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Subject: 
Guerrilla Warfare and the 16 Words
Newsgroups: 
lugnet.off-topic.debate
Date: 
Wed, 16 Jul 2003 21:56:58 GMT
Viewed: 
117 times
  
US faces Iraq ‘guerrilla war’

http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools/print/news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3072899.stm

One soldier at the scene of Wednesday’s convoy blast wept and another raked the ground with machine gun fire.

“We need more protection. We’ve seen enough. We’ve stayed in Iraq long enough,” one soldier travelling in the convoy said.

And in interviews with American television network ABC, other US servicemen in Iraq expressed their unhappiness.

“If Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was here, I’d ask him for his resignation,” said a member of the 3rd Infantry Division based in the flashpoint town Falluja, west of Baghdad.

“I don’t have any clue as to why we are still in Iraq,” said another.

edit: Actually, there was a lot of talk previously about how Iraq would not be a war involving guerrilla tactics. Well, guess what else has proved false.

A Big Letdown: Soldiers Learn They’ll Be in Baghdad Longer Than Expected

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/wnt/World/iraq030715_2ndBrigade.html

Now comes word from the Pentagon: Not so fast. The 2nd Brigade will be staying in Iraq “indefinitely.” The earliest they could return home is October.

“If Donald Rumsfeld were sitting here in front of us, what would you say to him?” I asked a group of soldiers who gathered around a table, eager to talk to a visiting reporter.

“If he was here,” said Pfc. Jason Punyahotra, “I would ask him why we’re still here, why we’ve been told so many times and it’s changed.”

In the back of the group, Spc. Clinton Deitz put up his hand. “If Donald Rumsfeld was here,” he said, “I’d ask him for his resignation.”

Those are strong words from troops used to following orders. They say they will continue to do their job, but they no longer seem to have their hearts in the mission.

“I used to want to help these people,” said Pfc. Eric Rattler, “but now I don’t really care about them anymore. I’ve seen so much, you know, little kids throwing rocks at you. Once you pacify an area, it seems like the area you just came from turns bad again. I’d like this country to be all right, but I don’t care anymore.”

edit: Gee, Mercenary Joe -- you weren’t welcomed with open arms as predicted? What did you think would happen when you killed these peoples’ relatives and occupied their country? It’s not like we thought red coats were so great 200 years ago ourselves, y’know?

If His Words Are His Bond, We’re in a Bind

http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0716-04.htm

Suddenly everyone is asking: What didn’t the president know, and why didn’t he know it? And why does he know less and less every day?

snip!

Bush is coming across as very presidential indeed.

Like his dad, he’s out of the loop; like Bill Clinton, he’s become a world-class word weasel; and like Nixon, he’s shown a massive propensity for secrecy and dissembling.

Clinton was impeached for seven words he should not have uttered: “I never had sex with that woman.” What price will Bush have to pay for his 16-word scam?

edit: is there a reason I shouldn’t want to vote for this Greek Babe?

-- Hop-Frog



Message has 1 Reply:
  Followup (was Re: Guerrilla Warfare etc.)
 
(...) Pentagon retaliates against GIs who spoke out on TV (URL) "It was the end of the world," said one officer Thursday. "It went all the way up to President Bush and back down again on top of us. At least six of us here will lose our careers." (...) (21 years ago, 18-Jul-03, to lugnet.off-topic.debate, FTX)

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