Coalition of the Can-do: Spirit of America

I have blogged on and on with my view of US army deserter Jeremy Hinzman who fled to Canada before his unit deployed to Iraq and is currently seeking refugee status in Canada. Hinzman was before the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Board last week to plead his case. What might not be widely known is that Hinzman has decided to base his refugee claim on the presumption that American soldiers are committing war crimes in mass in Iraq; and if he had deployed as ordered, he too would have been guilty of war crimes against the Iraqi people. Hinzman's lawyer relied on the testimony of US Marine Staff Sgt. Jimmy Massey, also known as the "Winter Soldier of the 21st Century" a la Michelle Malkin.

So what have US Service Personnel done in Iraq and what are they trying to do? We have heard the standard "Hinzman" answer to that question but there is another answer. After liberating the Iraqi people from 30 years of a brutal tyranny and continuing the fight to protect those Iraqi's who have no desire to put their chains back on, US service personnel have placed themselves front and centre with the help of the Spirit of America. What is the Spirit of America organization?

The Spirit of America helps Americans serving in Iraq and Afghanistan assist people in need. We fulfill requests from American personnel for goods that improve the lives of local people and thus help advance freedom and peace.

We have provided school and medical supplies, sewing machines, hand tools, water barrels, clothing, soccer gear and toys in response to needs identified by American personnel. We contributed equipment to Iraqi-owned television stations to establish a better alternative to Al Jazeera. We helped Iraqi men whose arms were amputated by Saddam Hussein get a new start on life.

We provide timely and effective assistance where it is needed most on the front lines. The Wall Street Journal says, "Spirit of America's organizational insight is to deploy the best practices of the modern U.S. economy - efficiency and speed - around the margins of the Iraq war effort." The Journal adds, "Spirit of America and the Marines are a coalition of the can-do."

Simply put, bloggers like the Fighting Fusileers for Freedom are requesting donations to allow those US service personnel to improve the lives of ordinary people of Iraq and Afghanistan. These service personnel have seen the need and want to help. The initiatives are made financially viable by the donations from the general public and delivered and administrated by US service personnel.

What kind of projects are the Fighting Fusileers for Freedom asking you to help US service personnel deliver?

Currently the 411th Civil Affairs Battalion is trying to raise funds to enable Yarmouk University and Baquba Technical Institute to buy computers, printers, copiers, video camera, DVD players, laboratory supplies, scientific instruments, library books, academic journals and textbooks.

Then there is the Library Book Fund for the children of Iraq. The Spirit of American is seeking to provide children's books identified by Iraqi's Ministry of Education. These books will be in children's libraries are located in community centres, hospitals and schools.

The 1st Marine Division has asked if the Spirit of America could help provide sewing machines in community centres being established by the Ramadi Province. These sewing centres include day care and help put economic power in women's hands by allowing them the opportunity to earn a living.

The Marines and SeaBees are busy training Iraqi men to be carpenters, electricians, plumbers and masons. Donations are needed to purchase tool kits to be presented to the Iraqi graduates from their trade school as a gift.

The Arabic Blogging Tool - Viral Freedom is an independent new media project seeking donations to support independent new media and free expression in Iraq. The Spirit of America is seeking funding for the development of Arabic blogging to help support independent media and free expression in Iraq. Your donations to this project allows Spirit of America to host blogs and it gives Iraqi's a voice and a say in their own lives.

This is but a short sampling of current projects, for a full overview read here.

When I received an invitation from the Imperial Armorer at Castle Argghhh! to enlist in the Fighting Fusileers and participate in the Spirit of America Bloggers Challenge it was a no-brainer decision to make. Across the banner of The Last Amazon is a quote by Victor Davis Hanson: "It is never wrong to be on the side of freedom - never." I believe in that with all my heart and soul but belief is only the first requisite of that creed. More important than the belief itself is the manifestation of that belief into action; for what is faith without acts? In that spirit I ask that you help with a donation in whatever amount you can spare for those who continue to work unceasingly to improve lives that are less fortunate than ours.