Troop morale in Iraq is low and getting lower. The reasons are very easy t

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.interventionmag.com/cms/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=598

One hundred thirty thousand Americans won’t be celebrating Christmas with their families this year. They will be sitting in the crossfire in Iraq, hoping to stay alive long enough to make it back home again. Close to 500 of their fellow soldiers won’t be celebrating Christmas this year (or ever again) because they have already died in Mr. Bush’s War.

The Bush Administration justified their war with lies, and now our soldiers are the ones who are paying the price.

President Bush is generous with his public praise for the troops, but behind the scenes, he and the Republican-led Congress are methodically cutting or eliminating benefits for the military and their families. No wonder there is a morale problem.

• “Last week, Bush described the military spirit as high and said that life in Iraq is ‘a lot better than you probably think. Just ask people who have been there.’” --The Washington Post, 10/16/03

• “Everyone hears that morale is high and it is a bold-faced lie. The only people they ever talk to are these commanders. The reserve soldiers never get to speak their mind. We are the pawns of this war.” --From a reservist from Indiana in Emails from the war zone, The Guardian, 10/25/03

[K-W]

1. A friend of mine is very close to an enlistad soldier

he is absolutely miserable and it seems like he is in the majority. And it takes alot for people like him to be dissatisfied, they are well programmed.

[nadinbrzezinski]

2. Thanks we need to spread this

so people see a closer picture

And aColonel saying that their orders are political, no shit colonel

[RamboLiberal]

4. I just had to go purchase the NYT editorial from Truscott

BTW, that's Lucian K. Truscott who writes for Harper's Magazine. Don't know if I can quote what I purchased so forgive me for quoting much the same from a Free Republic forum from someone who got an email from Truscott reporting from Mosul.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1034710/posts

I had one of the most talented senior officers in the U.S. Army (who will go nameless here for obvious reasons) tell me last night that every order they receive is delivered with next November in mind, so there is little doubt at and near the top about what's really going on over here.

The resentment in the ranks of the civilian "leadership" down in Baghdad and back in Washington is palpable. The senior officer described the ongoing fight between the two forces at work -- no matter how you describe them --

Bremer v. Sanchez, state v. defense, etc etc -- as "the Kabuki dance." He called one of the senior CPA civilians up here in Mosul "a Bremer plant," and I won't even go into what he had to say about Bechtel and Kellogg Brown and Root...but I recall the word chickens*** being used.

<snip>

This war isn't badly reported.

It's not reported at all.

<snip>

I came over here to do the reporting that media whores aren't doing and to get the story that media whores aren't getting, and I'm doing it all right.

<snip>

The sat phone I rented saved me from wasting about 3 days at the Baghdad airport earlier in the week when me and about 40 soldiers on their way home on leave were thrown off a C-130 when it was grabbed by unseen big "ambassadors" who I now realize were part of a White House advance party.

[nadinbrzezinski]

5. You know Harpers

is again at the forefront... of reporting

When we get home that is one mag I intend to subscribe to

And yes Morale is low... I know

[DUreader]

7. You can post 4 paragraphs of what you purchased n/t

[RBHam]

3. Dying for Oil.

You can't fool the grunts. The gung ho stuff only lasts for a while, then they start to look around, see what they're protecting, understand what they're really fighting for.

But thy're professionals, dammit. And orders are orders.

Right?

[caledesi]

6. But, but SH was captured and everyone is so much safer now! nt

If morale is so damn high and everyone is so damn happy (Iraqis included), then where are the pics? Haven't seen one on TV. It's a lie.

[cirej2000]

8. If morale was high...you'd be saying something negative still

They're blood thirsty or some other shit. They're in a war zone! It's the holidays. People get depressed when they're alone without family even as civilians during peacetime!

Of course morale is going to wax and wane.

Wanna start dropping leaflets on the troops saying, "Come home GI...your spouse/significant other is running off with Tom Cruise/Julia Roberts"?

[Lost4words]

9. what a stupid post this one is!

BOZO on the loose!

