A-Infos (en) Ireland, The Workers Solidarity* # 85 -The Murder Machine

25 year old Robert Pugh died on March 2nd this year when an
'improvised explosive device' detonated near his military vehicle in
Iskandariyah, Iraq. A native of Meridian, Mississippi Robert was
the 1642nd U.S. soldier sent to be killed by the Bush government.
"He was just one of those great, personable guys" said Chris
Coffin, with whom Pugh worked at United Blood Services in Meridian.
"He would just light up a room and he could lighten the spirit."
Pugh, who had been married almost a year, was a licensed
paramedic who worked for United Blood Services in Meridian,
Coffin said. He was also a member of the Mississippi National
Guard.

The National Guard is a reserve and back up to the regular army, in
times of peace its members complete a basic training programme
and then take part in activities on occasional weekends. However
when America goes to war so does its reserve, and like Robert
Pugh many members of the National Guard have found themselves
serving in Iraq putting their lives on their line - and taking others -
so Bush and his capitalist cronies can reap the profit.

Like the other branches of the U.S. military, the National Guard
advertises heavily for recruits. As well as offering to pay college and
education expenses they promise "good pay while you learn
important job skills, gain critical life experiences and acquire the
kind of leadership training that future employers look for." In fact,
31% more veterans are unemployed than non-veterans. Likewise at
least two thirds of those who apply for college funding fail to
receive it.

The Irish government are complicit in the deaths of these U.S.
soldiers, not to mention the 100,000 or so Iraqis the troops have
slaughtered. In 2004 more than 158,000 US Troops flew through
Shannon Airport, most on their way to Iraq. During much of that
same period of time approximately 5,500 US Troops have deserted,
gone into hiding, been sent to jail and some have escaped to
Canada. Another 1,700 have deserted their posts in Iraq itself.

In a situation where their government is more than happy to see
them kill and die for political gain we can only hope that more
choose to do the same.

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* This page is from the print version of the Irish Anarchist paper
'Workers Solidarity'. We also provide PDF files of
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