And the Lies Continue...

While browsing the Boston blog Bostonist, I stumbled upon a story that is very concerning. Everyone probably remembers the Pat Tillman disaster and the ensuing cover-up. The lies and deception involved in that case hurt Tillman's family immensely, so one may think that the Army would learn their lesson when it comes to lying about soldiers' deaths. But, alas, they have not. Quincy resident Specialist Ciara Durkin, 30, was shot and killed within a secure area of Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan. Instead of coming clean about Durkin's death, the Army thought it might get away with telling Durkin's family that she was killed in a combat situation and that would be that. Not so much. The Army finally disclosed that, in fact, Durkin died in a non-combat situation and that she was found with a single gunshot wound to the head within a secure area of the airfield. Obviously something does not add up here. Also take into account that Durkin worked with soldiers' finances and making sure that the families of dead or injured soldiers were receiving their benefits. She also had told her family the last time she was home that she had come upon some information that she did not like and that she had "made some enemies because of it."

This news cannot come at a worse time for Washington as the Iraqi situation continues to deteriorate, at least on the strategic front. The Blackwater scandal continues to grow, the heat is on the Department of Defense and the State Department with neither of the two being very forthcoming, and Representative Henry Waxman (D-California) on the war path (rightly so) against what he calls "an epidemic of corruption" going down in Washington and Iraq. For just a taste of it, click here. So the fact that the Army, Department of Defense, and the State Department blatantly lie is not unprecedented. Not by a long shot. So why do we still put up with it? Why can't Representative Waxman get straight answers out of people that hold responsibility for these acts? The Army refuses to release the autopsy results and Durkin's will in this case. I understand not giving it to the media, but to one's own family members? Is this how we treat those who serve this country? Whether you think the "war" that we are involved in in Iraq is justified or not, you have to agree that this treatment of our soldiers and their families is despicable. The nonchalance that private companies show towards Iraqi citizens is also a disgrace to our country ($20,000 for an Iraqi life thrown away for no reason?). It's high time for a change in Washington and Iraq. If this is not enough to rally people behind truth and freedom in America, then I have to wonder when enough is enough. Peace.

Photos - Top: Specialist Ciara Durkin (bostonist.com), Middle: Representative Henry Waxman (D-California) (www.cnn.com), Bottom: Blackwater USA founder Erik Prince attempting to justify his company's actions (www.philly.com)