Disturbing Army story from Baghdad.

[roguevalley]

My friend's older brother, a marine lifer, is in Baghdad. He was supposed to be in Kuwait and was from before hostilities. He calls
to her when he can. He's a terrific guy, very fun and decent.

He told her about the usual: heat, lack of EVERYTHING and then the
truly awful stuff.

He says that morale is so low that a lot of soldiers are going mad.
He says they are going mad and doing things to themselves. And it
isn't a few. Its damned near everyone. He was taking a kid to the
medics, for exhibiting signs of mental illness, and as they were
going across the compound-like space separating them from the medics,
they saw a hummer take a hit. Awful, awful shocking stuff.

This makes me weep.

The CBS news report last night with two kids, one amputee of the
leg and other injuries and the other injured was also extremely sad.
They both talked about how they felt they were letting down their
buddies by being here -America- even though they were extremely
injured. (A lesson learned in Viet Nam: don't fill groups with
soldiers. Train them as teams and keep them together.)

They said no one is happy, people eat 'one meal a day and get two
liters of water' and are sick and fearful.

I hate the bushes. I hate what they have done. A big hug to the
boys and girls over there. They are so down. Don't believe the
propaganda. They are coming down with mental problems now.

RV, sick to hear this. HUGS to everyone on this board who has/knows
someone in harms way. And to the Iraqis too.

[sistersofmercy]

1. Hugs from me.

I've read other accounts from soldiers through non-US media, as well as ppl on other chat rooms, and yes, it is a sorry state of affairs. My heart goes out to them and the Iraqis.

[hang a left]

2. It is so awful, makes me sick. How dare they run around

and tell everyone how great everything is going in Iraq. God must be weeping.

[frank frankly]

3. thanks for the report

very very awful. i read today that female soldiers are getting pregnant at a staggering rate, because that is a ticket out.

please wish your uncle well.

[Skittles]

4. I really feel bad for them

and for the people who live in war zones. I have suffered severe trauma and I don't know how to explain what it does except to say, once you've seen a side of life most people don't see, it changes you - forever. You're always different that "the norm".

[cmd]

5. An uplifting window sticker

Your last sentence reminded me of it. I was dropping off something at the post office today and noticed a huge sticker across the window of a parked car: GOD BLESSES EVERYONE

I, too, am so angry about the things that are happening to our men and women and to the Iraqi. Sometimes I question myself - am I being too meanspirited and bitter? Then I read about the things this misadministration is doing to other and know that I have to fight on.

Hugs to you RV. Peace.

[karlschneider]

6. Tell your friend to ask her/his brother to write about this in a letter to

his hometown newspaper. He doesn't even have to give his name. Firsthand reports to somebody's own home area are powerful, even more than writing to congresscritters in their ivory towers.

My neighbor's kid is in Iraq and his folks have not heard from him in a month. We are all very worried.

[AnnabelLee]

7. This makes me feel sick

to think of what is happening over there, to everybody involved.

Bring them home, NOW!!!:-(

[glarius]

8. My heart goes out to the young soldiers of your country

who have been thrown into this horrible, unnecessary war and to the suffering Iraqis. I sit here in Canada seeing our newscasts and yours and I know you are being shown a different picture than we are seeing. I pray along with you that somehow it will come to an end soon...God bless you all...:loveya:

[Pastiche423]

9. Does anyone know

if special FREE counseling has been set up for the returning troops? If you do know, could you post a URL here? I would like to contribute to such an oraganization.

It would be a way for everyone to help support our troops.

[BlackVelvetElvis]

10. 2 liters a day

I've heard about the lack of basic supplies and can hardly believe that, in a desert climate, they are only allowed that. Insanity!
Forget about civilian drives to take up the slack, I've also heard that it's extremely difficult to cut through the red tape to help supply the troops with necessities (because of fears of terrorism). As much as I am against this war, I feel horribly for the pawns in this game.

[Pale Blue Dot]

11. We need to remember this when they come home.

In my opinion, it would be a huge mistake to greet these soldiers the way returning Vietnam vets were treated. THEY didn't choose this war. They THOUGHT they were doing the country a service. It's not their fault the only services they were doing was for Bush and his buddies.

The soldiers MUST be treated as heroes when they come home.

[starroute]

18. It wouldn't be useful to treat them as heroes, because they're not

. . . and they know it.

They deserve our sympathy, our support, and our help in any way to get through what are going to be very difficult times to come for many of them.

But telling them they are heroes is just going to mess their heads something fierce. Haven't you been reading the articles? They feel useless, because they have no real purpose there except to try to defend themselves. They feel helpless because they can't even do that very well. They feel demoralized because their own government doesn't care about them or listen to their grievances.

They need more than anything to be allowed to work through their own grief, and calling them heroes only delays that.

[bloom]

12. That is a very sad report....n/t

:(

[imhotep]

13. They should have gone AWOL

before the war started.

[opihimoimoi]

15. I remember when Tweety took his show to the Citidel. His guest was

Sen Kerry. This was just before the war started.

Tweety asked the cadets if they wanted to go fight and there was a very loud Yes HUU Haaa

Kerry explained to the kids that war is no picnic. Its miserable, sad, Pain, horrific, etc and leaves scars, mental and physical ones.

He was right.

[leesa]

14. These people are going to be seriously disturbed and ill

Not only physically from the DU, immunizations, whatever is causing their physical maladies, but mentally from the realization that they are murdering people who have done not one thing to deserve this. The pain of that will be unbearable to many.

[frank frankly]

16. sadly, you are right

bring them back now. this is such a nightmare.

[tlcandie]

17. Imagine being told one thing from your superiors and THE pRez

and seeing and hearing something else ENTIRELY different from the people there. It would be extremely hard to reconcile all of this while just trying to survive moment to moment 24/7. I can't imagine :(