I'm waiting for the book, and then the movie to come out.

 

The current Administration made her a hero?!?!
nevermind....I'm not even going there

Stan

 

The ones that rescued her are indeed heros but so is Jessica, she got pretty beat up and is still not out and about like normal. I am sure there will be a movie one day and NOT because Jessica trys selling it because it is what the public will want due to all the coverage on it, a movie would be good because it would depict all involved with the rescue...

 

I for one am glad to see Jessica get all the attention she has recieved. Her speech made note of her best friend that lost her life in the ambush. I certainly would NOT want to change places with her after what she has been thru.

As far as ........She was turned into a hero by the current administration

Iam not even going to reply to that

 

Go back to the accounts of what went on when the news was first announced by the Pentagon. A lot of information was being passed by the Pentagon to the news reporters through "back channels." At that point, things started to snowball and it was allowed to snowball by the Pentagon with the administration feeding the frenzy. It was good for the war effort. It was good for public opinion.

Go back and watch the news reports when she was rescued and listen to the candid reports people on-scene made. If you had an opportunity to watch the european version of the news, not what was shown and reported in this country, you would have seen a very different story. Check out the first interview with the doctor that was treating her.

That's how all these questions started coming out about what actually happened. If it wasn't for the Europeans, we'd only know what the Pentagon and this administration wanted us to know.

The real heros are the staff of that Iraqi hospital who treated and protected her.

People who are trying to shoot me down on this are all brainwashed. You only saw what D.C. wanted you to see. The accounts of what happened are very different if you kept up with the news reporting outside of this country. Hey, war and politics is an ugly business. The administration and Pentagon will try to feed you what you need to hear to keep the polls up in support of the war and the administration. They all do it to varying extents. To believe otherwise is a testament to the effectiveness of the control they have over you. You can't even look at things with an open mind any more. You want to hear a certain thing and that's what they are telling you.

Look at it this way. If Bill Clinton were the President and everything happened in this same way, wouldn't you be questioning everything? The difference between you and me is I always question what I see in the news. You totally believe everything this administration says. I question everything and make my own conclusions.

It never ceases to amaze me. Seemingly intelligent people are so willing to believe everything they are fed by their party.

 

And France said Saddam was a nice guy, sure you stick with your friends in the OLD Europe, because they have the best interest of America at heart. There is a lot of FALSE information out there, especially feed out by the BBC, I suppose you believe them too? How about the rumors that the Bush administration set up the whole terriost attack against the towers and other things? Liberals can get so scary when out of power and knowing it is going to be many, many decades before they even get a chance at it again.

You believe what old Europe and those that hate America tell you, and continue to believe America is the evil one it won’t help solve the actual problem and just creates fear among American’s, but then again that’s all the hard left loves to do, it’s there only shot at any power…

And get over the fact that Jessica IS a HERO herself as well…

 

Once again 01 XLT nails it

 

My .02 on the issue........

First, Jessica got screwed up fairly bad which was the reason she wasn't moved with the other prisoners. She didn't command the unit, and the men were captured or killed as well. It was actually a man the ORDERED the surrender of the unit when they saw that hope of overcoming the opposition was lost. There were also some Marines that attempted to support them, and from my understanding at least one was killed.

Second, the people of the unit all took hostile fire and from all accounts attempted to defend themselves. By all accounts I can find the Special Operations teams that did both her and the rescue to the north did not take any fire on scene. Though I have friends and nothing more than the utmost respect for those in special ops groups, in this case they did not do anything other than go into the mission prepared for hostility.



Dennis,

I do read reports from across the water to get world views on issues. I'd like to make several points. If you have any links to prove otherwise I'm more than open minded enough to look at them. I have numerous friends still on active duty, and political ties mean nothing to me if my friend are placed in harms way without just reason.

Don't assume anyone that differs with your opinion is doing so based on party affiliation. I've never voted based on party lines, and never in any election voted for all candidates in any given party.


