Webloggin » No Sale : U.S. Based Retailer Tells Soldier To 'Pull Out Of Iraq'

One of the realities about being deployed in Iraq is that our soldiers often have to sleep on the ground in cold bug infested conditions. So U.S. Army Sergeant Jason Hess decided to ease the burden by looking for internet retailers who could sell him and his fellow soldiers some floor mats.

An employee of one retailer decided to send Sgt. Hess a personal message instead of the standard yes/no response you would expect to get when inquiring about the ability to ship to an APO address. Faisal Khetani who is the registered owner of Milwaukee based discount-mats.com sent Sgt. Hess a reply indicating that they do not ship products to APO addresses and even if they did they would never ship to Iraq. He also told the Sgt. Hess that he and his troops would pull out of Iraq if they had any sense. (h/t Newsbusters).

Army Sgt. Jason Hess, stationed in Taji, Iraq, with the 1st Cavalry Division, said he emailed his request to Discount-mats.com because he and his fellow soldiers sleep on the cold ground, which contains sand mites, sand flies and other disease carriers.

In his email, dated Jan. 16, 2007, he asked the Web-based company, registered to Faisal Khetani, an American Muslim of Pakistani descent:

“Do you ship to APO (military) addresses? I’m in the 1st Cavalry Division stationed in Iraq and we are trying to order some mats but we are looking for ships to APO first.”

On the same day, Hess received this reply:

“SGT Hess,

We do not ship to APO addresses, and even if we did, we would NEVER ship to Iraq. If you were sensible, you and your troops would pull out of Iraq.

Bargain Suppliers
Discount-Mats.com“ – Fox News

Word eventually got out and soon the company was inundated with angry e-mails from military supporters. This prompted the parent company, Bargain Suppliers to fire the man, case closed – or so you would think.

This is where the MSM enters the picture with the typical activist sort of reporting that frames the defense of every protest of the War in Iraq as a 1st amendment issue.

What began as a brief e-mail exchange between a U.S. soldier in Iraq and a Wisconsin-based online retailer has erupted into an international incident that has pitted military supporters against free speech advocates and threatens to shut down the local company.

Bargain Suppliers of West Allis said its discount-mats.com Web site had to be taken down Monday to address the thousands of e-mails it’s received since news of the exchange – in which an employee voiced opposition to the war in Iraq – began circulating on the Internet last week.

Vice president Sajid Nasir said the employee is being “held accountable.” But he said the incendiary and threatening nature of some of the e-mails – and voicemails left at the West Allis home that co-owner Faisal Khetani shares with his parents – have shaken the family.

“It’s really getting out of control,” said Nasir, who described the messages as “angry and vulgar.”

“Our main concern is for the safety of the family. That’s more important than the business,” he said. – Milwaukee Journal Sentinel – Military supporters bombard West Allis company with messages; fears for safety arise

The company representative is on point here and I have no qualms with what he is saying. I do however take exception with the characterization of this as a free speech issue. This is the typical umbrella defense that is intended to cause an emotional response based on false pretense.

For one, speech isn’t free when you act as a representative of a private company. Second, this country has laws which are not trumped by the imaginary free speech machinations of the mainstream media. They may want to frame this as such but that is just the imbecile attempts of the media to create a faux controversy when none exists.

This is the way I see it. Man responds to a business request as a representative of a company in a way that puts the company in unfavorable circumstances, angry military supporters respond in kind as individuals who do actually have free speech rights to do so, man gets fired by company for speaking on their behalf in a manner which is likely violating company policy.

It seems to me that the only free speech issue here is that anti-war activists don’t like the fact that pro-military supporters got a voice in this case. It’s fine to protest the war, but protest the actions of those who protest the war and suddenly you are infringing on their rights. Typical.

Thankfully we live in a country that gives everyone the right to protest in a legal fashion. Let this be a lesson to those who can dish it out but can’t take it. Actions have consequences. Protest all you want but you had better be real clear about the ramifications of your actions.

Others: Bill’s Bites, 7.62mm Justice, Common Folk Using Common Sense, Liberty News, Delayed Reation, Hot Air, Black Five, Wizbang