Letters to the Editor for Monday, January 24, 2005

European and Mideast editions

(EDITOR’S NOTE: These are the letters that appeared in each edition of Stripes on this publication date. Click here to jump ahead to the Pacific edition letters)

Abu Ghraib offers lessons

It looks like the Army and the Pentagon have been successful in localizing and isolating the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal to a few unfortunate lower-enlisted soldiers. These soldiers were indeed guilty for mistreating Iraqi prisoners and deserved to be punished. There is no possible way, however, that prisoner abuses of this magnitude could possibly have taken place without the acquiescence of higher headquarters, or the dereliction of duty by higher headquarters to not have noticed what was happening in Abu Ghraib prison.

By blaming the whole scandal on some lower-enlisted soldiers, the Army and the Pentagon successfully protect those higher up in the chain of command who should have stopped what was happening, who ordered the abuses, who never properly trained the soldiers serving as guards, or who were not aware of what was occurring in that prison — but should have been.

This prisoner abuse scandal is a good example for senior noncommissioned officers and officers how not to allow your lower-enlisted soldiers to be made into scapegoats for policy-makers. U.S. soldiers might be curious about when the higher-ranking officials who were in charge of Abu Ghraib will be facing their own charges relating to the prisoner abuses that took place there.

Staff Sgt. Thomas P. Murt
Hatboro, Pa.

Boycott your car, not AAFES

I cannot help but disagree with the whole concept of boycotting Army and Air Force Exchange Service gas stations (“Organize a weeklong boycott,” letter, Jan. 16).

If you are griping about the cost of gasoline on post, boycott your car, not AAFES. At posts stateside, I recall AAFES’s prices being approximately equal to the prices off post. If that were the case in Europe, we would be paying about $5.50 per gallon. Rather than trying to get AAFES to lower its prices, why not lower your own gas expenditures?

The letter writer made some good suggestions, but I would recommend some of them as long-term solutions, not ways of exacting revenge on AAFES. If you do not like the price of gas, carpool, use the shuttle service provided by the installation, ride a bike, walk, or trade in your gas-guzzling sport utility vehicle for a more fuel-efficient vehicle. Stop making little trips across post that waste your hard-earned money.

I find it hard to believe that the price of gas is at all oppressive when I see how many U.S.-plated vehicles are SUVs that are getting pitiful gas mileage driving stop-and-go around post. Forget about the few of us stationed in Europe; if the whole United States would stop consuming massive amounts of foreign oil, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries would be forced to lower prices (supply and demand).

Imagine cheaper gas, fewer cars on the roads, less pollution, and our country not depending on the Middle East to supply us with our “liquid gold.” I think that is far more effective than a weeklong boycott.

Matt Stehr
Vilseck, Germany

Learn from each assignment

You could compare love to sweet vs. bitter. I know the true meaning of sweet in the people of Kosovo.

Feeling like this and exposing my heart to the people of Kosovo, I know I will be vulnerable because, when the time I have to leave is here, I will be sad.

I have a new friend in Kosovo who I admire so much. One day I was talking to him and he mentioned how much he loved his father and that his father is ill. This says to me that in Kosovo there is a lot of love and respect for family.

How can you expect to be sad in life when love is passed on to you? He knows when the time comes he has to take over and continue that love for his family, as well.

I noticed his emotions. His eyes were red and I noticed a tear was about to start, so I had to walk away before I started to cry as well.

We live in a world where nothing comes easily, and there is an opposite of every good aspect we enjoy. It’s all in how we perceive the world. Life is too short to see everything, do everything and know everything.

So, make the best of what duty assignment we have overseas and look at the people carefully and learn more about their life. Let’s enjoy every minute, because eventually it all comes to an end.

Nelson Delgado
Camp Bondsteel, Kosovo

Pacific edition

AAFES’s overall prices too high

I am writing in response to the many letters I’ve read in Stars and Stripes concerning the Army and Air Force Exchange Service gas-price situation.

It sounds like military in Japan are having relatively the same problem we are here in Europe. AAFES claims to set its gas prices based on the average weekly U.S. prices, yet we here are paying $2.06 a gallon while folks back home are paying $1.78 a gallon.

Every day we see commercials and advertisements by AAFES stating that it supports the military, it keeps prices low for those of us serving our country away from home and it provides a great service to us by not charging any tax. Yet it more than makes up for no tax charges with its outrageous prices on everything from a T-shirt to gasoline.

I could go into almost any store back home and buy a T-shirt for under $10, where the average price for a T-shirt in a post exchange store is close to $20. A pair of jeans can run you around $35 to $40, for an off-brand. In fact, we have even sent money to our parents to purchase our clothes at home because it’s cheaper to buy and ship them than it is to purchase them from the post exchange.

When is AAFES going to keep its word and start supporting the military by keeping prices low? When is it going to stop capitalizing on our situation of being thousands of miles from home — and from good stores?

God bless our parents who are willing to shop for us back home and God bless the Wal-Mart, Target and J.C. Penney stores back home for truly great deals and prices. AAFES could learn a thing or two from them.

Candy Horton
Darmstadt, Germany

Boycott your car, not AAFES

I cannot help but disagree with the whole concept of boycotting Army and Air Force Exchange Service gas stations (“Organize a weeklong boycott,” letter, Jan. 18).

The letter writer made some good suggestions, but I would recommend some of them as long-term solutions, not ways of exacting revenge on AAFES. If you do not like the price of gas, carpool, use the shuttle service provided by the installation, ride a bike, walk, or trade in your gas-guzzling sport utility vehicle for a more-fuel-efficient vehicle. Stop making little trips across post that waste your hard-earned money.

Matt Stehr
Vilseck, Germany

Where were prison supervisors?

It seems to me that something is amiss totally in the Abu Ghraib prisoner-abuse scandal.

I also was embarrassed when I first saw the photos and heard of the breaking abuse scandal. I fully agree that these actions are immoral, indecent, intolerable and against the Geneva Conventions.

I sometimes tend to agree with some writers when they say, “So what?” Do these fanatic terrorists have any remorse about the crimes they commit against their own countrymen, our soldiers, and innocent civilians and children?

However, these actions [at Abu Ghraib] are illegal and deserve punishment. What I cannot come to terms with, and accept, is that a junior enlisted reservist, an E-4, could manage to put together and be ring master to such a “band of rogue guards” without being noticed.

These actions didn’t just happen in a blink of the eye, and in an isolated corner, or back room. These actions took time, and occurred over a period of time.

My question is, where were the senior enlisted, and officers, when this abuse was taking place? Were these supervisors never in the work area where these actions took place? The military/civilian interrogators surely outrank this “ring master,” and had to be present in the environment. How could these professionals not notice what was happening around them?

Anyone would agree that if the senior chain of command didn’t see what was happening under its eyes, then it was negligent or absent in its duties also. You can delegate authority, but you can’t delegate responsibility.

Will there be any senior-level personnel in positions of responsibility courts-martialed and serving sentences, or was the explanations of “I wasn’t aware of these actions under my command” accepted.

Sgt. 1st Class Kenneth A. Cox (Ret.)
Stuttgart, Germany