Video blog of US Iraq soldier who is AWOL

by Leolaia 7 Replies latest social current

• 

  Leolaia

  Watching the drama unfold, this is really something....but I'm experiencing the "Jerry Springer" effect, not sure if this is real:

  http://www.dvrepublic.org/radio/foreign_relations/main.cfm

  See especially the video from Thursday from this guy's wife back home who is hopping mad about the website. He thinks he's sick from deleted uranium poisoning and he has gone AWOL to find an Iraqi doctor who has experience treating it in the past, and it looks like an American journalist is using him to get a good story. The weird thing is that he refuses to come home because he thinks he's contagious and he would give his sickness to his family back home. That can't be true, right? So is this site entirely BS propaganda, or do you think this a real soldier who's getting himself into real hot water? Well, it'll be interesting to see what happens next....

  BTW, please don't click on the "Strangled by the System" link (Lorna's journal entry for May 14th), it has graphic pictures that you don't prolly need to see.
• 

  Leolaia

  Here is the direct link to the video of Dave's wife Heather:

  http://www.dvrepublic.org/radio/dave/day20/videotext/davevideo.swf

  Maybe I'm not a good judge of character, but I think this is real -- my first thought is that this all could just be an internet hoax hyping the DU scare, but she seems really genuine in her plea. I hope she's not acting because I really feel for her. :((( I hope things are going to turn out okay for them. As for Dave, his reply seems ... well, I dunno....

  http://www.dvrepublic.org/radio/dave/day21/videotext/davevideo.swf

  Seems really fishy to me.... feels more he's an activist acting out this part to voice his message. But maybe he is real and is experiencing some unknown problem, and feels neglected by the military, and is just repeating what he has "learned" about DU. I don't know much about it, but it seems dubious that his sickness can be "contagious", and so I'm still wondering if this is just a guy being manipulated by this "journalist" (going AWOL to find this elusive Doctor Nahas), or if the whole thing with the journalist, him, and Heather is just a hoax by an anti-DU activist organization. Well, I just hope things go alright and he gets a slap on the wrist and comes home okay.

  I bet Simon (being educated on current affairs) knows the deal about DU.....
• 

  myauntfanny

  Hi, Leoaliea

  I read the last journal entry, there he says he's afraid of being radioactive, rather than contagious. I googled it and I could find nothing, even on the left-wing sites, that says an exposed person is radioactive. And his wife's a journalist so I'd have thought she would have researched that. It all seems kind of strange. I get the Jerry Springer vibe too.
• 

  Leolaia

  Well, he did say he did not want to be a "danger" to his family, he also said he did not want to "expose" them to it, and that "they said it might be contagious". Well, one thing that makes his story credible is the following article which seems legit:

  http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/180333p-156685c.html
  http://www.nydailynews.com/news/local/story/180337p-156686c.html

  Maybe he just has this sand flea disease? One thing that is absurd is that he's searching and searching for this Dr. Nahas to study him and diagnose him, and yet in the very first video, Lorna states that he has radiation poisoning as if it were an established fact. How would she know....and rather than reporting the story she editorializes it as incentive to "oust this imbecile who calls himself chief of staff [sic]". If this is real, it looks a lot like he's being used for her political ends. Maybe he is seriously sick, but I find it hard to believe that this elusive Dr. Nahas who has not been seen before the war is going to be found and would give him better medical care than he can find in the States.....and it seems that his whole AWOL/quest misadventure is based on his fear that he would make his family sick. He also said he wants to leave all his Iraq issues and experiences over there, but if he's sick, he can't help but be sick and it makes no sense to wait until he gets better if he's not contagious if he would get better care in the US and have the support of his wife and family, whom he says he misses so much. Is he being misinformed and manipulated? Or is what he is doing in his best interest? I find myself supporting Heather 100%, I think she's right and my heart goes out to her.
• 

  Cassiline

  Truly look at the video, the entire thing seems contrived and fake with a capitol F.

  I can?t imagine a wife who has not had contact with her husband who is possibly ill is going to speak of Anti- American sentiments etc. I believe it to be bull. I see wives everyday who want their husbands home?at any cost?she is not one they both are poor actors IMO.

  Cassi
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  Leolaia

  Yeah strange that she is saying "I forbid you to have anything to do with this site" instead of "Get your ass back here!!" Very good point!
• 

  Cassiline

  So I¹m AWOL big deal, it doesn¹t mean anything. You¹re AWOL for 30 days before you become a deserter, and then the MP come after you and lock you up. But it¹s not like in the movies, AWOL only means something if you do something stupid like steal an RPG or start snooping around S2 or something. ~~ May 21st entry into the diary

  This statement is so far off it's not even funny. Going AWOL in the middle of a War is cause for a trial which the death penalty may be imposed.

  It's also funny they have USMC ( United States Marine Core) stickers on the video diary and he claims to be US Army--11B. They are very big rivals.

  Cassi
• 

  Leolaia

  Well, desertion is punishable by death ... is it the same with AWOL? Or is he in fact deserting by being absent for several days? I didn't notice any USMC stickers but the layout of the site has USMA West Point image which is also totally inappropriate..... I figured the people who designed the site from dvrepublic.com were idiots. Where are they going with this? Assuming this is fake, they're making their poster-boy look like a complete brainless idiot -- I'm not sure which cause that is supposed to be, unless the point is that war makes you do stupid things. Anyway, there's a new video from Heather:

  http://www.dvrepublic.org/radio/dave/day24/videotext/davevideo.swf

  At one point she stumbles over the word, "depleted".... could that be flubbing a line?