News from the Colonies - America's War in Iraq

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Good to have the editorial ability to send inconvenient truths down the memory hole, I see.
 
I don't have moderator powers in the "site feedback" fora.

Please to post your complaints and or polls regarding SAM there.

~String
 
I don't care enough.

It was a point minimally made about a minimal personality.

Enough melodrama has already been made in counterpoint.
 
hey SAM ... since im calling you out i figured we start with that fact that you say you are not in the US Army, what a coincidence, neither am i i am the US Air Force and you say HE try again I am a female but wait since you like to bash my country and what i stand for, atleast the men and women of the military before me fought to make it so that I am able to do what it is I do today, at least my religion and my country stand behind every move I make, whether you or any other arrogant asshole would like to take a stab at my pride in what i do and what i stand for or try to push on us that no one supports us to bring down our confidence level and our level of hope. I have news for you, the media bashes us and what we do, because it brings them more viewers, and you and a lot of other people believe that, but guess what, if you are living in the US of A I and my fellow military have given you the right to do so, but look around at just how many people still support us, and it doesnt have to be big and showy, its something as simple as our yellow support ribbon!!! That in itself means the world to us when we see that someone is displaying that either on their car, their front door, their front lawn, or when we come home from deployment on their shirt and in their hand they are waving the american flag, that flag stands for so much more than just americas freedom!!! But you are too shallow to give a damn what anyone else thinks or anyone elses beliefs because in your mind you do no wrong, however i wish for just one day you could patrol as just another ride along to see what things are really like, I would hope that you could lose someone so close to you that you feel their every pain as you watch them die!! But you could never ever falthom something like that, your arrogance and selfishness would get in the way first, you will never truly know the meaning or feeling of pride that we feel and all because you are too damn cocky to pull your head out of your ass and see everything as we see it, guess what, we will win this war and we will get things done just the way we have been, whether you or any other asshole approves, but from now on if you are going to post things on here that the media has shown i would advise you to pick and choose wisely!!!
 
and hey thanks for the SUPPORT Mr. G .... hmmm i really wish people werent so damn stuck up, maybe if they'd open up they'd learn a little!


humphhhhh ... oh well... thanks again!
 
(chortle!)

USAF07 said:

The only thing you are willing to do is bash what myself and my brothers and sisters serving in our armed forces are wrongfully displayed doing, as the media likes to bash anything ....
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So its wrong for the people to know what's going on in a war?

And yes—

A former Marine sergeant told jurors Tuesday he saw dread on the faces of two detainees after the apparent shooting death of another detainee during some of the fiercest fighting of the Iraq war.

"It's something I wouldn't forget, that face, the dread," Cory Carlisle told jurors during testimony in the federal trial of former squad leader, Jose Luis Nazario.

(AP)
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—it's that evil, evil media making up stories to "bash anything".

Apparently they're even recruiting former Marines.

(chortle!)
____________________

Notes:

Associated Press. "Former Marine testifies in detainee killings". IHT.com. August 27, 2008. http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/08/26/america/NA-US-Marines-Fallujah.php
 
no its not wrong to know whats going on, not at all, but people that have no affiliation with the war are seeing only what is in the media, and the media is portraying mostly negative images of the troops!! And read exactly what that says and understand it, during some of the fiercest fighting, were talking ramadi when things there were cut and dry, you knew who the terrorists were they just had a lot more strategy then, they didnt hide among the common iraqi folk in the markets and didnt focus mainly on IED's to do their work, now they are just trying to blow up every military vehicle they can regardless of whether they kill or not, but as for the media, its portraying us negatively most of the time, this shows that during the war we actually feel some sympathy for detainees, how is this even an argument?!
 
USAF07 said:
no its not wrong to know whats going on, not at all, but people that have no affiliation with the war are seeing only what is in the media, and the media is portraying mostly negative images of the troops!! And read exactly what that says and understand it, during some of the fiercest fighting, were talking ramadi when things there were cut and dry, you knew who the terrorists were they just had a lot more strategy then, they didnt hide among the common iraqi folk in the markets and didnt focus mainly on IED's to do their work, now they are just trying to blow up every military vehicle they can regardless of whether they kill or not, but as for the media, its portraying us negatively most of the time, this shows that during the war we actually feel some sympathy for detainees, how is this even an argument?!
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Granted, The media focus on doom and gloom, but frankly, your leaders are letting you down too. There was no support allowed for Iraq from the start, the infighting between commands of the Army, The different tactics used by the marines and the army, (guess which was effective huh ?). Your leaders let you down as much as your supposedly media is. (which I don't think it is.) . Their tactics are getting more desperate yes, but there would be no insurgency if your leaders, had learnt the lessons of the past, and not micromanaged.
In essence, the left hand didn't know what the right hand is doing, and I don't think the media acknowledges the role politicians had in making this happen.
 
you dont think the media is?? REALLY! look back through the past 5 years and tell me how many positive things come up about us in the media, and yeah our leaders have screwed up but politician wise they couldnt give a rats ass at this point (or in previous years) what really happens as long as something looks good on them, and if my army and marine counterparts really had anything to do with my command and what i do over there i could understand my leaders letting me down yes, but as for that they have no say when it finally trickles down through the ranks. But again this is just you giving your opinion because you really have no idea beyond what the media is telling you.
 
