“Our armies do not come into your cities and lands as conquerors or enemies, but as liberators.”
– Maj. Gen. Stanley Maude, 11 March 1917
Those were the words of the commanding British general as he greeted the city of Baghdad, shortly after his army captured it from the Turks. If you don’t know what happened in the months/years to follow, read: Britain Tried First. Iraq Was No Picnic Then.](http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/20/weekinreview/20KIFN.html?pagewanted=all&position=)
Now in typical Vietnam-style US soldiers and their wives have been told to stop complaining or else…
Griping Could Mean Charges for Soldiers](Yahoo News: Latest and Breaking News, Headlines, Live Updates, and More)
US army wives warned criticism can play into Iraqi fighter’ hands](Yahoo News: Latest and Breaking News, Headlines, Live Updates, and More)
right or wrong individual soldiers cant protest it is dereliction of duty.
It’s sketchy at best with regards to NCOs and below. There are catch-all clauses that can be pressed against them when complaining with words only. For officers, there is Article 88 of the UCMJ. However, spouses are free to moan as they please, whether or not it is not fitting with an overall propaganda strategy. In all, it is never fun to deal with such things.
This is taking the rosy idea of things. It is not easy to get distracted from something that you see as a cure for some of the world’s ails, if you truly believe in it. This is why I disbelieve the Bush team’s altruism. Friedman’s above statements are great, I wouldn’t have a problem with the Iraq affair if we were truly pursuing such a utopian path. But all indications say we are not; the efforts in that direction seem only to be patronizing tokens–not a dedicated effort, not the main plan.
Yes, but I am sure they will be branded un-American, lefties and other such names in due time.
Over the last day or two, yet more US soldiers have been killed…
One US soldier has been killed and another injured in an ambush along a road north of Baghdad, the US military has said.](BBC NEWS | Middle East | US soldier killed in Iraq ambush)
Rather than reduce the resistance against the American occupiers, the killings of Saddams’ sons has in fact doubled the number of US soldiers now being killed daily:-
2 U.S. Soldiers Killed in Iraq Attacks](Yahoo News: Latest and Breaking News, Headlines, Live Updates, and More)
The rate of American soldiers killed daily has now trebled, especially after the killing of the Saddam sons:-
Three American Soldiers Killed in Iraq](Yahoo News: Latest and Breaking News, Headlines, Live Updates, and More)
It was thought that attacks could increase after taking out Uday and Qusay for a bit...we shall see what happens next.
Same lame excuses, like the one after the war that WMD's will be found. Yawn.!!!!!!!
After the killed Saddam’s son’s they all said this will bring down the resistance, yet in fact the number of American soldiers killed has trebled.
Malik, I know you like many others around here expect instant reactions to things, but it just doesn't work that way.
Someone needs to turn up the bass.
I was watching a documentary on the war in the Pacific in WWII. On a single day the US lost 750 sailors.
You are misjudging Americans based on a global village, instant media, and the lastest Google search.
Does the phrase “statistically relevant sampling” mean anything to anyone anymore?
The ** rate ** of American soldiers ** killed daily ** cannot be trebled based upon the events of a single day.
I suppose that, according to this logic, on the next day that no American soldier is killed in Iraq, it would mean that the rate of American soldiers killed daily has been reduced to zero.
Average death of American soldiers since declaration that major fighting was over is .5 soldiers per day, not close to 3. I don’t like to play the number game though, a life is a life be it an Iraqi or American.
I too OG see the jubilation by some when an American is killed in Iraq. It really shows the true colors of those that get excited by these deaths, they don't care for Iraq or for it's people.
This coming from the person who goes around making excuses for the killings of 6000 Iraqi civilians in just the last few months.
Poor American soldiers are really getting frustrated in Iraq that they are blasting their commanders, and cursing the Iraqi’s:-
‘God, I hate these people,’ says the sergeant. Some utter the V-word: Vietnam](http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=425912)
Malik, if your not going read what others write then there's no point in furthering this discussion.
Sorry, I really don't see how the deaths are relevant in the sense that you try to claim. It can be argued that it is indicitive of disorder among the allied military operations, but that'd hardly be true. It, at best, represents the failings of prior planning at the highest echelons, this having been stymied by the politburo chiefs.
But really, to publicly declare each soldier's death with such odd hope attached to the announcement is just plain morbid. There are other ways of arguing against the operation, more dignified ways.