A very senior officer hopes that Clark will be the next president...

[wyldwolf]

Interesting quote from this article about differing opinions in the military on Iraq.

A very senior officer expresses his hopes that retired General Wesley Clark, a Democrat, will become the next president, believing that the positive ramifications would extend to the army as well. A chief warrant officer wonders aloud whether it was a mistake to isolate the international community and attempt the daunting challenge of reconstructing Iraq alone.

Other quotes:

...one enlisted 21-year-old snaps, "Way too long." He explains that "when we first got here it felt like we were doing something good, now it feels like a waste.

Another 21-year-old says, "If we find weapons of mass destruction it was worth it, but if we don't and we're just here because Bush wanted to finish what his daddy started, then a lot of boys died for nothing, and that's fucked up."

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/EJ25Ak05.html

[La_Serpiente]

1. I am a Dean supporter

but I can see the advantages of a Clark candidacy. My main hope is that he changes the military culture there.

Whoops, sorry about that messup

[Bucky]

2. Is that a slip?

"I am a Dean supporter but I can see the advantages of a Dean candidacy"

I would hope that Dean supporters could see the advantages of a Dean candidacy.


ABB

[RandomUser]

3. The line about personal relationships really gets my heartstrings

I feel for these soldiers. And I heard somewhere that typically in every unit, there is always "one of those." One of those who end up breaking up their marriage or longterm relationship because of deployment. You never know who it will be, but in every unit, there will be one. Someone will lose their marriage.

[leftchick]

4. I was just about to post this, thanks wyldwolf!

I just finished reading it....very disturbing how they keep the soldiers as uninformed as possible....

<snip>Captain Bill Ray, a 30-year-old intelligence officer from a small town called Ordway, near Pueblo, Colorado, asserts that the war in Iraq was a "continuation of the war on terrorism. Even though we haven't been able to put our hands on WMD I believe it was here and a lot went to Syria. We needed to come here before Saddam started letting those weapons out of this country. And there were training camps for international terrorist organizations in Iraq. We came here for just reasons and there were a lot of people here who were in bad shape." He adds that unlike most men on the base, "I'm not married, so being here this long doesn't bother me."

....omg, this poor deluded fellow! :(

[atreides1]

5. Not Only Is He Deluded

...he is definitely not on the fast track for promotion. Unless he's prior enlisted, he has really pissed someone off.

A 30 year old captain in the Army, Marines, or Air Force is kind of unusual.

[Grins]

7. Not necesarily..

True for the Army and Air Force, but promotions in the Marine Corps can take a lot longer. Much smaller force. Hard to move ahead until the guy above gets promoted, leaves the service, injured, dies, whatever. I knew of a Marine Captain on active duty (this was in the mid 1970's) that had 20 years in the Corps! That may say something about the quality of Marine unit commanders in the field. A commander of combat troops is in a choice slot. A Captain with that many years would be one hell of an officer.

[Rowdyboy]

6. Very interesting article...

There is no amount of money that would make me willing to switch places with these guys. Most of themseem like good kids who aren't too happy about the whole mess.