A company that REALLY doesn't support Soldiers

[Siebert Outdoors]

TO OPEN A CAN OF WORMS HERE.....I AM ALL FOR US BEING THERE....THE IRAQI PEOPLE..MOST OF THEM...WANTED OUR HELP AND ARE VERY THANKFUL FOR IT.  IT'S THE ONES WHO WANT TO TAKE CONTROL OF THE NOW GOVT THAT WANTS US OUT AND SHOOTS AT US AND EVERY IRAQI WHO STANDS UP FOR THEIR FREEDOM.  I HAVE FRIENDS OVER THERE WHO SAY IT'S NOT ALL ABOUT WHAT WE HEAR OR SEE IN THE NEWS.   THEY REALLY DO WANT OUR HELP.

Agree 100%.  One of my buddies came back from over there not to long ago.  He said we have been building water stations, schools, etc.  Did we really hear about that on the news?  I never did.

If we back out of this "War" and not complete it and give Iraq a stable government when we pull out all heck will break loose.  From what I understand we really are not fighting Iraqi's.  We are fighting against Boarder jumpers that are fighting to cause chaos for their movement.

[Troutfisher]

Agreed GMAN!  

[paparock]

There is a question as to the veracity of the business owner however since the business is run out of the owners home according to news reports. Was there a firing of an employee or was that a statement issued for public consumption to douse the flames of the fire that the original email from the company started? The owner refuses to answer any further questions. So far, no one seems to know what the truth is.

On 9/11 as I and many of you watched in shock and horror as many of my fellow Americans were murdered before our eyes on our TV screens I new this meant war one way or another. While many feel Iraq and 9/11 are not related, I disagree because the mindset of the nation changed after that event. The nation as a whole was mad and wanted to strike back at "them". Now that years have passed and we have daily watched Iraq drag on and on the nation has grown weary of seeing Americans die and wonder for what end. Being a Vietnam Era veteran, I feared this very thing happening having lived through the short attention span of the majority of Americans during another war. It makes me wonder though why my father and grandfathers generations were so different though. During their wars, they lost more dead on some days than we have lost during the whole Iraq war. Now whether we like or dislike, should have or should not have gone to war in Iraq, are debates that should have been fought before the vote was taken in Congress. I have heard many excuses from congressmen and senators but they had the intelligence from multiple government sources and even other nation's intelligences. Al this bickering is being beamed via TV directly to our enemies where I am sure they laugh and dance at our national lack of resolve as they so such in their press releases. So, I for one support the soldier in the field until he or she is safely home, period. I never forgot my home coming in uniform were I was greeted by being spat on in my face and see those same views coming out today in this country.

I hope the news media keeps digging to find the truth about that business owner. If it is true that he fired the employee or if it was a lie. We all have freedom of speech but not all speech is free nor allowed under law. We also have freedom to not do business with that company or with those that do. All freedoms come at a price and some are not willing to pay the price for those freedoms. Some want to punish those that won and keep those freedoms while they abuse those same freedoms. Those of us who have seen our friends die for those freedoms sometimes find it hard to be as tolerant of such people as perhaps we might be but old wounds sometimes never heal.

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GIs in Iraq Get Their Mats After Enduring Insult From Web-Based CompanyWednesday, January 24, 2007

All he asked of a Web-based mattress company was to send mats so he and his fellow GIs wouldn't have to sleep on the cold, bug-invested ground of one of the harshest posts in Iraq.

What he got, instead, was an insult, a slur aimed at every American soldier enduring the hardships of duty.

"I was appalled at the response," Sgt. Jason Hess told FOX News in an email received Tuesday afternoon from Iraq a day after his story was told. "A simple response would have been, I'm sorry but we do not ship overseas."

Hess, part of the 1st Cavalry Divison, is stationed in Taji, a former Republican Guard stronghold, and one of the toughest outposts in Iraq.

Last week, Hess emailed Discount-Mats.com to ask if he could purchase mats so he and his unit did not have to endure the constant assault from sand mites, sand flies and other disease carriers that inhabit the ground.

In his email, dated Jan. 16, 2007, he asked the company, registered to Faisal Khetani, an American Muslim of Pakistani descent:

"Do you ship to APO (military) addresses? I'm in the 1st Cavalry Division stationed in Iraq and we are trying to order some mats but we are looking for ships to APO first."

On the same day, Hess received this reply:

"SGT Hess,

We do not ship to APO addresses, and even if we did, we would NEVER ship to Iraq. If you were sensible, you and your troops would pull out of Iraq.

Bargain Suppliers

Discount-Mats.com"

Discount-Mats.com is run out of Khetani's home in West Allis, Wis. In a telephone interview Tuesday with FOX News, Khetani said he had fired the employee who sent the email, a claim that FOX News has not been able to confirm. He also said he has received thousands of phone calls to his home and business from people protesting the email exchange.

Hess said that he has since found two mat suppliers who shipped to an APO address in Iraq.

Meanwhile, FOX News has received thousands of emails asking how to donate mats and other items to U.S. soldiers in Iraq.

