoticed or unappreciated.

The United States government has utilized the services of private security contractors for most of its overseas military operations since World War I. The media has suggested that we are now utilizing a far larger number of private security contractors overseas than at any other time in our country's history, however, that assertion is simply misleading. Similarly, while it is true that the media is reporting a greater number of incidents involving government contractors than in years past, any increase in reports of questionable incidents does not warrant a total ban of security contractors in all U.S. military operations.

For my part, I would consider supporting measures that would, for instance, hold private security contractors accountable for their actions. Everyone operating on behalf of our government--whether military personnel or private security personnel--should be held to high standards and expectations of conduct and accountability, especially if the opportunity for the use of deadly force is involved.

For over a century, private security firm contractors have provided valuable support to our troops and diplomatic missions overseas. While I was very disturbed to learn of the alleged misconduct of some employees operating as security contractors in the Middle East, I believe that most of our nation's private security firms do, in fact, offer our military and government personnel the security they need to conduct important operations they would otherwise not be able to accomplish without the security provided by these firms.

Additionally, in the past, neither Afghanistan nor Iraq was in a position to sustain larger military forces than those that they currently control, but this situation may slowly be changing. The ultimate goal of our efforts in both of those countries is to ensure that they can fully assume the responsibility of maintaining order within their own borders. Our men and women, in turn, will come home as soon as possible once that occurs.

In the meanwhile, I can assure you that I will support our service men and women as much as possible. They are doing a great job under extremely adverse conditions. As those brave men and women are willing to sacrifice to protect us, I want to provide them with the best services, resources, and equipment so that they can return home expeditiously and safely. This support, I believe, encourages military personnel to continue to serve and allows our armed services to maintain the high quality force that we have worked so hard to achieve.

Again, thank you for contacting me. If I can be of further assistance in the future, please do not hesitate to call on me.

Sincerely,

John Linder
Member of Congress

My Email to Various Representatives and Officials on the Irresponsibility of Private Contractors in Iraq

Today I read of the deaths of Staff Sergeant Ryan Maseth and Staff Sergeant Christopher Everett. They died in Iraq not from enemy ordinance but from needless American incompetence. These two Sergeants were electrocuted to death by electrically-charged water. Maseth's "burnt and smoldering" body was found under still-running, electrically charged water by a fellow soldier who kicked down the door of the bathroom at an army base in Baghdad, Cheryl Harris(his mother) told a hearing of the Senate Democratic policy committee. "On September 7, 2005, Chris was power-washing a Humvee... when he was instantly killed by an electrical shock," his mother said. The families of these two soldiers along with ex-KBR employees and several lawyers are accusing KBR of recklessly causing the deaths of these and 13 other American soldiers serving in the Iraqi War Zone.

It is the responsibility of the Congress of the United States of America to ensure that the contractors selected for service in America's War Zones are of the greatest quality, ability, and integrity. How can something such as this be allowed to happen not once or twice but 15 times. This does not even scratch the surface of the sea of abuses that have taken place at the hands of the contractors used by the United States Government in its War in Iraq. This is just one on the long list of abuses which include but are not limited to over billing, incompetence, and failure to perform the contracted duties.

I do hereby inquire as to why it is that those mothers are testifying in front of the Democratic Policy Committee and not in front of my representation in the Congress. The Republican Party has long proclaimed itself a truly patriotic group who fight for the soldiers who serve our nation by acquiring funding and support for them and their families etc. etc. etc. How is it then that nothing has been done about this nor any of the abuses that have occurred. It is time for the process to stop. No-bid contracts and the like which has propelled certain members of the Military Industrial Complex into extreme profits at the cost of the American People and the soldiers in the field.

Respectfully,
Tim Spires
Huntsville, AL

The Proletarian Time Bomb

I recently attended an Air Show in my hometown of Huntsville, AL. Among the many patriotic flag wavings present one stuck out in my mind as particularly reflective on the dangerous and self-destructive state of the American social conscious. Along the airstrip there were large mounted speakers which were used for PAs, music, etc. And these began to play some sort of memorial compilation of patriotic music. Mixed in with the music was a authoritative voice saying "It is not the Journalist who brings you Freedom of The Press, Nor the Protester who brings you Freedom of Assembly. It is the soldier on the battlefield that pays for these freedoms with his life and it is our fallen soldiers."

