Thursday, August 04, 2005

 

When You've Lost CNN, You've Lost the War

CNN transcript:

KAGAN: Of the 27 U.S. troops killed in Iraq this week, most were Marines from an Ohio battalion. Our Keith Oppenheim joins me now. He's in the working class town of Brook Park. That is just outside Cleveland. Hello. KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Daryn. And at this Marine reserve center, you can see that there's this makeshift memorial behind me, and members of the community, as well as relatives of fallen Marines, have been coming here to add flowers and various items along this fence. We spoke to one family who has been quite upset. And they've not only been upset about the loss of their son, a Marine, but also upset about the continued presence of U.S. troops in Iraq overall. The family lost Edward August Schroeder. He's a 23-year-old Marine from the Cleveland area, and he was nicknamed Augie. Augie Schroeder was one of 14 Marines killed by a roadside bomb just near the city of Haditha on Wednesday. His parents, Paul Schroeder and Rosemary Palmer, as well as his sister Amanda, talked to us about their emotional devastation, as well as why these fatalities are prompting them to speak out against U.S. strategy in Iraq. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ROSEMARY PALMER, MOTHER OF MARINE KILLED: You know, we have to stop. You know, like, we can't just continue throwing the kids away. And that's what we're doing. We're just throwing bodies at them, and it's time to stop that, and, you know, to start -- start looking at what we're doing. Let's open our eyes. PAUL SCHROEDER, FATHER OF MARINE KILLED: Where do you cut your losses? If you know you've made a mistake, then you should cut your losses no matter what sacrifice has been made. You're not dishonoring those who have made the sacrifice. AMANDA SCHROEDER, SISTER OF MARINE KILLED: It's not real to me yet. I mean, to me, like, he's still over there and he's going to call, and this is all going to be a nightmare, you know. But it's going to be really bad, and it's going to be really hard. And, I mean, I think that we'll get through it, but none of us are ever going to be the same. (END VIDEOTAPE) OPPENHEIM: Obviously a very tough time for the Schroeder-Palmer family. And they are quick to point out that they are not speaking against the Marines. In fact, this family said they were very supportive of their son Augie's sense of duty to the Marines and his plans to fulfill his commitment on his tour of duty. But his death is adding to their conviction that they are opposed to U.S. policy. And they say, because he has died, they are going to speak out more forcefully than ever against that policy -- Daryn.
It's likely that not all the families of the U.S. soldiers who died in Iraq these week are opposed to the war. But out of all those families (too many, too many), CNN chooses to run quotations from this one. That's not good for Bush, not good at all.
Comments:
Another Ohioan, Paul Hackett, is headed back to Iraq.

Imagine believing that the war is the worst national mistake of a generation, a reckless and criminal enterprise-- but going back into the abattoir as a non-combatant because "they're my Marines."

This country doesn't deserve people that good, and I fear we will lose him.
 
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