SwiftVets.com

[rikkoshay]

I ran across the link to this article somewhere and for some bizzare reason, I began thinking of the quality of the books that may be being sent over there to influence the newly emerging 'democracy' (hopefully it will be a real republic, not a mere democracy). Does anyone have the means and desire to check into this, or the money/books to ensure books free from error, and those with a conservative view (not just the plethora of those with the standard liberal slant) will be sent/included? I'm going to email David Barton of Wallbuilders about this too.

As Roth states below "Books are key to knowledge," and we know that Hitler used control of books and the schools to mold the thinking of the young.

I'm not trying to imply any evil intent in the below article, or in Roth, or in other "books to" wherever, I'm just voicing a concern. We all know that often the ones most active/noisy are the ones most leftwards.


http://www.thespartandaily.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2004/10/29/4181fefb50927

Professor to send books to Iraq schools
By Ling-Mei Wong
Daily Staff Writer
October 29, 2004


Not hitting the books is easy in Iraq, where there's a shortage of books.

Shipping books to Iraq is complicated, as Jonathan Roth, associate professor in history, found out.

Roth started "Books to Baghdad" after learning that Iraqi libraries lack resources.

He said that one of his best friends went to Iraq and learned about university libraries not having recent publications.

"The purpose (of the books) is (for them) to go into university libraries," Roth said.

He said that he wants the books to go to Iraqi faculty and not to Iraqi students, as originally planned.

Roth said he intends the books for the faculty members, who will in turn share the contents with their students.

"I've collected 40 boxes of books so far," Roth said.

Of the boxes, 20 are full of medical textbooks donated by a textbook company. The rest are new or lightly used textbooks or scholarly works.

"We don't want books that people have written all over," Roth said.

Regardless of whether the books are new or used, the journey they would take requires many steps.

Roth said he had originally planned to send the books through the Denton Program, which is run by the U.S. State Department.

Items can be loaded onto military aircraft with extra space from one military base to another, he said. The closest base is Travis Air Force Base in California, and from there the books would travel to Baghdad International Airport.

Unfortunately, because of the escalated fighting, the planes are filled with ammunition and supplies for the troops with no space available, Roth said.

While he eventually wants to use the Denton Program when there is less fighting, Roth said he is looking for alternative methods of sending his 40 boxes of books.

At Jacksonville State University in Alabama, Safaa Al-Hamdani, a professor of biology, began a similar program also called "Books to Baghdad."

Al-Hamdani plans to ship the books to Iraq, he said.

"It would take a couple of months (to reach Iraq)," Roth said.

If Roth does ship his books with Al-Hamdani's, he will need to raise $400 to $500 to mail them to Alabama, he said.

He said checks could be made to the history department, with "Books to Baghdad" written on the check.

The history department's administrative support assistant, Patricia Loredo, did not know about the donation process but was aware of "Books to Baghdad," she said.

In the meantime, Roth is researching other methods of moving the books to Iraq.

The books were recently moved to a new storage location last week because of the local Air Force ROTC.

"It provided the manpower - the muscles - to move the books," Lt. Col. Richard Werling said.

Werling said there were eight students from ROTC helping to move the books.

He said that he found out about "Books to Baghdad" because he is a military history professor and Roth also specializes in history.

"We have a little of a common history," Werling said.

Roth has always had an interest in the Middle East, studying the Middle East and ancient civilizations while an undergraduate at UC Berkeley, he said.

"As an American ... I feel personally responsible," Roth said.

He said he feels that as America is rebuilding Iraq, education should be a long-term goal.

"Books are key to knowledge," Roth said.

To schedule a pick up or a drop off of new textbooks or scholarly works, contact Roth at (deleted for this post due privacy respect)  
_________________
Support Our Troops - Tons of organized links on a .mil site
http://www.defendamerica.mil - DoD News
http://www.defenselink.mil