Troop blogs show increasing criticism of war
By Nicole Belle Sunday Sep 09, 2007 4:30pm
"The toothpaste is out of the tube. And, try as they might, the military's information nannies are not going to be able to stuff it back in," said Noah Schatman of Wired Magazine (h/t Gregory)
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They'll probably ban all computers from the troops soon. Remember Rumsfeld got rid of cell phone cameras after abu ghraib was exposed.
[Deleted. Very poor taste. Baby J needs to check out the commenting policy occasionally]
What a surprise. But isn't it much more important what that dickhead O'Hanlon thinks??
how long before the soldiers refuse to serve their fifth and sixth and seventh tours?
I dont know where to go to express my rage about this war, nor what to do about it. Its paralyzing me.
Um...Charlie don't surf?
they try and ban more things like the Pentagon banning youtube and myspace
Oh my, when the baby jesus gets deleted we could all be in for some heavenly hell. I'm stepping far away from the site monitors to avoid any lightening strikes that might run awry. ;)
Seems freedom of speech in the military is endangered these days. Can't have the truth seeping out of the country that we have torn all to hell and then told the troops to fix it.
Off topic: But all who support PBS should take a gander at this polite letter written to Jim Lehrer of PBS Newshour.
http://www.firedoglake.com/2007/09/10/dear-jim-lehrer/
Why do the troops hate America?
Careful;
The more we blog about the bloggers, the more likely THEY won't be allowed to blog...
Not to worry.
This will be countered by the keyboard heroes of the republican party. As I'm typing, they're on overtime, posting the wonders of the surge.
Important action item regarding predatory payday lending in Ohio.
BaScOmBe @ 4:
This bunch seems to be slow. Maybe because they're volunteers.
JEP @ 11:
We're bringing freedom to the Iraqi people so we can take it from the troops.
We're censoring them there so we don't have to censor them here. Who knows, one of those blogs might follow them home if we leave precipitously. /snark.
Wow! That image: who found THE one bit of shrubbery in Iraq?
The Knights Who Say Ni! would be thrilled.
(mildly snarking on tv coverage. You'd think there was no green in the entire country from the footage we get)
As Spc. Israel points out "The occupation has been a disaster." This is encouraging that the soldiers are finally beginning to think and to question their mission. But they have a long way to go before they approach the level of dissent that was exhibited by military personnel during the Vietnam War and which was made into the incredibly moving documentary Sir! No Sir!, which told the story of the GI movement that took place at or near military bases both at home and abroad during the Vietnam War. The hope is that more of the soldiers today will follow the lead of Lt. Watada and the members of the IVAW [Iraq Veterans Against the War] by saying NO to the war machine in Iraq.
Who listens to the troops? I know that when I want to put my ear to the ground with the US military and find out what the word is I read an op-ed piece by Charles Krauthammer.
That is what the reality based world tunes in to.
-Redstate Pudhead
The troops no longer support the troops, if you are to use neocon logic.
ashton @ 20:
Using Cheney's logic the troops are aiding the Al-Queda types.
As I recall, it was the troops themselves who finally put the end to the Vietnam War. There was a documentary on it. "Sir, No, Sir!"
Looks like the gig is up. These guys aren't even draftees.
#22-
My comments at # 18 confirm your belief that the GI movement was instrumental in finally bringing the Vietnam War to an end.
hareli @ 5:
Bug the hell out of your representatives. It's very convenient now that we can email them. I even write letters to other Senators remarking on their positions or complaining about something they said on the senate floor. I watch C-SPAN. Some senators block their site so if you have the wrong zip code you are blocked. Just look up their zip code in their home office. Fill out everything with honest answers except for the zip code. I'm so frustrated it helps relieve the tension.
Erroll @ 23:
To the soldiers: Let 'er rip! It will be each of YOU who tell the truth about what's going on and end this genocide.
The troops are also learning what the Bush Crime Family has DONE to THEIR country back here.
Bush and Cheney have no credibility left. None.
and on todays smokescreen report....
From a former Iraq Veteran...
