Marine: things would be better in Iraq/Afghanistan if we saw the good

[sabra]

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/0/1883FC28FA43956D852571F700661A42?opendocument

<snip>

WASHINGTON -- A Marine corporal quizzed top leaders at a recent Pentagon employees' question-and-answer session about what the department can do to counter the reporting of negative news from Iraq and Afghanistan.

...

Stukins said he thought such a presentation of the news "was reprehensible" and seemed to discount the sacrifices made by the service members who died.

"Basically, (it's) somebody speaking ill of your sacrifice," the corporal said, as well as compounding the suffering of friends, spouses and relatives of the deceased.

Stukins says he's a firm believer in freedom of speech as guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution's Bill of Rights. "But, I also have the right to respect your right to be wrong," he said.

The U.S. military is doing a great job fighting terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan, Stukins said. But, he stressed, things would be better "if people could see the good things that are going on over there and not hear all about the bad."

Stukins said he's thankful he could express his views to his leaders directly at the Pentagon town hall meeting. "It's great to have open dialogue," he said.

[MADem]

1. Ahh, yes, because the Taliban watches Faux, CNN, and MSNBC!!

Pathetic, obtuse schmuck. He's not the brightest bulb, easily led, easily brainwashed. A USEFUL tool.

He's probably closer than he realizes to his "terminal rank." But hey, it won't be because that paper pusher is going in harm's way--he's got a safe gig at the Pentagon--it's because he doesn't know how to THINK FOR HIMSELF:

"What are we doing to confront this problem and to better the morale of our forces over there -- not only over there, but here as well?" asked Stukins, a 23-year-old administrative specialist from Lafayette, La., who works with the Marine Staff at the Pentagon.

Rumsfeld and Pace both congratulated Stukins for asking his question.

Little fucker guaranteed himself an extension in that assignment with that public BJ, I'd wager!!! Easy to wave the flag and beat your chest when you are safely in the rear with the gear!

[sabra]

2. "a 23-year-old administrative specialist from Lafayette, La...."

"a 23-year-old administrative specialist from Lafayette, La., who works with the Marine Staff at the Pentagon."

[frylock]

3. REMF..

http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-39,GGLG:en&q=define%3a+remf

[BrotherBuzz]

4. and a military flack in training....

Pond scum

[Jacobin]

5. Went to your link and LOLd

Rear Echelon Mother F----r. A REMF was anybody above you in the command/supply chain -- anybody who could get a new t-shirt or pair of socks when you couldn't; anybody who slept on a bed instead of the ground

Typical guy brought in to say what the scrambled eggs want said

[TahitiNut]

9. In the Marines, he's called a POG.

People Other than Grunts

[Rex]

6. I guess he doesn't watch the M$M, they DON'T show jack from

Iraq or Afghanistan one way or the other. It has become a taboo subject. Respect your right to be wrong is RW craptalk. To bad he is a freeper.

[MADem]

10. Actually, I don't think he is a freeper. I think he's a SUCKUP 1st Class!

If his bosses advocated a uniform change to cammie assless chaps and cowboy hats, he'd be the first one to volunteer to test-wear the garment for the Uniform Board. If his superiors declared smoking on duty a UCMJ-punishable offense and rewarded snitches for turning people in, he'd be hiding behind the stacks of pallets on the loading dock, photographing everyone sneaking a smoke.

I've known shits like this kid. Asskissers of the highest order. I've worked for them, with them, and had them work for me. In the last instance, they didn't do very well, despite all the toadying. I just don't go for that shit. It causes the very 'bubble-itis' that makes the Monkey so ineffective.

If I wanted an uncritical cheerleader, I'd bring my dog to work.

[TahitiNut]

7. Maybe I should have a chat with Cpl. Stukins about the "positive things"

... we did in Viet Nam? After all, we did support orphanages and employ a lot of impoverished Vietnamese. We helped people with farming methods. We taught classes in schools. Lot's of "positive things." We even gave thousands of Vietnamese 'free' transportation out of Viet Nam in the 70s.

How fucking deluded can people get? :grr: :grr:

[shadowknows69]

8. They really believe all the people they are fighting

are terrorists. Not the people of a country resisting American occupiers. Our training is good I'll give it that.

[MADem]

11. Don't lump this paperpusher in with "them." If this soft-bottomed fuck

gets a chance to head for the sandbox, and NOT in a 'behind the wire with good a/c' capacity, he just might become one of 'them.' The 'them' that say things like "What the FUCK are we DOING here? This mission is a FAILURE! I WANNA go HOME!!!!"

I wish him a rotation date of late May--then he can "enjoy" the delightful summer in the region. It's especially invigorating with an overlay of full body armor!! And you KNOW this shitbird would never leave home without it--he just wouldn't take the chance....