Rob Timmons, an Iraq veteran and a veteran outreach coordinator, recommended the following Web sites:

http://www.iava.org

www.army.mil

[SPEEDBEAD.]

I am not political at all, but I do find it offensive when people do not support the troops.

I enjoy reading the different perspectives on these subjects.

Thanks fellas,

Wayne

[Munkin]

Sleeping mats? Must not be light Infantry?

Allen

[Banor]

The mats are pretty light, can be rolled up and tied right to the ruck sack.  The sleeping bags suck to hump for miles, however they keep you warm as heck!

B

[earthworm77]

Does anyone here feel that the employees First Amendment rights were violated?.  I heard some people on cable news arguing that his right to free speech was violated.

This individual chose to add his/her personal opinions or feelings into a business dealing and thus came off insensistive, rude, crass, insulting, ignorant and disrespecful. That individual whether reflecting the beliefs of that company is a representative of a professional organization. Behavior like that should not be tolerated. That is not how you deal with customers. The resulting termination is warranted and not a violation of free speech.

I was police officer for 12 years. I couldn't just go around and tell people they were scum of the Earth...well I guess I could have but there would have been repercussions. Free Speech is great but you can't simply interject your fellings in every situation without worry of stepping in $hit.

[Guest avid]

While many feel Iraq and 9/11 are not related, I disagree because the mindset of the nation changed after that event. The nation as a whole was mad and wanted to strike back at "them".

We did strike backe at them.  Afghanistan, the home of Al queda was invaded by the US with the full support of most of the world including may Islamic states.

Iraq had no Al queda terrorists.  Saddam made sure of that.  He was, you recall a secular leader.  Though Moslem in religeon he did not run an Islamic state.  The Bathe party always stood for a trans arabia.  He wanted to rule all of Arabia, not hand it over the Clerics.

This argument about his being involved with terrorists, is old worn out nonesense.  He would not tolerate anyone whose agenda interefered with his own.  Especially armed radical islamic terrorists.

It was our invasion of Iraq that created the turmoil that made the country a ripe training ground for Islamic mujahadeen (jihadi's fighting for Islam, not Iraq)  

But there is a genuine Iraqi insurgency. the sunnis' who lost power when Saddam was toppled faught back.  Now it's just a big mess.  the Kurds have pretty well secured the North, and the ****es have done the same in the South, but Bhagdad and the surrounding provinces are up for grabs.  And therin lies the danger.  A divided Iraq is one the biggest fears our European and middle eastern allies feared if we invaded.  It was why they did not support us.  

In the meantime we diverted our resources from the real enemy. Al queda and the Taliban, who were never defeated, and are still fighting.  I have no problem with killing the emenies of America who are genuine threats to us.  Al queda is.  Saddam was not.

We

[Dan:]

Iraq does have a history of supporting terrorists. Maybe not Al-Qaeda, but plenty of other international terrorist organizations.

Another reason why some European countries did not support our invasion was probably that they stood to lose billions from oil deals they had with Saddam.

[Replica.]

I think invading Iraq was a mistake, but making Saddam a victim is also a mistake.  Even if he was not involved with Al-Qaeda he supported terrorism and murdered thousands of people.  

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/04/03/world/main505316.shtml

[burleytog]

Does anyone here feel that the employees First Amendment rights were violated?. I heard some people on cable news arguing that his right to free speech was violated.

The First Amendment does not apply to private entities, only the .gov.

[Rattlinrogue]

I'm glad he got fired.I support all of the brave young men and women who are keeping terrorism off of our shores.I could say much more,but I don't want to get it stirred up.

[paparock]

I was not trying to link Iraq to the 9/11 attack directly but rather to the mindset of the nation toward the Muslim nations hostile to the USA. Congress did have time to consider all these things before voting to supporting war just as they did when they supported such an attack under President Bill Clinton if he deemed it necessary. Iraq's links to terrorists is debatable from both sides of the issue. I doubt we will ever know the unbiased truth of the matter. I am not all knowing and do not purport to know the way to fix this whole situation. I am glad it is not upon my shoulders as I can see how great a burden it would be to the one that daily bears it.  

Under international law however the war over Iraq invading Kuwait was still active and there was only a cease fire in effect conditional upon Iraq living up to the conditions set by the U.N. which Iraq almost daily violated by firing on American and British planes monitoring Iraqi compliance or violation of those conditions signed by Iraq. Saddam's Iraq defied 12 U.N. Security Council resolutions. All he had to do was comply with the cease-fire terms he signed. I know this gets down to legalese and picking things to pieces however most of the world's intelligence agencies and governments believed and stated the same conclusions as ours did pre-invasion. Did I feel the timing was bad? Yes, I did but I did not have all the information all these governments had and as we, all know governments are notorious for making major blunders whether they are our own or other nations'. Hindsight is always 20/20 and history will judge those who made the decisions then and those making them now. What I would like to see is for the men and women serving in the armed services treated with respect due those standing in harms way by order of our national leaders. Let politicians and their like hurt insults at each other since that seems to be the national pastime although I feel it demeans the nation as a whole. I see no honor in dishonoring a soldier in a combat zone, doing his duty, that could be dead tomorrow to satisfy some personal vendetta. That is my view.