To many this does not seem so offensive. And I believe that is in large part due to the ignorance of the American People as to the nature of liberty. The military limits freedom and liberty they do not pay for it. And in a culture that has embraced the military as the American People have there will be outrageous violation of human rights and all of the other things that having unrestrained military forces entail.

The problem is not the praise of the military per say. The problem is the implicit disrespect for the press and for those who would assert their right to protest the actions of government. Because, it is the press that defends liberty. They are sometime unconscious of it but it is their responsibility to defend our liberty, not the military.

The role of military forces is to defend the state. Some would argue that defense of the state constitutes defense of liberty by extension. However, the state does not ensure liberty, we the people ensure liberty. The state has proven itself able and willing to suspend liberties at its fancy. And so therefore defense of the state does not constitute defense of liberty.

The journalist is by nature interested in what will sell to the people. This constitutes an extension of the people in the form of the journalist. The journalist represents and investigative force that searches for governmental failings, etc. That which is uncovered by journalists is to be corrected by the people's representation.

This is not how it happens many times. However, this is the concept. The Press is the third estate. However the American People do not understand this and as long as that is the case they will be the cause for many of the world's injustices. The responsibility of a Superpower has not been fulfilled here in the United States.

As long as the American People maintain their position in regard to the press they will be a danger to themselves and the rest of the world. Because they will allow the unrestrained military intervention that has been seen in the 20th and 21st century to continue completely unrestrained. The proletariat is not enchained by the bourgeois but by themselves in this new Century.

My Email to Various Representatives On the Case of Alabama Representative Sue Schmitz

To: Members of the United States Senate, House of Representatives, and the Alabama State Legislature

An elderly civil servant is arrested in the wee hours in an eerily Big Brother-like raid, her husband forced into the morning cold shirtless. A social studies teacher and an elected official arrested and accosted on the orders of opposition party minions. A state controlled press which slanders her name throughout the masses.
This should be something I read about happening in North Korea, Cuba, or China; however, it should not be something that I read happened and is continuing to happen in The United States of America. The civil servant of whom you read is Columbia High School AP Government teacher: State Representative Sue Schmitz.
A tale of gigantic proportions is brewing in the great state of Alabama. An illustrious G.O.P. has taken on enormous power in this new era of American politics. And they have wielded that power with potentially disastrous consequence. A pledge from Governor Riley to craft a new Republican-dominated state legislature is by no means coincidental.
The Justice Department has become a pawn of the Executive. In Alabama this has struck home particularly viciously with Alice Martin. The enormous rise in political appointments and the enormous number of obviously partisan prosecutions in Alabama have reflected this change. This represents a clear and present danger to our Democracy and the American People cannot afford for you to ignore it.
I plead with you on behalf of the people who know and love Mrs. Schmitz, and I think the American People as well. Please stop this debauchery of Democracy. The path which some in the Republican Party has taken this nation down is a dark one. They have sacrificed liberty for what they deemed was security and they have wielded the powers they gained at the expense of Our liberties to their advantage. The Republican Party has not acted alone however. It is the responsibility of the American People. We opened the door. And We must close it. A drastic change is needed. And I believe the Representation is where it must start.
Thank You For Your Time,
Tim Spires
Huntsville, AL

My Email to the Office of Governor Riley

I am inclined to express my discontent at the recent findings about Attorney General King. I must express my feelings and the feelings of many I know that King's actions reflect on the integrity of his appointer. His alleged homosexuality is by no means a matter of moral turpitude; however, his extreme hypocrisy on the issue of homosexuality and all of the other extreme conservative issues is something that perturbs me greatly. I think that it will also perturb many of the voters in North Alabama. And I doubt that a Republican will acquire my vote in the future.