Too Many Outrages To Count - Part 1

The Mississippi Clarion Ledger reports that some local soldiers in Iraq are telling their families that they've been arrested for refusing orders:

A 17-member Army Reserve platoon with troops from Jackson 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 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."

I heard on the radio yesterday that a mere fraction of the $150 billion pledged by the President and authorized by Congress has been spent over there. So, Mr. President, at what point do YOU begin supporting the troops?

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 Aviation regiments have complained of being forced to fly dangerous missions over Iraq with outdated night-vision goggles and old missile-avoidance systems.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."