The Ashes of America's War Dead Dumped In A Landfill

U.S. Soldiers carry the remains of U.S. Army Spc. Israel Candelaria Mejias during a transfer ceremony on Dover Air Force Base, Del., April 7, 2009. Mejias died in Baghdad, Iraq, April 5, 2009, of wounds sustained from a mine detonation during combat operations. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment and attached to a task force with 3rd Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, 172nd Brigade Combat Team out of Grafenwöehr, Germany. (DoD photo by Roland Balik, U.S. Air Force)

Remains Of War Dead Dumped In Landfill -- Washington Post

The Dover Air Force Base mortuary for years disposed of some dead troops’ body parts by burning them and dumping the ashes in a Virginia landfill, a practice that officials have since abandoned in favor of burying the remains at sea.

The Dover mortuary, which is the main point of entry for America’s war dead, sent remains to the landfill from 2003 until 2008, according to Air Force officials. The manner of disposal was typically withheld from the relatives of fallen service members. The disclosure comes in the aftermath of several federal investigations into mishandling of remains at the mortuary.

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My Comment: Scatter the ashes at Arlington Cemetery, the National Mall, the ocean .... anywhere else .... but not a landfill.

What was the Dover Air Force Base mortuary thinking?

U.S. War Dead From Iraq And Afghanistan Mishandled

US President Barack Obama walks off a C-17 airplane during the dignified transfer of Sergeant Dale R. Griffin of Terre Haute, Indiana, at Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Delaware, October 29, 2009.

Air Force Mishandled Remains Of War Dead, Probe Finds -- Washington Post

Federal investigators said Tuesday they uncovered “gross mismanagement” at the Dover Air Force Base mortuary that cares for America’s war dead after whistleblowers reported horror stories of lost body parts, shoddy inventory controls and lax supervision.

The former mortuary commander and two other senior officials have been disciplined – but not fired -- in response to separate investigations conducted by the Air Force Inspector General, the Secretary of the Air Force and the Office of Special Counsel, an independent federal agency that also received the whistleblower complaints.

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Update #1: Air Force Officials Disciplined Over Handling of Human Remains -- New York Times
Update #2: Air Force Morgue Lost Body Parts From War Dead -- ABC News/AP

My Comment: This is news that makes me sick in the stomach. How long and how large is this scandal is on my mind right now.

How Long Will All American Presidents Be War Presidents?

From Fabius Maximus:

The Presidential campaign rolls on in the seventh year since 9/11, with the only debate about the Long War being in which nations America should fight. We see this even the speeches of the most “liberal” candidate, Senator Barack Obama.

I recommend reading “The World Beyond Iraq”, his speech about national security given at Fayetteville, NC on 19 March 2008. He describes his plan for withdrawal from Iraq, but only to focus our efforts on Afghanistan … and Pakistan. This is doubling down when losing, known as the “gambler’s ruin.” {revisions to this are in red) This speech is a rhetorical masterpiece, providing strong and specific promises. He gets right to the point…

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My Comment: This is an interesting question, because from my vantage point I have always viewed every U.S. President .... from George Washington to Barack Obama, as Presidents who were involved in some war and/or military action. In short .... a war President.

I mean .... name me one who was not. From The American Revolution to the Indian Wars of the 1800s, the U.S. Civil War, followed by more Indian wars and skirmishes with our neighbors in Latin America, there has been nothing but war. The 20th century has also turned out to be just one big time period of war and conflict ... World Wars followed by the Cold War followed by small conflicts too numerous to count .... and now the 21rst century is turning out to be the same way.

Yup ..... it appears that U.S. domestic/foreign policy and war has walked hand in hand since the beginning of the Republic, and will probably be that way into the next century.

US Forces Face Spike In Deadly Violence In Iraq

A U.S. soldier stands guard on a roof during the opening of Amiriya Public
Works sub-station in western Baghdad's Amiriya district June 25, 2008.

From Yahoo News:

BAGHDAD - Roadside bombs killed four U.S. soldiers in northern Iraq, the military said Wednesday, in a spike of violence that pushed to at least nine the number of Americans who have died here this week.

In the latest attack, one soldier was killed by an explosively formed penetrator, or EFP, about 9 a.m. Wednesday in the predominantly Shiite eastern half of Baghdad, the military said. The armor piercing bombs are believed to come from Iran and have been used by Shiite extremists to kill hundreds of American forces.

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News On Iraq From Other Sources:
US military deaths in Iraq war at 4,110 -- Yahoo News
Bomb Kills US Soldier in Iraq, Raising US Fatalities to 10 Since Monday -- Voice Of America
Iraq blast kills three US soldiers, interpreter -- The Age
The Consequences of the Surge -- The Atlantic

My Comment: The war in Iraq has always "spiked" in the spring and fall when temperatures were ideal to travel around in Iraq. The fear among military and political commanders is that the U.S. election may cause more IED explosions and ambushes on American troops in the fall. Time will tell.