1. I have found no reports citing any official military or Pentagon sources stating that there was hostility during the rescue, or that Jessica performed in a Rambo like manner. All the "spin" I've found on these stories is based on either unknown or named sources, or those not on site. People with facts name the person, not point fingers at unknown sources.

2. The doctor that gave the information was granted political assylum along with his family. At least one report I saw stated he was also given a citation for his efforts, though I coould not find other articles to substantiate this. Regardless, the doctor has been given consideration for his part in the rescue.

3. I have seen several reports of people in the hospital that were not happy when the rescue took place, claiming the special ops used more force than needed. I have NOT found any instances where these men did anything other than frighten those in the hospital. Much like a SWAT raid, such a mission would focus on immediate control and overwhelming firepower if required. Upon not meeting any resistance the teams did not fire on or abuse anyone within the hospital that I have heard of. You don't go into a rescue mission ill prepared, as it creates the possibility of further casualties and/or deaths.






As for awards to the special ops guys that rescued her, any received would probably be kept quiet. Generally special operators are kept out of the public eye, as such recognition defines unit tactics and movements, and other information critical to further degrade their capabilities. There are even accounts of special ops types getting "generic" awards citations, so as not to disclose specifics of the mission. There was a Navy SEAL awarded the medal of honor under such circumstances. Years later when declassified the real account was released.

Somebody else also mentioned that if she got a bronze star many others should. I did a quick search and found links showing about 27,000 bronze stars were awarded during the first Gulf War. With some further digging you will find that some were awarded to people that were not remotely close to hostilities. It should also be noted that unless awarded with a "V" device which implies battlefield valor, a bronze star may be awarded to almost anyone who takes fire or is in the path of hostilities.


Personally I think the "hush, hush" nature of the unit is because they don't want to admit that the unit was ill prepared for the circumstances they encountered. Somehow poor Jessica got swept up by the press. This same press ignored that a male soldier ordered her surrender.

I do agree that some awards have almost become handouts, and there were several investigations regarding this after the first Gulf War. This "cheapens" the award in some cases when others have done more to receive it.

In the case of Jessica and her unit, they took and returned hostile fire. It's easy for people to sit back and be armchair crtitics when you don't have rounds flying past your head. The majority of military men and women will never take fire. Female or not, her butt was just as much on the line.

 

A Hero? Maybe not. A Heroine? Indeed.
If you've never been in battle, you can not relate, as there is NOTHING in this world as trying.
To take anothers life, if you haven't done it, you can not relate to it.
To have survived what she did. If you haven't been there you can not relate.
I will bet you that the Seals and Marines that brought her out are far more fulfilled with the fact that they did so, and bask in that fact.
Medals? They all have their share. After all they are all just memories to those of us who have been there.
Once again, if you haven't experienced it, YOU CAN"T RELATE...
She deserves her moment, let her have it.

 

That little 'V' means a lot to some people.
Remember ADM Mike Boorda about seven years ago?

http://www.cnn.com/US/9605/16/boorda.6p/index.html

 

Raoul,

Though it's tragic that he took his own life, I find it hard to grasp that a senior officer was not aware of what was entered in his service record.



A little known fact to some is that it is now a federal offense to falsely claim or display a Medal of Honor. I haven't kept up on it lately but the last I saw several groups were pushing for laws of such nature for the MOH, Navy Cross, Silver Star and Bronze Star.

In some cases recipients are entitled to federal benefits (a MOH recipient receives $500 monthly for life) and also state benefits such as free or reduced auto registration fees.

Personally I'm glad to see such laws. Being that all of the above awards signify from basic engagement or being in harms way, up to extraordinary valor or heroism, I think they are doing the right thing in attempting to make sure only those rightfully awarded display them.




.... and before this hits the press, I can prove without doubt that I earned the star on my good conduct ribbon.

 

I was standing in a chow line wearing my Class A's and several Marines were in line also. One of them commented to another about my ribbons and another one said,
"They get medals for standing in the chow line."

There was a tense moment of silence then we all burst out laughing.

Then I gave each of them one of my medals.
(I knew I'd get a new one when I got inside because it was the 1st of the month)