Officials minimizing death

[warrior1]

http://www.thekcrachannel.com/news/4085077/detail.html

You see this guy who just ruin a couple people's lives didn't see combat, so it's not bush's fault he came back and committed suicide by cop. Now, this leads me to believe that the men and women coming back are in worst shape. What do you think?

snip

Authorities say a weeklong investigation confirmed that Andres Raya (pictured, right), a Marine who was headed back to Iraq, was a known gang member and never actually saw combat in Iraq, which are factors that, investigators say, prove the soldier did not have post-traumatic stress disorder when he killed Sgt. Howard Stevenson (pictured, below) and critically injured Officer Sam Ryno in a shooting in Ceres Jan. 9.

snip

"Raya admitted to his fellow Marines he was a Norteno gang member," said Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department spokesman Lt. Bill Heyne. "Raya talked about how screwed up the world was, and that the end was near."


Investigators said a weeklong investigation proves Raya couldn't have developed mental illness in Iraq.

snip


So how many ticking time bombs are coming back?

[dustoff034]

1. let's wait for the investigation to play out before assigning blame

[hang a left]

2. Looks like there was one

"Investigators said a weeklong investigation proves Raya couldn't have developed mental illness in Iraq."

[Wapsie B]

3. Of course they are.

No one would fight in their dirty little war if they told the truth. Vietnam part Deux.

[Arianrhod]

4. This is pure bullshit.

The man was traumatized by his Iraq service, and had no control over his actions.

The proof of this is that the MSM is denying it.

[UL_Approved]

5. The cover-up is obvious

The quantity of repetition that is given in this story should be more than enough proof of falsified accounts. I hope this blows up into a big scandal. This needs to come out.

[Arianrhod]

6. The whole story is bullshit.

The * enablers are trying to portray this young man as unstable and untypical, but the fact is that the Marines select their people with great care. Far more than any other service. He would never have made it to Iraq if he had not met their standards, had not proved himself worthy of the rank and title he bore. If he was a loser, he'd never even have graduated boot camp.

When I was an Army noncommissioned officer, I enjoyed the great privilege of working in joint commands. These experiences let me get to know a lot of Marines, both officer and enlisted. As someone who is now opposed to a military on general principles, I'll vouch for the Marines as the most honorable, intelligent, and loyal men and women I have ever met in my life. Certainly there are exceptions, as there are in every aspect of existence. But my experience with these courageous, dedicated people leads me to believe that someone is trying to discredit this man because of the trauma he underwent in the Iraq disaster. I wouldn't trust this story as far as I could throw it.

The * administration wants us to forget that * is a war deserter, a skirted cheerleader who ran away from every obstacle he ever encountered in his privileged life. Because * is a coward, he cannot tolerate the idea that men of honor might oppose his false war, or might be emotionally and psychologically scarred from it.

Raya is a victim of imperialism. Pure and simple.

[dustoff034]

8. Known gang member, using drugs, never saw combat

I too spent time in the military, 10 years as an NCO and commissioned officer, Panama and Gulf War vet, and I'm now a PhD psychologist.

Your skepticism and conspiracy theories sound nice to all of those with paranoid delusions, but don't hold water in reality.

The fact that Bush would take interest in this because of some imagined past deficiencies is laughable.

You tip your hand when you say that you're opposed to a military - in fact I question if you ever served.

Move on and start focusing on things you can change... worry about 2006 and 2008.

Your rants and name calling are only hurting progressives and portraying all of us as tinfoil hat wearing nuts.

[Arianrhod]

10. Sorry, bad post. I apologize for it.

[bipolarity1]

7. Toxicology reports show

that Raya was positive for cocaine which will be a aggravating factor.
The jurisdiction where this happened will probably go for the death penalty for shooting a police officer. Hope he gets a good lawyer.

[warrior1]

9. shooter is dead.

Also on Friday, a funeral service was held for Raya, and he was later laid to rest in the city of Hughson. He was not given full military honors that the family had sought, meaning there was no honor guard, no 21-gun salute, and no American flag handed t the family.


There was no official delegation from the U.S. Marines, just two Marine casualty officers as observers. Marine officials said he did not receive full military honors because "Raya's actions have dishonored himself and the Marine Corp."


Ironically, Raya's final resting place is just of few yards from a memorial for Stanislaus County peace officers, where there were fresh flowers in honor of fallen Officer Stevenson.

***

See this is what happens to our military people. They are disposable by our society and government. In an illegal war fought by brave men and women the casualities is also the soul of America. Wake up dustoff034. Stop blaming the troops.