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Sunday, September 19, 2004

It's spelled Q-U-A-G-M-I-R-E, Mr. Bush. And you're in one.
Posted by Jill | 4:43 PM
How on earth can the delusional blow-monkey in the White House continue to spew his insane nonsense that we're winning hearts and minds in Iraq? How can his brownshirts continue to arrest grieving mothers for speaking the truth when the soldiers who are today serving in the National Guard with which he couldn't be bothered to complete his own service are breaking down before our very eyes?

When our soldiers have decided that everyone in the country they're occupying is an enemy, how can there be any kind of victory?

Marine Cpl. Travis Friedrichsen, a sandy-haired 21-year-old from Denison, Iowa, used to take Tootsie Rolls and lollipops out of care packages from home and give them to Iraqi children. Not anymore.

"My whole opinion of the people here has changed. There aren't any good people," said Friedrichsen, who says his first instinct now is to scan even youngsters' hands for weapons.

The subtle hostility extends to Iraqi adults, evidence some U.S. troops have second thoughts about their role here.

"We're out here giving our lives for these people," said Sgt. Jesse Jordan, 25, of Grove Hill, Ala. "You'd think they'd show some gratitude. Instead, they don't seem to care."

When new troops rotated into Iraq early in the spring, the military portrayed the second stage of the occupation as a peacekeeping operation focused at least as much on reconstruction as on mopping up rebel resistance.

Even in strongholds of the Sunni insurgency such as Ramadi, a restive provincial capital west of Baghdad, the Marine Corps sent in its units with a mission to win over the people as well as smite the enemy. Commanders worked to instill sympathy for the local population through sensitivity training and exhortations from higher officers.

Marines were ordered to show friendliness through "wave tactics," including waving at people on the street.

Few spend much time waving these days as the hard reality of frequent hit-and-run attacks, roadside bombs and exploding mortars has left plenty of Marines, particularly grunts on the ground, disillusioned and bitter.

Since the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, deployed in the area six months ago, 34 of its members have died and more than a quarter of the 1,000-member unit has been wounded.

Along with the heavy toll, the Marines cite other sources of frustration. High among them is the scarcity of tips from Iraqis on the locations of the roadside bombs that kill and maim Marines, even though the explosives frequently are placed in well-trafficked areas where bomb teams probably would be observed.


How long will we Americans continue to allow George W. Bush to feed American young people into a meatgrinder before we say, "Enough! No more!"? Republicans pride themselves on their reverence for human life. How can you revere human life and allow your president to keep sending thousands and thousands of kids into a hostile country in the name of -- what? What are they there for now, anyway?

In a NY Times article today, Tom Ampleman a young blue-collar worker from St. Joseph, Missouri was quoted as saying, "The Republicans will hurt me in the long run in providing for my family, but it's probably more important to watch out for the unborn and that kind of stuff."

Mr. Ampleman, if you're so Goddamned pro-life, how about worrying about BORN life -- like the guys YOUR president is so cavalierly sending off to die with no end in sight?
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