Thursday, January 31, 2008

And the the Worst....

City Council Passes Motions Criticizing Marines Office.

Only in Berkeley. Incidentally, one of the city councilmen who voted for the resolution--and was quoted in other accounts--spoke with pride of being "booted from the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War.

We'd say Abu Laith al-Libi picked the wrong hiding spot. He'd probably get a key to the city in Berkeley.

And, if that's not bad enough, the Department of Transportation has excused Oakland International Airport's horrendous treatment of troops returning from Iraq last year. During a refueling stop in Oakland (enroute to Hawaii), 200 Marines and soldiers were denied access to the terminal. As the Washington Times reports:

Calvin L. Scovell III, the department's inspector general, blamed the mix-up on security concerns and a communication failure between the Defense Department and the Homeland Security Department.

The contract to allow military layovers at the California airport "did not require that military personnel have access to the airport terminal; it only required that military personnel be allowed to deplane and stretch their legs on stops lasting over one hour," said a report released yesterday to House lawmakers who requested an investigation into the matter.

The Sept. 27 layover was the last stop for fuel and food, but the troops, who were returning from a tour in Iraq, were denied access to food and bathroom facilities.

At last report, DoD still has a contract with the Oakland Airport.

2 comments:

Susan Katz Keating said...

A San Francisco group, Move America Forward, has posted an on line form so you can send a message to the Berkeley City Council. Movearmericaforward.org

Susan Katz Keating said...

oops...never did learn how to type (sorry!)... Its, http://www.moveamericaforward.org/