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| Home Front: Politix |
| Military faces complaints, morale problems |
| 2004-12-11 |
| It's there somewhere... Troops always gripe. But confronting the defense secretary, filing a lawsuit over extended tours and refusing to go on a mission because it's too dangerous elevate complaining to a new level. It also could mean a deeper problem for the Pentagon: a lessening of faith in the Iraq mission and in a volunteer army that soldiers can't leave. The hubbub over an exchange between Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and soldiers in Kuwait has given fresh ammunition to critics of the Bush administration's Iraq policy. ...I can feel it... It also highlighted growing morale and motivation problems in the 21-month-old war that even some administration supporters say must be addressed to get off a slippery slope that could eventually lead to breakdowns reminiscent of the Vietnam War. ...and here it is: Vietnam. More at the link, if you care. |
| Posted by:Rafael |
| #11 "...and all their predictions have been shown to be foolish. They know the same fate awaits them in Iraq next year..." Though I'm pretty confident that democracy in Iraq will eventually "take", I'm not too sure it's going to be as easy as it was in Afghanistan. I'd been puzzled at how peaceful and straightforward the Afghan elections seemed; but thinking about it I realize the Afghanis actually have a long history of consensual government, though in a form that's not very familiar to us: that loya jerga grand council thingamajig of theirs. I don't expect it to be as straightforward in Iraq, though: there's a long history of brutal autocracy and inter-tribal abuse that may take years to erase to a point where Baghdad or Fallujah bear any resemblance to Peoria. But they'll get there eventually. I think. |
| Posted by: Dave D. 2004-12-11 10:02:04 PM |
| #10 "I never include the /sarcasm tags because I feel it spoils the fun." Whew! Thanks for clarifying. :-) |
| Posted by: Dave D. 2004-12-11 9:52:51 PM |
| #9 Relax, folks: this is a sign of MSM desperation as elections approach. Notice how they've gone silent about Afghanistan now that elections have taken place, Karzai's exerting his authority and all their predictions have been shown to be foolish. They know the same fate awaits them in Iraq next year, and these neo-Vietnam stories should be viewed as the last-ditch fusillade of a group of dead-enders. |
| Posted by: lex 2004-12-11 9:43:26 PM |
| #8 Matt, this probably signals a new CNN offensive: focusing on the troops :) Interesting to see how far they go with it. |
| Posted by: Rafael 2004-12-11 9:38:44 PM |
| #7 Dave, that was supposed to be sarcasm :) I never include the /sarcasm tags because I feel it spoils the fun. The reason I posted this was the following assertion: growing restiveness of U.S. troops in the Middle East echoes a drop in optimism at home Oh really??? The only thing missing from this article is the dreaded "e" word escalation (from the Vietnam era). I'm sure it was meant to be in there but was overlooked. |
| Posted by: Rafael 2004-12-11 9:35:36 PM |
| #6 One of the CNN talking heads led off a piece late this afternoon with the announcement, delivered in a cheery tone, that "many" American soldiers were deserting. The support for this was a clip about Kinzman, who was shocked to learn that the Army expected him to be ready to kill people. |
| Posted by: Matt 2004-12-11 9:27:57 PM |
| #5 "The growing restiveness of U.S. troops in the Middle East echoes a drop in optimism at home that a stable, democratic government can be established in Iraq." And what has caused that "drop in optimism"? It has been caused by articles just like this, whose very intent is to undermine that optimism and make failure a self-fulfilling prediction. And since when is Iraq "in fact" a quagmire??? That judgement sounds more like an opinion to me, not a "fact"-- especially when you consider that things in Iraq sure as Hell aren't going any worse than they were in Germany at the end of 1946. One thing that can tempt people to write Iraq off prematurely, is the notion that our ONLY objective over there is to create a stable, democratic government. Yes, it's an important objective in the overall war; and it's one of the few that the administration can discuss openly. But there are many, MANY other purposes to our being there, and few of them are any more than peripherally dependent on making Iraq into a modern democracy. Yes, a democratic Iraq is something to strive for; but it's hardly the main reason we're over there. |
| Posted by: Dave D. 2004-12-11 9:16:38 PM |
| #4 And if we do, it won't because of any discontent among our troops: it will be because, just like with Vietnam, our Fifth Column leftists in the media succeed in convincing us to give up. Enough is enough. If the press can't be counted on to just report and let the public decide, then time to do away with those embeds, NOW. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2004-12-11 9:16:10 PM |
| #3 To be fair, the journo does acknowledge this in the article: For thousands of years, soldiers have grumbled about everything from their commanders to their equipment to shelter and food. But of course the greater point that the journo is trying to make is that Iraq is, in fact, a quagmire: The growing restiveness of U.S. troops in the Middle East echoes a drop in optimism at home that a stable, democratic government can be established in Iraq. |
| Posted by: Rafael 2004-12-11 8:42:45 PM |
| #2 My son is nearing the end of his deployment in Iraq. And in the last ten months, his loudest complaints have not been about anything connected with his own situation over there: they've been about the dishonest, disloyal news media and about articles like this little masterpiece, slyly crafted to help undermine the resolve of the people back home. Vietnam and "slippery slopes" are a perpetual object of the media's fascination in this struggle. So are quagmires, which we began hearing about when the war was barely four days old. These bastards WANT us to lose. And if we do, it won't because of any discontent among our troops: it will be because, just like with Vietnam, our Fifth Column leftists in the media succeed in convincing us to give up. |
| Posted by: Dave D. 2004-12-11 8:39:27 PM |
| #1 Sigh. I wish we could institute legislation that would force everybody taking a degree in journalism to take at lest 3 classes in military history. Then maybe they could see that morale problems have been occurring ever since Ogg the caveman started bitching about the quality of the mastadon meat served at the mess cave. |
| Posted by: Jonathan 2004-12-11 8:34:02 PM |