Purple Heart

To:  U.S. Congress

Purple Heart Petition

We respectfully request that the guidelines pertaining to the awarding of the Purple Heart
be revised with respect to terrorism. When the guidelines were initially changed to add
"International Terrorism", terrorism was not conducted by organizations such as Al Qaeda
in the same organized, worldwide manner as it exists today. That is not to say those
changes were inadequate. In fact those changes reflected acts of "International Terrorism"
as they existed then.

But, terrorists have changed and evolved their methods dramatically, especially over the
last seventeen years. The terrorists, particularly the "Islamic Terrorists", have developed
an "international organization" with "cells" scattered world wide under the guise of
"Charities", "Clinics", and "Mosques". They have "sleepers" scattered all over the world
living their lives like ordinary "citizenry" while they continue to train and wait for their
"orders"! They have written "training manuals" with clearly defined goals and methods for
accomplishing said goals. They also rely heavily on the Internet and the Media to help
them build their network into a massive terrorists network under one "hierarchy" to
accomplish their goals of global domination and the "destruction" of the United States.
Osama bin Laden said, "We have defeated the Russians. If we can defeat the United States,
we can defeat anyone!" While that may not be the exact words in his statement, it is an
accurate extraction! The word "Jihad" is no longer a mystical expression the world
associates with the "Islamic" culture with no clear understanding of its meaning or
implications.

In the "War on Terror", we have troops deployed all over the world along with our coalition
allies. We have many in combat zones; but, we also have many who act as non-combatant
support personnel. The term "non-combatant" is a term We use loosely because it implies
there is "no danger". Nothing could be further from the truth. Throughout the world,
especially in the Middle East, our troops assigned in "non-combat zones" are being killed,
too, by sniper fire, bombs, rpg's, vehicular rammings, and many other methods often
beyond our comprehension. This is all another part of the terrorists' war. It is part of their
plan to lower troop moral and affect the popular opinion of our country and the rest of the
world. They are working on destroying support and cooperation between the peace loving
nations. They also intend to stir up unrest and gain support from any dissadents in the
peaceful Arabic Nations. As a result, the efforts of these terrorists' acts in those "non-
combat zones" of our allies are down played to prevent the influx of more terrorists across
the borders of those countries that are in a fragile state as they make their way towards
a Democratic Society, especially in countries like Kuwait and Egypt. Though an under-
standable policy, there is no reason this policy should prevent our troops injured or killed
by these terrorists and their sympathizers from being awarded the Purple Heart they earned.

There is no requirement We can find in the "Purple Heart Guidelines" that states we need to
publically announce to other nations that we are awarding the medal to those who earned it.
Also, it is our contention our troops are "on the job" from the time they leave their living
quarters until they return to their living quarters from their job at the end of their shift. This
stipulation is important because frequently these attacks occur while our troops are in route
to or from work.

We must not ignore the sacrifices made by "any" of our troops in the service of their country.
Failure to award the Purple Heart to deserving men and women who are injured or killed in
the performance of their duties by terrorists or terrorist sympathisizers [in such a manner
that violates every precept of the Geneva Convention] shows dishonor and a lack of respect
and gratitude on the part of the government they so willingly defended.

We respectfully request your immediate attention and support in this matter. Our troops de-
serve such a response! Furthermore, We respectfully request that a review of those troops
already killed or injured in these "non-combat zones" be conducted to make sure that those
brave men and women already passed over who deserve the Purple Heart will be awarded
the honor that is their due. We further request that this not be made into a partisan issue as
both political parties have failed to recognize this oversight for quite a while now. We don't
feel this was a deliberate oversight; but, it is one that must be corrected. Besides being an
honor earned, the Purple Heart also allows for certain medical considerations by the V.A.
under the recently passed Veterans Millenium Health Care and Benefits Act.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

The Purple Heart Petition to U.S. Congress was created by Purple Heart Petition and written by Brenda (Gray)Ramos (netseeker_51@yahoo.com).  This petition is hosted here at www.PetitionOnline.com as a public service. There is no endorsement of this petition, express or implied, by Artifice, Inc. or our sponsors. For technical support please use our simple Petition Help form.

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