USAF07 said:
I would hope that you could lose someone so close to you that you feel their every pain as you watch them die!!
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Don't you start, please. This quote from you is almost a threat, and we discourage such behaviour among posters here.

It is understandable to react as you have to the reception you received when you first posted here, but let's not get out of control, ok?

I'm sure a civil discussion of the pros and cons of life in the Air Force in Iraq is possible without the personal attacks.

Personally, I am interested to hear directly from somebody who has served in Iraq. It adds another perspective. If you think the media has treated/is treating the military unfairly, then here is one place you can correct some misconceptions people might have.
 
USAF07 said:
you dont think the media is?? REALLY! look back through the past 5 years and tell me how many positive things come up about us in the media, and yeah our leaders have screwed up but politician wise they couldnt give a rats ass at this point (or in previous years) what really happens as long as something looks good on them, and if my army and marine counterparts really had anything to do with my command and what i do over there i could understand my leaders letting me down yes, but as for that they have no say when it finally trickles down through the ranks. But again this is just you giving your opinion because you really have no idea beyond what the media is telling you.
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What are you saying that the media always distort things? .. Give me a break, I already know that. It's called using sources and verifying data. Although we don't usually do it in a forum (cept tiassa), Any intelligent person would. People use multiple news sources for this very reason.

Anyone remember Iraq ?. The beginning ? Remember how it was all filled with flag animations, and feel good stories about the troops ?, Remember the beginning and the squeaky clean image we got of the US troops ? Again, What I do know may be limited by the media, but they've been wrong in both directions before. The real blame of the Iraq war lies with the politicians, and the media should focus on that. The unclear interrogation techniques were the fault of general sanchez, The violations done by the troops are result of unclear orders and leadership, The troops on the ground are being let down by their leaders and it is them you should direct their anger against.
 
Having served in US military intelligence, insinuations of special knowledge within the US military sometimes get my attention. During my own tours involving foreign intelligence, I discovered first-hand (and much to my surprise) how the quality and quantity of information within the military consistently falls far behind that of the media in general. Military culture has a profound effect on objectivity, and on objective penetration into foreign societies.

Obviously in matters of US military operations and systems, there is classified and secret information that the media is not privy to. But in matters of civilian life in other countries, including countries in turmoil, and including events and issues surrounding present-day life in Iraq (including the status of the occupation and US nation-building project) the US military and intelligence communities within are at a great disadvantage in gaining understanding of what is transpiring and why. The deeper within the organization you are privy to look, the more distorted the interpretations you will find, that are a direct result of the bureaucratic and political structure of US intelligence. The politicization of intelligence services under the present Bush Administration is unprecedented, and as a result our military services are at a pronounced disadvantage in terms of taking any fresh or objective look at what has become of our intervention in Iraq.

Much as we may criticize the major media, there is far better information available in the open than can be found within the US military. Much as we may respect an honor individual US soldiers in Iraq, they too are at a distinct objective disadvantage when it comes to approaching and being approached by Iraqis and Iraqi issues- There's scant special knowledge about Iraq to be gleaned from military sources, and whenever someone cryptically alludes to inside military information that generally surpasses and disproves freely-available civilian knowledge, it's a reasonable bet that that person is not being truthful.
 
hypewaders said:
Having served in US military intelligence, insinuations of special knowledge within the US military sometimes get my attention. During my own tours involving foreign intelligence, I discovered first-hand (and much to my surprise) how the quality and quantity of information within the military consistently falls far behind that of the media in general. Military culture has a profound effect on objectivity, and on objective penetration into foreign societies.

Obviously in matters of US military operations and systems, there is classified and secret information that the media is not privy to. But in matters of civilian life in other countries, including countries in turmoil, and including events and issues surrounding present-day life in Iraq (including the status of the occupation and US nation-building project) the US military and intelligence communities within are at a great disadvantage in gaining understanding of what is transpiring and why. The deeper within the organization you are privy to look, the more distorted the interpretations you will find, that are a direct result of the bureaucratic and political structure of US intelligence. The politicization of intelligence services under the present Bush Administration is unprecedented, and as a result our military services are at a pronounced disadvantage in terms of taking any fresh or objective look at what has become of our intervention in Iraq.

Much as we may criticize the major media, there is far better information available in the open than can be found within the US military. Much as we may respect an honor individual US soldiers in Iraq, they too are at a distinct objective disadvantage when it comes to approaching and being approached by Iraqis and Iraqi issues- There's scant special knowledge about Iraq to be gleaned from military sources, and whenever someone cryptically alludes to inside military information that generally surpasses and disproves freely-available civilian knowledge, it's a reasonable bet that that person is not being truthful.
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I read a book from Michael moore, involving letters from Iraq.., There are a lot more people disillusioned in the military, and most of these guys are grunts. They know that they're being screwed over by their leaders.

Duty is a two way street.
 
True, but it's like the atheists in church pews: We'll never know the real number and intensity of the untold opinions withheld in sociopolitical deference. With time (if we back away from authoritarianism, as I expect) USAmericans and US Servicemembers publicly expressing dissent will likely manifest in tremendous numbers. I suspect that the dissent presently expressed is the tip of the proverbial iceberg- but we know that in political life, all that matters is what's visible. Those of us who look beneath the surface are ever few.
 
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