"The president is hiding behind General Petraeus, and that was abundantly clear today. General Petraeus was given an order - find a military solution for Iraq where there is none, and without concern for troop overextension or the larger war on terror. General Petraeus followed his orders, giving the president what he wanted to hear, and now the president will hide behind that to justify his failure as a commander in chief."
http://www.votevets.org
On on the new bl video that just surfaces in time for all of this...
who pushes and promotes these videos...?
Remembering Nov. 2004 ... neoconservative mouthpiece MEMRI pushes the 2004 BL tape...
MEMRI was founded by a retired Israeli colonel from military intelligence, and co-run by Meyrav Wurmser, wife of David Wurmser. David Wurmser is close to the Likud Party in Israel and served in Douglas Feith's "Office of Special Plans" in the Pentagon, where he helped manufacture the case that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and was linked to al-Qaeda.
http://www.juancole.com/2004/11/bin-ladens-audio-threat-to-states.html
David Wurmser is a Swiss-American dual citizen and an Middle East Adviser
--> to US Vice President Dick Cheney.
We as Americans, Soldiers and Veterans, who have been consistently lied to...
what are we all to believe at this point..?
--> neocon disinformation = the corporate media
Morale is wonderful. Just don't ask the troops.
(Hey, what kinda laptop is that, anyway???)
chlorocardium @ 27:
It's the "digicam" version of the "urban assault laptop".
Ruthless People @ 10:
This one caused me to burst out laughing out loud! Good one Ruthless People.
The troops are demonstrating something that the more senior people in the military failed to recognize since Vietnam. We no longer live in the same world as what exited through WWII. Even in Korea many of the troops disagreed with being there and with dumb people giving dumb orders. Our troops in Iraq are, generally speaking, much better educated and informed and they should not be expected to act any differently than to question why they are there.
That said, they end up there because many want to get a college education that they could otherwise not afford. While there, they fight to protect themselves and the person next to them. While there, they see first hand and before anyone else that they are right to question why they are there. The troops that I feel the most compassion for are those who went to fight because they really believed they were doing this to protect us and our way of life.
Everyone knows that nobody wants to die, particularly when their death has no relevance to what they are fighting for. The majority of the troops that are there are considering their future. The ones that have been there who didn't make it back won't have that chance. The ones that have been there and have had their lives changed forever who no longer have the options for a better future, I have no idea how they must feel. And the Bush government is letting them down too.
My son, Sgt Key, knew and respected Sgt. Strickland. He was in Iraq when the vehicle that Strickland and two others went into the channel. I have sent him the article.
While Kris was in Iraq and for several months after he came home, he supported the idea of the war. Now after he has been able to listen to and read other information, he is disgusted with it.
He says that he will serve his country, but he won't go back because the war is wrong.
Michelle Malkin and her goon squad will try to destroy all of the soldiers who appear in that article. She has a track record of attacking the troops who she feels deserve to be destroyed, at one time even bragging that her "friends" over in Iraq will take care of one of her targets.
slippytoad @ 22:
All that means is that the neocons are more likely to nuke Iran. These fanatics will stop at nothing.
RMHK @ 24:
A lot of good it has done! I have emailed and snail mailed and I can't go to DC and protest because I am the bread winner in my family(and broke too). What else the hell can I do? I am beyond frustrated and pissed off. Even the bible thumping rednecks I live around are pissed off and mad as hell, but it looks as if our men and women will keep dying. The Democrats have let us down. They have hardly even debated this and they are so damned afraid to look weak. HAHAHA! They are afraid to look weak by being strong in their opposition to this war. Go figure!
LongTooth @ 9:
Great letter. Everyone should read it (and take notes).
The more high command pushes these troops, the more times they deploy them, the closer they get to sporatic open rebellion and mutiny among U.S. soldiers in the field. The brass probably doesn't believe that could ever happen. And they would be wrong.
I don't applaud this or cheer for it. It's just a simple fact. You can only put someone's life in danger for no good reason so many times before he or she snaps. The troops have put up with the clusterfuck for some time. They won't do so forever... which, coincidentally, is how long some people want us to stay in Iraq.
The military are now censoring their emails home, I'm surprised if they're not censoring their blogs.
Welcome to the New World Odor.
jtmonty46 @ 28:
You sunk my battleship!
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