‘He Should Never Have Gone to Iraq’

NO AMERICAN LIFE IS WORTH IRAQI FREEDOM.
"ANYONE WHO DISAGREES IS NOT A REAL AMERICAN eddiewhere 2008."

We need to get out of Iraq and transfer responsibility and management of that country to the IRAQ's themselves. THEY SHOULD be backed by a multinational force led by Middle Eastern countries until they are able to fight extremist on their own.
Our unilateral approach in the MIDDLE EAST has to come to an end. ECONOMICALLY, IRAQ IS KILLING the average tax payer and making a few private contractors and oil firms rich.

We need Oil. WE NEED OIL. Therefore, getting rid of the Iranian regime is at the top of our agenda.
The majority in Iran want change but not under and American led invasion. It has to be done from within. We lost the support of moderate Arabs and Muslims over the last six years. Hopefully, PRESIDENT OBAMA can empower this group and encourage them to meet with their counterparts.

Inotherwords there should be an alliance between all moderates in the Middle East, JEWS, ARABs, MUSLIMS, ect... These forces must be self motivated by a common cause, Peace. IF this group can be strengthened they themselves will defeat or at least contain the force of extremism.
WE must strengthen the forces behind peace and weaken those against peace on both sides.

THE UNITED STATES CANNOT SOLVE THE CONFLICT IN THE MIDDLE EAST. WE CAN ONLY STRENGHTEN AND SUPPORT THE PEOPLE OF THE MIDDLE EAST TO SOLVE THEIR OWN PROBLEMS.

IN THE SHORT RUN WE NEED MIDDLE EASTERN OIL. THIS COMPLICATES OUR ROLE OVER THERE.
WE Should have had an ENERGY SUMMIT TEN YEARS AGO. WE NEED TO COME UP WITH A TWENTY YEAR PLAN to RID OURSELVES of OIL DEPENDENCY IN THE MIDDLE EAST. TWENTY YEARS WILL GO BY LIKE NOTHING. WE HAVE TO START NOW.

THE most dangerous threats are the ones you do not see coming. LIKE CHINA, RUSSIA, EASTERN EUROPEAN organized crime. Monitoring these entities will be our great challenge.
ARE WE READY FOR CYBER WAR. I DON't THINK SO.

In reviewing the posts in defense of this man's service, we seem to be overlooking the obvious. This man's deficits (and I do not mean that in a derogatory fashion), and the Army's failure to recognize and act on them, actually put other soldier's lives at risk. Combat, as stated by someone else, requires all of one's faculties to be fully functioning.

Note that when this man was hit, his comrades carried him 1/2 mile probably thru gunfire given he was shot while they were on duty. Being killed can happen to anyone in combat, but the soldiers who fight should not be put at risk by the military sending recruits into combat who are truly not fit.

That is simply irresponsible.

This would have shocked me if I'd read it before a couple weeks ago, when I heard that my ex-husband's son who has been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome (a form of autism) since he was five was applying for the Army and they said his condition wasn't a reason to automatically deny him (oh, the ex has no problem with it either, by the way). This is a kid who has graduated from high school but doesn't even have a driver's license. If he can't manage to drive a car, why on earth would they put a gun in his hand? All I can hope is that they make him a cook or something. He's had behavior/cognitive/empathy issues since birth and going to a war zone is going to make him a basket case. I can't imagine him getting shipped off to Iraq and having to potentially deal with PTSD on top of autism. It's a tragedy waiting to happen. Oh, and the Army doesn't want to talk to the kid's doctors about his issues or history. You know, because they have their own doctors who are more than competent to examine an autistic person and make the decision to put him in the military. Good lord.

Someone who, in his life, did not really ever get the opportunity to be loved, gave his life for his country and regardless of his disability, he gave more to us, than he ever got back in return, if only he could have had a better life before he was taken. I pray for him........my prayers and cares.........skd500

As a Vietnam vet of the Army, when has the Army ever been know to not screw up.
As the President said "Bring it on"

it has been argued by the left [and newsweek] that anyone who joins the military is mentally unfit. i honor this man for his service, and find it in poor taste now that he is gone that we question his mental status. he sounds to me like a young man who overcame many problems and gave his life for his country. thats not to say that i think we should be in iraq. now, let the young man rest in peace.

If the Army kicked him out like they should have..........He and his family would have sued them. It's a lose -lose situation. But thats how everything is in America today.......people want thier McWorld!

Being a pathfinder/scout myself I can tell you for a fact that you must be aware of where you are at all times. If not, you will die and might take someone else with you. Quote: "Dietrich was diagnosed at 16 as having severe processing problems." This line alone should have red flagged and disqualified PFC Dietrich. The Army failed on this one. I???m pro-army and pro-service but there???s just no way around it. Sending someone with this type of cognitive impairment on a forward scouting operation was tantamount to a death sentence. The Army failed by not following proper screening procedures and this was the (predictable) result. My heart goes out to a fellow scout. This should never have happened.

This story is not new, just a repeat of the Recruitors lying ability. My husband was lied to in 1968 the same way, only he wanted to be a photographer. The recrutor told him if he became a Medic in the Navy he could photograph wounds. He got his Purple Heart. Thank-you. Has anything changed, the truth is hard to find in the military, even to why we are in this war. I love Our Young Men and this Iraq War is nothing but a master plan of the heads of states (World Leaders.) I wonder if the KINGS that planned it all are really satisified. They are playing their game of checkers and over 4000 young men have died.