Bush brings little cheer to Iraqis, U.S. troops

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L084999.htm

BAGHDAD, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Whatever U.S. President George W. Bush's speech on Iraq achieved at home, it left Iraqis and the U.S. soldiers occupying their country with little hope they would see the back of each other any time soon. snip

"The U.S. military is being asked to do too much. We had enough troops for the war but not for the peacekeeping. Now we need the French and Germans to step up," said Specialist Jeffrey Barnaby, 25, a 1st Battalion, 22nd Regiment convoy driver.

He feared a lengthy stay in Iraq could spell doom for his marriage, citing the matrimonial woes of soldiers in his battalion who divorced after a six-month deployment in Kosovo.

"The army is supposed to be becoming more family oriented but the longer this goes on the more divorced soldiers you are going to see," he said.

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[Prodemsouth]

1. With due respect Mr. Barnaby, the Germans and th French did not get

you into this shit- so they are supposed to send their citizens to something they had the sense to stay away from.- They know people back in your home Fox, Limbaugh, Coulter the stupid ass radio jocks will only make fun of them coming in after the heavy work has been done by US and Britian Sorry, for your troubles, Sir, but you are directing your complaints to the wrong people -if I were in their place I would tell your Commander -to go to hell, given how this country has treated them,esp the French.

[saigon68]

16. BESIDES MR BARNABY THEY WERE CALLED "CHEESE EATING SURRENDER MONKEYS"

This guy must be smoking some of that Afghani Hashish thats now legal to grow by the "WARLORDS"

[THX1138]

2. Sorry Jeffrey

I doubt the French and Germans will "step up" now that they've been ostracized and humiliated by the monkey boy in the White House. Whats in it for them?

[Noordam]

3. Jeffrey Barnaby you are an ass

the French and Germans did not want to go into Iraq in the first place. So why should they have "save your marriage".


You signed up and voted for Bushie,,, Enjoy.

Grrrrrrr it is troops like this that piss me off.

[NNN0LHI]

4. I would like to ask him how the "freedom fries" taste n/t

[coralrf]

5. Jeffrey....its a war..

and YOU volunteered for it. If your wife hits the road do a better job picking one next time. No pity here my boy..I was in Vietnam for the required year..not 6 months.

It was hot there too.

[Skittles]

13. with all due respect for Jeffrey

the marriage isn't much to start with if a six month deployment can destroy it.

[tsipple]

6. 2004 Election Coming Up

Choose wisely, Spec. Barnaby.

[Noordam]

7. The comment about the French and the Germans

should safe his ass tells me he is a Whistle Ass voter in 2004.

[maxsolomon]

8. the military is focused on quick victory in battle

but that's not how you run an empire. and here comes the stryker, to make our battlefield armor MORE invincible.

what's the freakin point?

america has no civil administrators like the british did. you know, the beta-males who actually get things built after the alphas go around breaking it?

if you want to fix it, we need to put a 100,000 more AMERICAN troops there, rummy. and ones WITH BRAINS & an ability to think & act on their own. if we have such people left in our military.

see how the rubes like that for supper.

[pfitz59]

9. Fundies have co-opted the military........

Too many of the "career force" (officers/senior enlisted) are flat-out wing-nut Xians! They will follow Shrub to Armegeddon! For example: Franklin Graham (Xian fruitcake) has a son at West Point. Roy Moore (nut-job - Alabama) is a graduate of West Point. One unremarked upon byproduct of the Republican takeover of Congress is the service academy appointment process. Who do you think Tom DeLay and Scott McGinnis nominate for Annapolis, West Point and Colorado Springs?..... the kid who volunteers at the ACLU, or the kid who carries water for Benny Hinn? As for Senior Enlisted... who writes fitness reports and promotion recommendations? Wingnut officers.... Reservists and junior enlisted tend to be more moderate in their political outlook, but they are the ones who will take a bullet for the rapture-praying, "Left Behind"-reading, Jim Jones wannabes!

[teryang]

10. So true the Christian fundies in the Army

...officer corps were totally out of control when I was in. If you weren't a part of their clique, forget your career. It was a form of ring knocking and political patronage for non West Point graduates. If you didn't go for it, you were stigmatized, because they were the in group.

[underpants]

11. ~"That speech was definitely for domestic consumption"

The first reporter (in Baghdad) on CNN's LArry King last night right after the speech.

I can't remember his name but he pointed out that it was 5:30 in the morning there and that neither the Iraqis or the troops would see it/ read it until daybreak. He went on to say that he didn't think it would have much effect in Iraq or with our allies. Right out of the box, totally dismissed the whole thing.

[Rollins]

12. Yeah I saw that newscaster too

Was heartening to here him say the Iraqi people weren't too concerned about the speech, reminded me it was for US public consumption. "It is the US against the world" comes to mind...

Sounded to me like Rummy and Bush were given the same talking points. "progress, terror, don't believe what you hear from the news unless it support Bush"

It is as if they want the American public to believe Rummy and Bush and not trust the media who are over in Iraq dealing with the devastation everyday.

What concerns me are the tactics the Bush/Neo-cons might use when their spin no longer works. Remember we are talking hegemony here and they are not going to give up their fantasy of controlling the world just because they hit a few potholes.

[symbolman]

14. He should be worried

Bush is screwing his wife... and his family, and all their friends..

actually the whole nation..

what a turkey.. the french and germans? Do they just put a chip in these guys now and wave a wand to activate it..

little robots..

[David__77]

15. "France... Germany, come save us!"

This is Bush's cry right now. How interesting... It leaves me cold, all this UN talk of hornswaggling nations into this mess. I think Chirac, Schroader, Putin and others have a modicum of political astuteness that will disallow them from embroiling themselves in an unpopular and also expensive conflict. Why should they pay in lives or in money? The US and UK already have moral and legal responsibility for the occupation and also the reconstruction of Iraq and safety of its people. Or is that too difficult for the world's "only superpower"?

[toopers]

17. Unpopular . . .

I find it interesting that you think we should base decisions on popularity!

[DrWeird]

18. So tell us, Oh Great Toopers.

Why should France and Germany get involved in this pitiful excuse for a war?

[toopers]

19. Dear Wierd

I never said that France and Germany should get involved. I thought that it was interesting that any decision should be based on popularity as opposed to what is the right thing to do. My initial statement was not meant specifically about the war in IRaq.