Yet Another Obama Gaffe: Mixing Up Military Heroes

No excuse for this one. Offensive to the grieving military family and just shouldn't have happened.

Speaking in upstate New York to troops at Fort Drum Thursday, the president was remembering the times he spent with the US Army’s 10th Mountain Division.

“Throughout my service, first as a senator and then as a presidential candidate and then as a president, I’ve always run into you guys,” Obama said. “And for some reason it’s always in some rough spots.”

“First time I saw the 10th Mountain Division, you guys were in southern Iraq. When I went back to visit Afghanistan, you guys were the first ones there. I had the great honor of seeing some of you because a comrade of yours, Jared Monti, was the first person who I was able to award the Medal of Honor to who actually came back and wasn’t receiving it posthumously.”

Jared Monti was killed in Afghanistan on June 21, 2006. He was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously, September 17, 2009.

Last word goes to BlackFive:

How does the Commander-in-Chief mix these heroes up? He put that medal around Giunta's neck and he stood with Monti's parents as they grieved. These fallen heroes leave such a great legacy, and we should know all their names. The ironic part of the speech, and this comes after the announcement of the politically pressured drawdown of troops in Afghanistan, was Obama's closing remark, "Know that your Commander-in-Chief has your back."

It shouldn't take a teleprompter for the C-in-C to get it right.

Obama Gets Low Marks From Vets And Active Military

Quick link to the Gallup poll which finds that Barack Obama, Commander-in-Chief, gets lower marks from Veterans and Active Military members than the overall civilian population.



Noel Sheppard over at NewsBusters seems to get the irony of the Gallup poll timing considering that just this weekend Time magazine's Joe Klein tried to float the idea that Obama has a better relationship with the military than George Bush did.

BlackFive explains the "Cognitive dissonance" between people like Klein and, well, reality.

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Pfc. Bradley Manning Faces Up To 22 New Charges One Of Which Being 'Aiding The Enemy'

The most serious of those charges Pfc. Bradley Manning, the former intelligence analyst for the military, now faces is "aiding the enemy", which has the potential for a death penalty sentence although prosecutors are not asking for that.

904. ART. 104. AIDING THE ENEMY
Any person who--

(1) aids, or attempts to aid, the enemy with arms, ammunition, supplies, money, or other things; or

(2) without proper authority, knowingly harbors or [protects or gives intelligence to or communicates or corresponds with or holds any intercourse with the enemy, either directly or indirectly;

shall suffer death or such other punishment as a court-martial or military commission may direct.


Department of Defense news release from their website:

Army Adds 22 Charges Against Intelligence Analyst

From a U.S. Army Military District of Washington News Release

FORT LESLEY J. MCNAIR, D.C., March 2, 2011 – After seven months of additional investigation by the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command and other investigative agencies, the Army has added 22 charges in the case of a military intelligence analyst accused of leaking classified material.

The new charges against Pvt. 1st Class Bradley E. Manning allege that he introduced unauthorized software onto government computers to extract classified information, unlawfully downloaded it, improperly stored it, and transmitted the classified data for public release and use by the enemy.

The investigation remains ongoing, officials said.

"The new charges more accurately reflect the broad scope of the crimes that Private 1st Class Manning is accused of committing," said Capt. John Haberland, a legal spokesman for U.S. Army Military District of Washington. "The new charges will not affect Private 1st Class Manning's right to a speedy trial or his pretrial confinement."

U.S. military officials in Baghdad preferred two charges consisting of 12 specifications against Manning on July 5. Officials said the commander of U.S. Army Headquarters Command Battalion preferred the new charges yesterday.

In addition to a charge of aiding the enemy in violation of Article 104 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, the new charges include 16 specifications under the UCMJ’s Article 134:

-- One specification of wrongfully causing intelligence to be published on the Internet knowing that it is accessible to the enemy;

-- Five specifications of theft of public property or records, in violation of 18 U.S. Code 641;

-- Eight specifications of transmitting defense information in violation of 18 U.S.C. 793(e);

-- Two specifications of fraud and related activity in connection with computers in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1030(a)(1); and

-- Five specifications in violation of Article 92 of the UCMJ for violating Army Regulations 25-2, "Information Assurance," and 380-5, "Department of the Army Information Security Program."

