In the morning we went back towards Falluja and heard that there were queues of people waiting to try to get back into the city. The government had made an announcement saying that the people from some districts could start to go back home; they promised compensation. About midday we got a mile east of the city and saw that four queues had formed near the American base. They were mostly men, waiting for US military ID to allow them back home.Emphasis added.
The men were angry: "This is a humiliation. I say no more than that. These IDs are to make us bow Fallujan heads in shame," one of them said.
I met Major Paul Hackett, a marine officer in the Falluja liaison base. He said that the US military was not trying to humiliate anyone, but that the IDs were necessary for security. "I mean, my understanding is that ultimately they can hang this ID card on a wall and keep it as a souvenir," he said.
They took prints of all my fingers, two pictures of my face in profile, and then photographed my iris. I was now eligible to go into Falluja, just like any other Fallujan.
Now I don't want to be put in the situation where it looks like I'm saying this is all Hackett did in Fallujah, because Hackett won't tell us what he did there, but it certainly appears he was responsible for (or at least participated in the) fingerprinting Iraqis and issuing IDs after the fighting there.
Still dangerous work in Iraq, I would imagine.
I wish that Major Hackett would tell us what exactly he did in Iraq...it would really go a long way in clearing this up.
Update
I can see from the comments that I need to revise and extend my remarks.Please, actually READ the post. I do not denegrate Major Hackett's service or his contribution. My intention was actually to clarify what I have been able to discover about what Major Hackett actually did in Fallujah.
If Major Hackett has a problem with that, I am truly sorry about that and I sincerely apologize. I think it is absolutly great that Major Hackett answered the call to serve his country and left his family and fortune to do something in Iraq. It speaks highly of Major Hackett's character.
The fact of the matter is that Major Hackett's ad implied something that is not in clear evidence. If he is going to make his service an issue in this campaign, the consitutency has a right to know what exactly his service entailed. Especially since the ad appears to imply that he is a supporter of the President and his policy in Iraq. The deception is carried further by the fact that Major Hackett failed to identify himself as a Democrat in the ad.
If the fever swamp left can't understand that this is a legitimate question, that isn't my problem.
I stand by my reporting of these events and ask that Major Hackett email me if he would like to go on the record and clarify the situation.
In the mean time, I'll gladly enjoy the "hits" you guys are putting on my sitemeter...I appreciate your patronage and ask that you take a look around at some of the other posts here.
7/28 Update
Eric Minamyer has posted relevant information to the question at hand:Did Paul Hackett lead marines in combat?I am satisfied that Major Hackett has responded to the questions about his service, which really weren't my concern at all. My issue is still the ad.
Yes on October 21, 2004.
Did Paul Hackett command marines at all, if so who?
Yes, at least on that date. The marines are in a picture he shows on the news report.
Was Paul Hackett in combat?
Yes, on October 21, 2004 traveling from Ramadi to Fallujah.
What were Paul Hackett’s duties in Iraq?
While he did not respond completely he did serve in a convoy on that date. From another posting of a news report he interacted with an Arab reporter over the issue of ID badges for people in Fallujah so he had duties involving issuing IDs to civilians or at least talking to the reporter about it. His unit is comprised of among other things lawyers. Since he is a lawyer he may have served in one of those assignments, but I cannot say for certain. As I have said before all marines are also riflemen..
Was he part of Division Staff and to whom did he report?
See above.
I therefore correct my earlier incorrect opinion that he was not in combat, which was based solely on a lack of a reply.
My motivation for even looking in to this was that the hard-core lefties resorted to the usual namecalling and distortion for merely asking a question. The accusation that Mr. Minamyer was asking these questions on behalf of the Schmidt campaign caused him to decide to cease writing his blog until after the election. I found that to be a stunning manuever to convince someone to give up their First Amendment rights to free speech.
This topic came up over at the Ohio GOP blog awhile back...should a candidate be held responsible for something a supporter has said? I don't think so...even if the supporter in question is an advisor to tsaid campaign. There is a difference between speaking as a citizen and being a spokesperson for a campaign.
I have always believed that Major Hackett is a Great American for having served his country and I still do. That, in and of itself, is not a reason for me to support him for his bid to Congress. But it does not, in any way, distort or diminish, my admiration for what Major Hackett has done for our country.
Mark's Remarks
Let me repeat my high road mantra--we are not questioning his patriotism. Liberals love to use that meme. We were simply asking, well, you are a veteran, what did you do, Mr. Hackett? Questions any third grader wanting to know about Mr. Hackett would ask. However, it seems asking for clarification amounts to slander to the Left, unless of course you are falsifying National Guard memos to smear a President, or destroying a piece of paper and circulating your own report as a directly copied transcription of the memo. Come on now, which is worse, simply asking for more info, legal info that should be available, (unlike asking for privileged attorney info from the solicitor general's office) or creating false information for political gain?The fact still remains....Hackett's ad is deceptive. He does not identify his party, his commerical makes it appear he supports President Bush, who won very handily overall in the 2nd District. While it appears his combat comments may be on the up and up, he portrays himself as a full supporter of the War, when the exact opposite is true. He has called President Bush a bigger danger than Osama bin Laden, but yet he uses his image in a Daschle like swerve to try to link the two to common cause. Let's hope the people of the 2nd District don't buy the deception, and follow the example of the people of North Dakota and give the deceptive advertiser the boot.
