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07/06/2003 Archived Entry: "Morale in Iraq headed south."
Morale in Iraq headed south.
And we don't mean to Kuwait, either. Our boys are getting fed up, and their commanding officers are, too.
Even as President Bush speaks of a "massive and long-term" undertaking in rebuilding Iraq, that effort, as well as the high tempo of US military operations around the globe, is taking its toll on individual troops.Some frustrated troops stationed in Iraq are writing letters to representatives in Congress to request their units be repatriated. "Most soldiers would empty their bank accounts just for a plane ticket home," said one recent Congressional letter written by an Army soldier now based in Iraq. The soldier requested anonymity.
In some units, there has been an increase in letters from the Red Cross stating soldiers are needed at home, as well as daily instances of female troops being sent home due to pregnancy.
"Make no mistake, the level of morale for most soldiers that I've seen has hit rock bottom," said another soldier, an officer from the Army's 3rd Infantry Division in Iraq.
Replies: somebody speaks up.
What would one expect? When all the BS rhetoric fades out, when the swell of nationalism ebbs, when those bone head fake patriotic country songs hit their
last "everybody sing along cause we are all 'mericans" final cadence, the soldiers still find themselves risking life and limb, fighting a corporate driven Energy War, polluting their spirt with the sites and sounds of 'war'and tarnishing their honorable good sense. Does anyone remember Vietnam? In hind site even Macnamara said that 'Nam was wrong'....but those who fail to learn in life a lesson or two...then those will be the ones destined to act like fools...Watch Out!
Posted by Aristophanes @ 07/07/2003 12:15 AM NY
