Coalition: Nearly half of new Iraqi army has quit

[Ilsa]

http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/12/11/sprj.irq.main/index.html

Coalition: Nearly half of new Iraqi army has quit

White House restrictions on Iraq contracts trigger outrage

Thursday, December 11, 2003 Posted: 12:53 PM EST (1753 GMT)


BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- About 300 of 700 members of the new Iraqi army have resigned, citing unhappiness with terms, conditions and pay and with instructions of commanding officers, a representative of the U.S.-led coalition said Thursday.
SNIP

Well, so much for the Iraqis assuming greater responsibility for their own security.

[dave29]

1. A sure sign of success!

Way to go Bushco!

[TNDemo]

2. How can they resign?

I thought they would have to serve a stint.

[spinbaby]

3. I don't think they resigned

They just took their new weapons and training and disappeared.

I notice that we've gone from a third missing to half missing in a single day. By the weekend, none will be left.

[ParanoidPat]

4. Just great! Three hundred new 'insurgents' trained in U.S. tactics.....

.....by the U.S.! :scared:


"Well, so much for the Iraqis assuming greater responsibility for their own security."

I guess that depends on what their perception of what "their own security" is. :evilfrown:

[wellst0nev0ter]

10. Don't You Mean "Trained"

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A9996-2003Nov6.html

[SlavesandBulldozers]

5. So what's the count now?

So what's the count up to now of people we train who later wind up coming back and killing us?

[ozymandius]

6. GODS! We have a dumb government.

The history of US foreign policy tells the tale of propping up despotic governments with words, weapons (not as good as our own) and money so that we may someday fight them. In essence, we create our own enemies.

Now we train them too? WTF?

This is what the Romans did for the Visigoths when the empire's frontier demanded mercenaries. It is no wonder why Rome was sacked repeatedly in its last days of grandeur.

[SeattleDem]

12. if the US didn't make so much $$$ off war....

"In essence, we create our own enemies."

Yes, we do, and perhaps it's by design. If we have enemies all over the world, then we have people who need our "products" (eg, guns, ammo, helicopters, tanks, planes, bombs....). This is capitalism at its best - the government is only helping out by creating a "market" for some of our best and most profitable exports.

If the gov't weren't out there creating enemies, how would Halliburton make enough money to pay Cheney his $1,000,000 year deferred compensation?

cynical? yes. possible? yes.

[mistertrickster]

16. A million a year? Oh no my friend, it was 36 million in six months . . .

Are you saying he gets a million a year on top of that?

[UpInArms]

17. yes, Cheney receives $1 million per year from Halliburton still

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/09/26/politics/main575356.shtml

excerpt:

Cheney said Sunday on NBC that since becoming vice president, "I've severed all my ties with the company, gotten rid of all my financial interest. I have no financial interest in Halliburton of any kind and haven't had, now, for over three years."

Democrats pointed out that Cheney receives deferred compensation from Halliburton under an arrangement he made in 1998, and also retains stock options. He has pledged to give after-tax proceeds of the stock options to charity.

Cheney's aides defended the assertion on NBC, saying the financial arrangements do not constitute a tie to the company's business performance. They pointed out that Cheney took out a $15,000 insurance policy so he would collect the deferred payments over five years whether or not Halliburton remains in business.

...more...

and here's his golden parachute arrangements

http://more.abcnews.go.com/sections/politics/DailyNews/cheney_retire000817.html

excerpt:

Cheney has not released copies of his tax returns, but aides said financial disclosure documents will be filed with the federal government on Sept. 1.

But a review of regulatory filings showed Cheney is the company’s biggest individual stockholder with an estimated $45.5 million stake in the firm.

Documents also showed Halliburton paid him $1.28 million in salary and $640,914 in other compensation last year plus stock options worth between $7.4 million and $18.8 million, depending on the company’s future stock performance.

Morris said he did not know the current value of Cheney’s retirement account and that Halliburton did not plan to disclose this because it was a private matter.

Millions of Shares

Halliburton said its board had approved Cheney retaining options allowing him to buy 1.16 million shares of Halliburton stock at prices ranging from $21 to $54 per share. The company’s stock closed up 2-9/16 at 54 on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday.

Cheney joined Halliburton in 1995 and acquired the 10-year options under six separate stock option grants.

Morris said the stock options were part of Cheney’s executive compensation package and not a retirement or severance benefit, though his early retirement had triggered the immediate vesting of 400,000 previously unvested options.

The board also lifted a restriction preventing Cheney from selling 140,000 shares of stock previously granted to him as part of his compensation package.

Chris Lehane, spokesman for Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore, said, “This reinforces the fact that Republicans not only have the first ‘Big Oil’ ticket, but that the Bush-Cheney ticket will transfer the Oval Office into the ‘Big Oil’ Office.”

[POed_Ex_Repub]

7. Lets calculate this out shall we?

This is the force that's supposed to replace our military in Iraq. So, to figure out how long we'll be there all we have to do is figure out how long it would take to replace our 130,000 troops with fresh Iraqi Troops...

Let's see..

--700 troops... times the amount of time it took to train them... I think it was six weeks... hmm, must be some good training there...

--Minus 300 Deserters....

--Minus the number of troops that will desert once these people actually take the streets

--Plus the number of troops it will take to handle the newly deserted troops, who are now armed and possibly trained against us...

--Minus the deserters from those ranks...

--Repeat cycle a few times...

--Figure in that fewer stable troops will join each cycle, because those that wanted to join will have already done it in the early stages...

*hmm.. going to need a bigger calculator, mine doesn't handle "Fuzzy Math"*

****************************************************************
And the results are....

Well what do you know!... It's around 2004, when we get a certain moron out of office. (and you probably thought it was going to be a long time didn't you?) :evilgrin:

[mmm]

8. Good job!

[nadinbrzezinski]

9. Or the time that both

Wolfowitz and Rummy get their wet dream realized

See we tried with the Arabs, they don't want to play

We need FRESH American troops

But our recruitment is low

I know DRAFT.

[pdove]

11. They originally report 1/3, now I suspect only 1/3 left

and are all Baath members .

[ConcernedCanuk]

13. "so much for the Iraqis assuming greater responsibility " - hmmmm

. . remeber

. . the Iraqis hadda do it $hrubCo's way

. . so it's not zactly Iraqis giving up on Iraqis

They just don't like the BFEE's version of "freedom"

and neither do I

Just a cursory look at the USA's "Patriot Act"

well, what can I say,

it makes me think of Hitler and his Gestapo

so "America the Free" ? ?

right

dream on - -

[Cooley Hurd]

14. That's okay, Europe will back us up...

...as long as we don't do anything to make them mad. We really need help in securing Iraq and I have no doubt that this pResident will show humility towards our allies and get the necessary help.

Did I mention I've been in a coma for the last two years? :silly:

[Wonk]

15. kick

[UpInArms]

18. so what is with the $2 a day pay thing?

it's like it's a type of code -

The first mistake, according to those in charge of the training program, was that the Iraqi soldiers' salaries were too low. Privates earn $70 a month -- about half the amount paid to the people who fill sandbags around the Baghdad headquarters of the U.S.-led occupation authority, Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton said. For several months, Eaton has been asking for extra money for the soldiers.

$70 a month is roughly $2 and change a day (a month being averaged at 30 days)

Walmart was paying their immigrant laborers $2 a day

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/retail/2003-10-23-walmart-arrests_x.htm

but the guys that fill sandbags were being paid more than the guys that were willing to put on a uniform and get shot at?