[otohara]

30. Bozo Got Nuked

Thanks mods:nuke: :thumbsup: :yourock:

Julia Roberts / Tom Cruise - whew

[DUreader]

11. Did you really read the post? It is a Reserve Soldier talking about Morale

The person who started this thread does not deserve your attack

[Lost4words]

13. Agreed, thanks for calling me on my reply :-)

My Bad!

I was refering to reply number 8. I was not trying to insult the one who started this thread. Reply number 8 seemed sarcastic to the original post to me. Hell, my moral has been low since 12/12/2000!

Bring the Troups home!

Thanks DUreader, I should have coffee prior to loging in!

:hi:

[DUreader]

14. LOL You Need More Coffee Still! I was calling #8 On his/her reply

Drink a cup and look again

hee hee

[Lost4words]

15. wow my confusion factor is Very High this morning!

Bawhahaha LOL ,... please disregard the PM I sent you, Hahaha,....
It seems that we are in agreement re reply number 8! LOL

Its 13 degrees outside, that must be it. Now I am going for more Yuban
just a little embarrased and laughing!

Me thinks you got a chuckle also!
:donut:

[NNN0LHI]

18. What in the fuck are you guys talking about?

And yes I am joking around. We can still do that here. Joking again.

Don

[sid dicious]

24. You post is totally out of context!

Although I know that troops are always grumbling about being deployed in a combat zone (they usually are the last ones to know what's going on, they're away from loved ones at holiday times, They're getting shot at for a war that doesn't make sense) this is from an actual member of the military!!

You can say all you want cirej, but I doubt that you are posting from Iraq and you wouldn't know what the troops are saying. This one reservist does know what's going on and is probably representative of a large number of the combat troops over there. This is not the first one I've seen here where posters have mentioned a relative, friend etc. whose morale has dropped recently!

If you want to hear happy stories about troops...you can always head over to FreepersVille. I'm sure they have some posts about the heroic troops loving the war!

Maybe you can also bash some Iranian earthquake victims with your kindred spirits!! Cowboy!

[NNN0LHI]

10. Wonder how high morale for the Iraqi civilians is right now?

They didn't sign up for this shit. They just happened to be born living on top of the oil that we want to steal. Shit.

Don

[4dsc]

16. Here's the latest poll numbers

http://pinr.com/report.php?ac=view_report&report_id=121&language_id=1

For whatever its worth!!

The failure of the U.S.-led coalition to bring safety and stability to Iraq has caused massive disillusionment within Iraqi society. The poll found that 78.8 percent of Iraqis have little or no confidence in the U.S. and British forces. Instead, Iraqis trusted their religious leaders far more than coalition forces; 70 percent of respondents had trust in their religious leaders.

[NNN0LHI]

17. Thank you for the link n/t

[sid dicious]

27. That poll is understandable.

Do they have confidence that the US troops will be able to prevent deaths? No. I sure don't. Troops and people are being killed every day and the insurgents will continue to kill more civilians.

Are things safer in Bagdhad than before the fall of Saddam? No way! There are now terrorists in Iraq along with Saddam loyalists who are there to cause chaos, death and fear.

Do the people in Bagdhad want the occupying troops to leave? You betcha! They're occupied by secular, Western powers. Definitely not good for a country that is trying to find its Islamic roots. And let's face it. They're being occupied...any country would hate that. Look at Germany, South Korea, etc. We're not even occupying those countries and they want our military presence gone.

Do the people of Iraq think that the US led reconstruction is what they need? Almost all of them say NO!

However...

Is it worth the hardships to get rid of Saddam...still 60 plus percent say...YES!

Although this poll is for Bagdhad only, I woldn't be surprised if it were the same for Basra. I would guess that it would be even more negative in Tikrit.

We just need to get the heck out of there as soon as we can.

[Mari333]

12. Our Christmas was ruined this year

because on Xmas Eve our stepson recieved his orders to go to Iraq on Jan 4th, for one year or more.
It will be ruined next year also, if he is hurt, wounded, or killed.
This is a nightmare, someone wake the world up. Bush and Co are sending in fresh kids/fodder for the War of Greed and Lies.