[shadowknows69]

13. I've heard it from soldiers though

albeit the very few I've talked to that really believe in the mission as the neocons are pushing it. Some of them really believe if they weren't in Iraq killing people they'd be in our streets blowing us up. Never mind the 10,000 miles of ocean they'd have to cross. The truly brainwashed ones are really scary.

[MADem]

15. I have to say the military is not much different from the civilians on

this issue, and the kids I've met coming back from either the sandbox or the Stan aren't leaping for joy over the matter at all. They want this shit DONE, and they want it over NOW. Of course, I am interfacing with reservists and Guardsmen who have been fucked six ways to Sunday with a brutal deployment schedule that is never ending.

OTOH, If you're sitting on your ass in an airconditioned space in the E Ring, you think this war is just dandy.

Pick up your paper behind the wire, and read these headlines:

http://stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=40373

Attacks increase in Baghdad as Ramadan begins

http://stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=40374

Third time’s no charm for Iraqi police station

A newly constructed Iraqi police station that had been twice destroyed by suicide bombers was damaged early Monday by a car bomb that killed two police officers and wounded four more, according to the U.S. military.

Eight U.S. soldiers who occupy a patrol base next to the Iraqi police station in northern Babil province suffered minor injuries in the attack as well.

And when they get home to America, or if they do a little net surfing from the sandbox, they can read all about how they are none too thrilled with the progress of STAND UP, STAND DOWN:

http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2006/09/26/us_soldiers_criticize_their_iraqi_counterparts/

US soldiers criticize their Iraqi counterparts

BAGHDAD -- The plan was simple: Iraqi troops would block escape routes while US soldiers searched for weapons house by house. But the Iraqi troops didn't show up on time.

When they finally appeared, the Iraqis ignored US orders and let dozens of cars pass through checkpoints in eastern Baghdad -- including an ambulance full of armed militiamen, American soldiers said in recent interviews.

It wasn't an isolated incident, they added.

Senior US commanders have hailed the performance of Iraqi troops in the crackdown on militias and insurgents in Baghdad. But some US soldiers say the Iraqis serving alongside them are among the worst they've ever seen -- seeming more loyal to militias than the government.

That raises doubts of whether Iraqis can maintain order once the security operation is over and Americans have left. It also raises broader questions about the training, reliability, and loyalty of Iraqi troops -- who must be competent, US officials say, before America can begin pulling out of Iraq....

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/special_packages/iraq/15623156.htm

U.S. general warns that Iraq is close to dissolving into civil war

BAGHDAD, Iraq - A top-ranked U.S. military officer in Iraq said Wednesday that the United States thought that the government of Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki was running out of time to prevent Iraq from dissolving into outright civil war.

"We have to fix this militia issue. We can't have armed militias competing with Iraq's security forces. But I have to trust the prime minister to decide when it is that we do that," said Lt. Gen. Peter Chiarelli, the second-highest-ranking American military official in Baghdad.

Chiarelli's comments to a gathering of reporters were a part of a growing chorus of concerns from U.S. political and military leaders about the Iraqi government's ability and willingness to tackle corruption and militia-run death squads. They suggest that top American leaders are growing frustrated with the pace of reforms and may even be starting to argue for eventual U.S. withdrawal.

Throughout the month, senior military officials - almost always speaking anonymously because of the sensitivity of the subject - have expressed frustration with the government, saying corruption and rogue militias backed by rebel Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada al Sadr are rampant. They've complained of ministers using their offices to fill the coffers of their political parties and of government workers using their jobs to attack rival sects. They said the Iraqi government turned a blind eye, embracing a sectarian winner-take-all approach to governance. ...

It's a MESS over there. There's NO good news. There's no more lipstick to put on the pig...it's irretrievable. About the only thing that MIGHT work is to let Bush fulfill his dreams of dictatorship...OVER THERE. We'll give him a one way ticket to Bahgdad, replace him with Al Gore, and just GIVE him Iraq. Here, Monkey, take the WHOLE THING!!! Then he'll have everything he wants...frightened subjects who kowtow to him, a backyard full of oil, and the freedom to shoot off his little six shooters whenever he might like!

[roamer65]

12. Yeah Stukins,

It's people like you who made Jonestown, Guyana possible. Just keep on drinking the Kool-Aid.

[Brother Buzz]

14. Perhaps, Corporal Stukins, you could get your ass over to Iraq....

and start reporting firsthand all the good things happening that people should see.

Until you start reporting from Iraq, and we have that open dialogue you value so highly, I will think of you as nothing but a tool for the propaganda machine. You were used!

[genie_weenie]

16. Sadly, this is the type of Marine the

Regime (and all US Governments) have always wanted. The one who idealizes the "Fightin' Man", who bends his thinking to accept as Gospel all that emanates from the mouths of his superiors. The one who has been brainwashed by the system .

But, just to be fair not all us POGs have had shit-eating, paper-shuffling, yessir jobs in DC.