Newsgroup: it.politica.internazionale
Titolo: Primo ammutinamento in Iraq

Si tratta solo di un episodio isolato, come suggerisce Boylan (portavoce
dell'USArmy), o è la punta emergente di un disagio profondo e motivato
(dalla cattiva condizione dell'equipaggiamento come dalla ferma prolungata)?
Namib
------------
http://www.armytimes.com/story.php?f=1-292925-453911.php
Platoon defies orders in Iraq
Miss. soldier calls home, cites safety concerns
By Jeremy Hudson
October 15, 2004
A 17-member Army Reserve platoon with troops from Jackson, Miss., and around
the Southeast deployed to Iraq is under arrest for refusing a "suicide
mission" to deliver fuel, the troops' relatives said Thursday.
The soldiers refused an order on Wednesday to go to Taji, Iraq - north of
Baghdad - because their vehicles were considered "deadlined" or extremely
unsafe, said Patricia McCook of Jackson, wife of Sgt. Larry O. McCook.
Sgt. McCook, a deputy at the Hinds County, Miss., Detention Center, and the
16 other members of the 343rd Quartermaster Company from Rock Hill, S.C.,
were read their rights and moved from the military barracks into tents,
Patricia McCook said her husband told her during a panicked phone call about
5 a.m. Thursday.
The platoon could be charged with the willful disobeying of orders,
punishable by dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of pay and up to five years
confinement, said military law expert Mark Stevens, an associate professor
of justice studies at Wesleyan College in Rocky Mount, N.C.
On Friday, the Army confirmed that the unit's actions were under scrutiny.
"The commanding general of the 13th Corps Support Command has appointed the
Deputy Commander to lead an investigation into allegations that members of
the 343rd Quartermaster Company refused to participate in their assigned
convoy mission October 13," said Lt. Col Steven A. Boylan, a spokesman for
U.S. Army and multinational forces in Iraq.
"The investigating team is currently in Tallil taking statements and
interviewing those involved. This is an isolated incident and it is far too
early in the investigation to speculate as to what happened, why it happened
or any action that might be taken," Boylan said.
"It is important to note that the mission in question was carried out using
other soldiers from the unit," Boylan said.
Boylan also confirmed that the unit is stationed in Tallil, a logistical
support air base south of Nasiriyah.
Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said he plans to submit a congressional
inquiry today on behalf of the Mississippi soldiers to launch an
investigation into whether they are being treated improperly.
"I would not want any member of the military to be put in a dangerous
situation ill-equipped," said Thompson, who was contacted by families. "I
have had similar complaints from military families about vehicles that weren
't armor-plated, or bullet-proof vests that are outdated. It concerns me
because we made over $150 billion in funds available to equip our forces in
Iraq.
"President Bush takes the position that the troops are well-armed, but if
this situation is true, it calls into question how honest he has been with
the country," Thompson said.
The 343rd is a supply unit whose general mission is to deliver fuel and
water. The unit includes three women and 14 men and those with ranking up to
sergeant first class.
"I got a call from an officer in another unit early (Thursday) morning who
told me that my husband and his platoon had been arrested on a bogus charge
because they refused to go on a suicide mission," said Jackie Butler of
Jackson, wife of Sgt. Michael Butler, a 24-year reservist. "When my husband
refuses to follow an order, it has to be something major."
The platoon being held has troops from Alabama, Kentucky, North Carolina,
Mississippi and South Carolina, said Teresa Hill of Dothan, Ala., whose
daughter Amber McClenny is among those being detained.
McClenny, 21, pleaded for help in a message left on her mother's answering
machine early Thursday morning.
"They are holding us against our will," McClenny said. "We are now
prisoners."
McClenny told her mother her unit tried to deliver fuel to another base in
Iraq Wednesday, but was sent back because the fuel had been contaminated
with water. The platoon returned to its base, where it was told to take the
fuel to another base, McClenny told her mother.
The platoon is normally escorted by armed Humvees and helicopters, but did
not have that support Wednesday, McClenny told her mother.
The convoy trucks the platoon was driving had experienced problems in the
past and were not being properly maintained, Hill said her daughter told
her.
The situation mirrors other tales of troops being sent on missions without
proper equipment.
Aviation regiments have complained of being forced to fly dangerous missions
over Iraq with outdated night-vision goggles and old missile-avoidance
systems. Stories of troops' families purchasing body armor because the
military didn't provide them with adequate equipment have been included in
recent presidential debates.
Patricia McCook said her husband, a staff sergeant, understands well the
severity of disobeying orders. But he did not feel comfortable taking his
soldiers on another trip.
"He told me that three of the vehicles they were to use were deadlines ...
not safe to go in a hotbed like that," Patricia McCook said.
Hill said the trucks her daughter's unit was driving could not top 40 mph.
"They knew there was a 99 percent chance they were going to get ambushed or
fired at," Hill said her daughter told her. "They would have had no way to
fight back."
Kathy Harris of Vicksburg, Miss., is the mother of Aaron Gordon, 20, who is
among those being detained. Her primary concern is that she has been told
the soldiers have not been provided access to a judge advocate general.
Stevens said if the soldiers are being confined, law requires them to have a
hearing before a magistrate within seven days.
Harris said conditions for the platoon have been difficult of late. Her son
e-mailed her earlier this week to ask what the penalty would be if he became
physical with a commanding officer, she said.
But Nadine Stratford of Rock Hill, S.C., said her godson Colin Durham, 20,
has been happy with his time in Iraq. She has not heard from him since the
platoon was detained.
"When I talked to him about a month ago, he was fine," Stratford said. "He
said it was like being at home."
Army Times staff writer Gina Cavallaro contributed to this report.

 
E ancora una volta il nostro Namib tenta la sua disinformazione.
Infatti l'ammutinamento sta solo nella sua fantasia malata, visto che il
non obbedire ad un ordine non configura di per se questo reato.
-Stefano

 Infatti l'ammutinamento sta solo nella sua fantasia malata,
Disse il bue all'asinello...