[LeahMira]

19. So sorry to read this...

..on Xmas Eve our stepson received his orders to go to Iraq on Jan 4th, for one year or more.

Your family has had more than its share this year, hasn't it?


This is a nightmare, someone wake the world up.

I think the world is already pretty fed up with the U.S. The problem, as I see it, is that so many nations are looking for our foreign aid money which, while it is a pretty small part of our budget, is a large part of theirs. I think the U.S. needs to be more generous actually, but our generosity must come without strings. Otherwise it's not generosity. It's a bribe.

[Skittles]

21. Mari, let us know if we can help

I think care packages are a great way to let soldiers know they are not forotten. I've included in mine some toys for the soldiers to give to the kids. PM me if I could help with your boy's unit.

[Skittles]

20. every day now

I think about those soldiers in Iraq and I think about the Iraqi people and I wonder what kind of world we live in. The human race is a complete disgrace.

[tabasco]

22. Yep, on CNN, they had two wives talking about high morale.

They were the wives of a battalion commander and the battalion Command Sergeant Major. They should have talked to the wives of some privates and SP4's. The troops aren't stupid and know when they are getting screwed. But all the press will tell us is how wonderful and rosy everything is.

[Rainbows]

23. Have A Friend that just returned in Oct. ...

Career Army and he is getting out now, refusing to re-enlist. He said nearly everyone there just wants to come home. He mentioned many speak of the Iraqis dislike of the occupation and feel if they don't want us here why stay and get shot at.
Also the armed services paper 'Stars and Stripes' has never before questioned morale in a war, like they have this one. That is telling in and of itself. They finally got word from military brass to quiet down, and I haven't heard anything lately.

[peekaloo]

25. on a local call- in show in Tampa last Friday

a caller who has ties to military personnel made the statement that in the upcoming election ALL military votes are to go for Boosh or they won't be counted. This caller stated he had e-mails from servicemen who had been instructed they either vote for Boosh or don't vote. While no military brass would put such a directive in writing OR issue an exact command to this effect, he stated this was common knowledge among overseas soldiers.

Just curious if anyone with relatives or friends have heard about this. It is normal that the military votes Republican (for the large part) but this caller was almost making it seem it would be "treasonous" to vote against Herr Boosh.

[Rainbows]

29. No haven't heard that but ...

if true it sure is disturbing. I wonder how the military would monitor a sealed absentee ballot. Theoretically they are supposed to be returned unopened c/o secretary of state or other designated collection address. No telling, they probably have a way.

[Cocoa]

26. what the troops need is a plastic turkey

I hear Halliburton makes a nice one, and cheap at only $14 million.

[scottcsmith]

28. Of course they're miserable

The Bush-powered media would have you believe that morale is high for the troops in Iraq.

I can tell you first-hand that it is not.

I was sent to the Gulf for Operation Desert Shield, October 1990.

As the months went by, we were told that the date we would be relieved would be soon. A few more weeks would go by, and we'd be told again that we were to be relieved soon.

By Christmas we were not very happy with life.

When Desert Shield became Desert Storm, my ship deployed to the Gulf where we remained for the duration of the war.

All of those weeks at sea, and we were on high security alert, which meant we had to carry with us our standard-issue gas mask with atropine shot.

Meanwhile, I was training to be a stretcher-bearer -- someone who could administer basic first aid. My ship was to be an alternate to the hospital ships in the region.

Being at sea is bad, being on the ground and a potential target is even worse, especially when there is no clear indication when your unit will be relieved.

In Michael Moore's last e-mail newsletter, he included e-mails from troops in Iraq. Right-wingers were quick to dismiss this as propaganda from Moore, and some even accused him of making up the e-mails himself.

Military advocate David Hackworth, himself a retired Army colonel with years of combat experience, a man who holds the record as the most decorated soldier, gets e-mails that he publishes on his web site, and a lot of them are exactly like the kind Moore received.

The troops are not happy. They are bored and tired and scared. They've seen their friends killed or wounded in action, and they know they could be next.

But hey, I'm sure one of these days all of those bad WMDs will turn up.