Most GIs I talk to these days think that Bush is full of shit

[MrScorpio]

I never ask them who they voted for.

I don't want to embarrass them if the did vote for them.

[Bouncy Ball]

1. The GIs we know are either so apolitical it's sad

or they fucking hate bush.

Then again, we don't know any self-important, heads up their asses officers.

[MrScorpio]

3. The ones who come back form Iraq have an interesting persective

They know for a fact that Bush doesn't know what the fuck he's talking about

[lpbk2713]

9. You mean landing on that flight deck and strutting around

in that flight suit didn't win friends and influence people? Hah! You can BS some people all of the time. And you can BS all of the people some of the time. But you just can't BS all of the people all of the time.

[opihimoimoi]

4. My contacts show a 2/3 anti Bush....66% thinks he is full of it.

[PartyPooper]

2. The GIs you speak with are smart.

They have experience. They're "in the know". Regardless of whom they voted for, they know * is a disaster not looking out for their best interests (or America's).

Thanks for the post. We need to know what those in the military are thinking and saying.

Remember, members of Congress read DU! Loose lips sink shits™!

peace.

O8)

[punpirate]

5. Think of how many protested Nixon's idiocy...

... in the very early `70s. They were out there. I wish more today would do the same--make their displeasure with politicians supporting war for political purposes visible and loudly audible.

I guess the times have changed. If they want to save their brothers in arms from stupid politicians, they're going to have to stand up and be counted.

Cheers.

[NoSheep]

6. That's really sad. But I am encouraged by any effort to consciously

consider the facts.

[xmas74]

7. The enlisted around here seem to hate him.

The flyboys and the chaplains are still kissing his ass (my daughter is friends w/ a couple of pilot's kids and a chaplain's kid. She comes home telling me about the pictures of Bush on the wall since they tell her all about him and include him in their mealtime prayers. Thank goodness she doesn't start repeating what she hears from me at those times!).

[Zuni]

8. I have a couple of very good friends

who have been in Iraq or Afghanistan or both and they are none too pleased with the current situation
Most of them would be content if they never saw the ME again

[enigmatic]

10. The more the merrier

We need everybody we can get to stop drinking the kool-aid..

[giant_robot]

11. I was just talking to another one of our USAF brethren, MrScorpio,

and it made me think about when I was in the Air Force back during the first Gulf War. I remember that an intelligence analyst that I hardly knew from my last duty station came up to talk to me. He had been deployed to Kuwait. I didn't recognize him because he had lost so much weight. Although we were not close friends, he was just looking for any friendly face to unload his troubles on. I listened. He had been living on MRE's the entire time he was deployed (hence the weight loss). Air raid sirens were a daily occurence, and were taken seriously.

What really pissed me off is that I heard some people in another office he was working in (we worked with civilians) yelled, "INCOMING!", and then laughed when he ducked under a desk.

OK, long story made short, what I'm trying to say is that the government's decisions *do* affect lives. I'm talking about the first Gulf War, which most people consider a cakewalk, and I, personally, saw a person that I know seriously affected by his experiences there. He hadn't even seen combat. Now take that, and multiply it by 100,000, and it might approach what our military personell are feeling today. They are not robots, they know shit from shinola, and I am am sure they're waking up to the smell of bullshit.

[MrScorpio]

13. There were a lot of people who volunteered to leave after the Gulf War

Remember that the USAF paid people to get out because of the post-Cold War downsizing.

Many of thise people saw action in the Gulf War first hand.

I wonder how many of them tried to stand up again for their country, but this time against Bush.

[Floogeldy]

12. But when they are interviewed in Iraq by journalists, they fucking lie.

"Oh, yea, it's great being here. We love the president and believe in our mission. We want to help the Iraqi people. The media isn't telling the whole story, bla bla bla bla."

I'm confident they do this out of fear of retribution.

[MrScorpio]

15. When you got a Public Affairs officer standing right being you...

Of course you lie.

You cannot publicly badmouth policy or the President, period.

You are trained on how to talk to the media

http://www.cadre.maxwell.af.mil/pace/cpd.htm

Now they tell you to never "lie".

They just want you to be careful about what truths you tell them.

[Floogeldy]

16. Yes, I didn't mean to impugn their integrity.

"Lie" was too harsh of a word.

God bless their souls.

[Erika]

14. They say they believe in the cause

or how else could they defend their involvement in becoming cannon fodder? They are hoping to survive and get a lift in the payment of education plans. You don't see any of the Bush family enlisting. Their oil buddies have insured the Bush kids elitist status for all time.

[Robeson]

17. I wish I could say that MrScorpio, but I can't....

My best friend of 30 years - a brother - not literally, but a brother just came back from Iraq from a year stint. Before he went, he was one month from retirement. He was sent there by Bush and his retirement was postponed. Anyway, he came back from Iraq, and was really a changed person. He seems to have lost his moral compass, and doesn't question the leaders of this country one iota...you know the military attitude, i.e. "hey I'm just doing my job. If civilians got caught in the crossfire, well, thats war, etc., etc., etc.,..."

Its really upset me, because he wasn't that way before he was sent over there, and he was a 22 year Army career guy. But that one year over there turned him into a macho "bad-ass", and its hard to recognize my old friend anymore.

Since he has come home, he has discovered his son is gay. Now he hates gays. He was never like this before. He came from the projects, and if anyone had experienced discrimination, it was him. Yet he seems to have forgotten it all. Now, he hates gays. He's prejudiced toward alot of people, and I just sit there with my jaw dropping when I hear him talk. I know this is anecdotal, but it is upsetting.

Sorry, but just had to get it off my chest.

[MrScorpio]

19. The whole experience broke down his spirit

It was a survival mechanism

I'm afraid that your friend is in store for a very hard life.

[Robeson]

20. My wife and I have pretty much said the same...

...he's another victim of this goddamn "President" and war.

[Renew Deal]

18. I talked to a Marine last week

He thinks the war is bullshit and Bush is an idiot. He says that his time there was a waste of his life.

[roguevalley]

21. no one talks politics in Alaska anymore. Its dead silent which is

STRANGE with a capital S.

Some of these poor people are having to do three tours. I can't imagine the sorrow they have inside.

[BlondieK143]

22. Most of the Marines I've gotten to know feel the exact same way.

But it's so interesting to see them talking about it. They're all the time looking over their shoulders making sure no commanding officer is around. They all hold such a special place in my heart (I've been to Camp LeJeune on several occasions) and most of them are on their way to Iraq now. :cry: