Why Do These Soldiers Hate America?
We are in deep trouble if the soliders are in league with the terrorists, which is what it seems:
Spc. David Williams, 22, of Boston, Mass., had two note cards in his pocket Wednesday afternoon as he waited for Sen. Joseph Lieberman. Williams serves in the 82nd Airborne Division from Fort Bragg, N.C., the first of the five “surge” brigades to arrive in Iraq, and he was chosen to join the Independent from Connecticut for lunch at a U.S. field base in Baghdad.The night before, 30 other soldiers crowded around him with questions for the senator.
He wrote them all down. At the top of his note card was the question he got from nearly every one of his fellow soldiers:
“When are we going to get out of here?”
***“We’re not making any progress,” Hedin said, as he recalled a comrade who was shot by a sniper last week. “It just seems like we drive around and wait to get shot at.”
But as he waited two chairs down from where Lieberman would sit, Hedin said he’d never voice his true feelings to the senator.
“I think I’d be a private if I did,” he joked. “It’s just more troops, more targets.”
In the past two months, the unit has lost two men. In May alone, at least 120 U.S. troops died in Iraq, the bloodiest month in 2007 and the highest number since the battles of Fallujah in 2004.
Spc. Kevin Krasco, 20, of Medford, Mass., and Spc. Kevin Adams, 20, of Moosup, Conn., chimed in with their dismay before turning the conversation to baseball.
“It’s like everything else in this war,” Adams said, referring to Baghdad. “It hasn’t changed.”
***As Lieberman walked out, he said that congressionally mandated withdrawal would be a “victory for al-Qaida and a victory for Iran.”
“They’re not Pollyannaish about this,” he said referring to the young soldiers he ate lunch with. “They know it’s not going to be solved in a day or a month.”
It isn’t clear whether Williams mentioned the last line on his note card, the one that had a star next to it.
“We don’t feel like we’re making any progress,” it said.
If you ask the soldiers, this is the most maddening thing- the visits from blowhards like Lieberman who come in, “listen” to the troops, and then go out and say whatever they planned to say, regardless what they have “learned” in their heavily guarded photo-op tours of the region. The problem for these soldiers is they just don’t understand that when they signed the contract for service, they pledged that they would die for their country. Lieberman and the other ‘stay the course’ fools just want to hold them to their word.
Bombadil
But things must be going swimmingly in Iraq, since Holy Joe can walk freely and openly in the markets, just like St. John McCain.
Tom Hilton
What kind of glasses was Lieberman wearing when he saw all that progress?
Andrew
Why can’t these soldiers just do the honorable thing and come out as gay so we can kick them out of the military?
Mr Furious
This comment over at Bombadil’s Think Progress link summed it up perfectly…
‘When Are We Going To Get Out Of Here?
Lieberman’s reply:
“I don’t know about you, but I’m outta here as soon as I get my picture taken…”
Bombadil
According to the article:
Draw your own conclusions.
Barry
Lieberman was wearing the same glasses that he wears when he looks in the mirror, and sees the Most Moral Man In The Senate.
Pug
What kind of glasses was Lieberman wearing when he saw all that progress?
OK…the obvious answer is …uh…rose colored?
ATS
Be it duly noted that the DHS was Joe’s moronic idea, and—according to Richard Clarke—the sole reason Bush created the added bureaucracy.
Is Liebermann dropping by his district in Tel Aviv for supplimentary instructions from cousin Avignor?
rachel
Remember this little gem from TIME?
Their complaints then didn’t change anything.
RSA
I think that the old-fashioned term “cannon fodder” is ready for a resurgence.
dslak
My brother tried that, and it was even true, but he had the (mis)fortune of having a CO who cared more about his ability as a soldier than his sexual orientation. If you’re going to go that route, make sure the right homophobes find out.
Tax Analyst
I think “Holy Joe” probably bothers me even more than most Republicans, which is really saying something. It’s one thing for a politician to behave in a “it’s really all about me and maintaining my Office” manner…there might an exception somewhere, but I can’t really think of one off-hand. But Joe is so fucking sanctimonius about it…you know, he’s really only doing this for US, ‘cuz he’s such a Moral Beacon…no, no-no…make that THE Moral Beacon…for all of US…and by the Fate’s and their obviously sick sense of humor he holds a particular and peculiar brand of power by being the “tipping” vote in the Senate…which sort of immunizes him from the type of point-blank overt criticism I suspect he would otherwise receive from the Democratic side. Yeah, another piece-of-work that makes me want to puke…you know, if I really did puke every time I get that feeling these days the freaking veins in my throat would explode.
Bombadil
Why do the troops hate the troops?
Cyrus
My brother tried that, and it was even true, but he had the (mis)fortune of having a CO who cared more about his ability as a soldier than his sexual orientation. If you’re going to go that route, make sure the right homophobes find out.
Shit, that’s not what I want to hear. A lot of people my parent’s age have said they’re worried about politicians bringing back the draft, but I’m complacent about it because DADT is still in place(1). My generation is tolerant enough of homosexuality that there would be massive waves of people willing to claim to be gay to get out of being drafted(2). Don’t tell me that won’t work!
(1) I’m complacent about it for other reasons as well, like the fact that few politicians are anywhere close to dumb enough to seriously propose something so unpopular without a really fucking good reason, but still.
(2) At least, I know I would.
Tom Hilton
If I worked in that market, I would definitely stay home for the next week or so. Remember what happened the day after McCain’s market visit.
Tsulagi
See, now that’s the problem with the enlisted ranks. Sometimes they just don’t see the big picture, the vision guiding the top of the chain. That vision currently focused on Jan 20, 09. The day your Commander Guy can hand this
sack of shitbaby democracy to the next guy toblamenurture.That’s the mission, soldier. We’re getting there one day at a time. There’s your progress. Stay the course.
And your job in this mission, soldier, is not to be a mole in this reversed game of Whack-A-Mole. So if not selected for dog and pony strolls with Lieberman or McCain, while driving around, keep your head low from snipers above and your ass high from IEDs below. Because if you’re one of those whacked, and if our hate-America press reports it, your president will suffer greatly. Laura said so.
Zifnab
Canada is still really nice this time of year.
Punchy
From the I-can’t-make-this-shit-up department:
Lemmie see if I understand this. Our NEW! and EXCITING! plan to stop the killing is to…wait for it…ask each group to stop killing? It’s THAT easy???
We should thus win The War On Drugs, too, if we simply ask each person to stop doing drugs. I bet we can easily win The War On Poverty if we simply ask all the homeless to quit being so poor.
Simple.
ThymeZone
The thing that dogma relies on is the ability to manipulate people into choosing against their own interests by fooling them into choosing in favor of other interests.
These soldiers are simply making rational choices based on their interests, and on their country’s interests.
The powers that be would prefer that the soldiers choose in favor of the powers’ interests.
Apparently, the bullshit isn’t working as well as it did a while back. What a surprise, you ask people to put their asses on the line, and they start thinking for themselves.
ThymeZone
Hey, it worked for Nancy “Just say no” Reagan.
Dogma is a wonderful thing, if you just believe in it.
Bubblegum Tate
Well, it worked for a while—there was no drug use in the nation. Then Ice Cube came along and said, “We don’t just say no, we’re too busy saying yeah!” and all of a sudden, people started doing drugs again.
Rome Again
I’ll consider your dogma if you consider my catma!
ThymeZone
Hooowwwl!
Andrew
Minus 10 points for Hufflepuff on account of the bad pun.
Rome Again
Fuck off, who asked you?
Tulkinghorn
Hufflepuff? Them’s fighting words!
Andrew
Temper, temper. Still bitter about not getting into Gryffindor, I see.
Rome Again
Gryffindor is for twelve year olds, grow up!
Dulcie
Why does Ice Cube hate America?
S.W. Anderson
A hat tip for the most insightful comment in this thread.
ImJohnGalt
I think your karma just ran over my dogma.
Andrew
My, aren’t we a little Death Eater today.
Tom Hilton
Wow…that could be almost as effective as McCain’s plan to (in his words) “sit the Shiites and the Sunnis down and say, ‘Stop the bullshit’”.
Tom S
Is there any indication that the soldiers actually asked Lieberman any of the questions that Spc Williams collected? I hope they did, but it wasn’t clear to me.
The Other Steve
Thank God we have Senators like Joe Liberman who are out there Supporting our Troops.
By calling for withdrawl, you moonbats aren’t properly supporting our soldiers!
The Other Steve
I think it’s clear he did not, for fear of being busted down to a private.
Shabbazz
Fixed.
Rome Again
Well, now that you mention it, yes, I might go to the theater today.
ThymeZone
Clearly, point to Rome here.
Continue ….
Tsulagi
“When are we going to get out of here?”
Well, this from The Dallas Morning News could give SPC Williams and his fellow soldiers an answer…
ThymeZone
The man is clearly a lunatic.
Tsulagi
Note to voters: No matter how much lipstick you put on a retarded, spoiled brat…No matter how well you dress him up in manly cowboy boots and Stetson…YOU STILL HAVE A RETARDED, SPOILED BRAT.
Punchy
You must give props to the whole N.W.A. crew, lest I accuse you of denying the genius that was Easy, Ren, and Dre. And when I’m finished, I’ll bring the yellow tape.
Bubblegum Tate
There are T-shirts that say in a nice, clear font:
Cube
Dre
Ren
Yella
and Eazy
I want one.
Krista
Damn, I was all set with that one, but you beat me to it.
Sigh…I really have to stop taking work home. Maybe then I’ll be able to keep up with you folks again.
Rome Again
Yes, you do! You’re sadly missed around here.
ThymeZone
Seconded!
Krista
Aw thanks! No rest for the wicked, though—this next month is going to be completely nutso. Once the conference is over, I’ll be back full strength. Until then, it’ll be mostly lurking, with the odd drive-by comment.
Lee
Saw a interesting article that was appropriate for this thread.
Marine to be redischarged as less than honorable for protests
Andrew
I say this with all due respect to the military:
Its full of total assholes.
Tax Analyst
Minus 10 points for Hufflepuff on account of the bad pun.
Fuck off, who asked you?
May 31st, 2007 at 12:58 pm
Sorry I’m late…did I miss a catfight here? Well, my cat ma once had five kittens, they were REAL cute, too. But it was a bitch giving them away, though…you can’t keep ‘em and you sure as fuck don’t want to give them to someone until you’re sure they aren’t some raving lunatic that might stick a firecracker up their ass or go around pounding their chest exclaiming, “I Am The President”. Why do I have the feeling I just might have described the same person twice?