The charge of aiding the enemy under Article 104 is a capital offense, officials said. However, they added, the prosecution team has notified the defense that the prosecution will not recommend the death penalty to the convening authority, Maj. Gen. Karl R. Horst, commanding general of the U.S. Army Military District of Washington.

Under the UCMJ, the convening authority ultimately decides what charges to refer to court-martial, and whether to seek the death penalty if Article 104 is referred. Therefore, if convicted of all charges, Manning would face a maximum punishment of reduction to the lowest enlisted pay grade,; total forfeiture of all pay and allowances, confinement for life, and a dishonorable discharge.

At the request of Manning's defense attorneys, the trial proceedings have been delayed since July 12, pending the results of a defense-requested inquiry into Manning's mental capacity and responsibility, pursuant to Rule for Courts-Martial 706. Depending on the results of the inquiry, an Article 32 hearing may follow, officials said. An Article 32 hearing is the civilian equivalent of a grand jury, with additional rights afforded to the accused, they explained.

Manning remains confined in the Marine Corps Base Quantico brig in Quantico, Va. He was notified of the additional charges in person during a command visit today, officials said.

Officials emphasized that Manning is presumed innocent until proven guilty, and added that the Army is committed to ensuring his continued safety and well-being while in pretrial confinement.

Manning is accused of downloading and distributing 250,000 secret diplomatic cables between March 28 and May 4, 2010, which was then published by Wikileaks.

Manning was arrested after Adrian Lamo, an American computer hacker, reported to the FBI that Manning had communicated online to him in May 2010 that he had downloaded material from SIPRNet and passed it to WikiLeaks, which had begun publishing it in February 2010.

MSNBC and NYT are both reporting.

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Help Move America Forward Send Our Troops Christmas Gifts

It is that time again folks..time to send a little something to our troops abroad and who cannot be home with their families for the holidays.

Every year Move America Forward makes sure our troops know that we here in the states are thinking about them and are thankful for everything they do for us.

If you cannot afford to help send gifts, pass the word along, if you are a webmaster, help your readers connect to Move America Forward.. anything and everything helps.

Message via email from Move America Forward:

We Need Your Help to Find Troops Who Need Packages

12/1/2010

SPREAD THE WORD – WE NEED YOUR HELP

Move America Forward, the nation’s largest grassroots pro-troop organization is gearing up for the upcoming holiday season, and we need your help.

Now that Thanksgiving is behind us, it’s our mission to make sure we get as many care packages in the hands of our troops over in Afghanistan and Iraq as possible. There are over 55,000 troops still stationed in Iraq and over 90,000 fighting in Afghanistan, and we need to find as many of them as we can!

We’re currently looking for the names, addresses and length of deployment for troops stationed in Iraq or Afghanistan. These will all be recipients of the many thousands of care packages that will be sent out this winter.

If you are a member of the armed forces and deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, please SIGN UP NOW!

If you have a friend or family member who is in the military, you can sign them up if you have their info, or simply alert them to Move America Forward so they can sign themselves up!

Please contact your friends and family and let them know that MAF is looking for more troops to send care packages to, forward this email

Introducing Holiday Care
Packages for the Troops

We can hardly imagine how frustrating it must be for our troops deployed to Afghanistan. They are away from their families, during the holidays no less, and even though they are making progress in winning the war, they are still being put in danger by restrictive rules of engagement against the Taliban.

But you can help make a day go by a little easier for our troops by sponsoring a care package from Move America Forward!

Please send a message of support for these troops. They are in a very tough position and they need to know that we support them and wish them the best as they protect our freedoms here at home. This year Move America Forward is including several special items in our Holiday Care Packages.

Candy canes, Hot Cocoa and Hot Cider will be sent to the troops in EVERY package, and that’s IN ADDITION to what they normally receive, coffee, cookies, beef jerky, Gatorade, Jelly Bellies, bug repellent and MORE!

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