Email from my niece in Baghdad

[Bettie]

Hmmm... things Grandma wont send... I might have to get with my roommates on that one and come up with something good :) What I wouldn't give for a beer right now- Too bad that would be the least logical thing to send not to mention the hardest to disguise.


All is well- the temperature is in the 110-115 range... surprisingly I am already acclimatized. I have been out in the city a few times which always proves interesting. The more I watch the news the more I want to throw a large heavy object at the T.V. My dad is right when he says they should reintroduce the draft- maybe more people would care. I have lost a few friends already and with 11+ months to go there is a guarantee for more.

This place is disgusting- it stinks, its hot and its dangerous. I am already numb to death and the bodies I have seen. We are a bunch of zombies going through the motions of war with little support, low morale and no water to shower with. I am good at using only 3 bottles of our precious drinking water to clean myself.

I think I am going to write a book... my journal is full of interesting stories- and being on the intelligence side of the war, I think I have a better grasp of the big picture.

******************************************

This girl is 20 years old and before going over there was parroting the right wing talking points. As we can see, her viewpoints have changed a bit (moving toward her Dad's extremely progressive ideals!).

Bettie

[LiberalinNC]

1. Thanks for sharing your niece's letter. I pray for her safe return.

[Aviation Pro]

2. Awhile ago I posited....

...that the reason why Herr Reichsfuhereroberleftenant Rumsfeld wanted to keep the troop strength low is because the less witnesses the better (at least when it comes to a crime). The one thing this psychotic administration wants is to keep everything a secret from the American public in the best interests of their corporate masters. Your niece's letter, which given the current clamp down on internet use from Iraq is extraordinary, just reemphasizes these points.

[NewJeffCT]

6. My theory

:tinfoilhat:

They are keeping the troop strength intentionally low, not supplying them properly, etc to practically force the troops to fail.

Then, when the next neo-con takes over, that person will use the failure of our regular troops in Iraq as justification for employing more mercenaries. "The US Army is great in a stand-up war, but in these modern times of terrorism, we need to employ new soldiers to attack this threat at its root."

And, because they are "private contractors" they don't have to worry about "quaint" things like the Geneva Convention, the Uniform Code of Military Justice, posse commitus, etc.

[KurtNYC]

8. and my theory is they are doing as much war as they can without a draft

this is the limit - stop loss, natl Guard, repeat tours, extended tours.

And it is not a war -- it's an occupation. Destabalize and de-populate the country so that it is easier to control the flow of oil while keeping prices up with a war/terrorism premium.

[babylonsister]

3. Thank you, Bettie, and I'd be interested in hearing your niece's

viewpoint after her tour. She sounds smart; I will her to stay safe!

[liberal N proud]

4. This message is why the regime wants to stop the soldiers contact with the rest of the world

[durrrty libby]

5. She's just a baby. It is a crying shame that she has to witness

so much horror at such a young age

I hope she finds a way to cope

[High Plains]

20. Yeah, too bad she enlisted for it.

[Bucky]

7. There's a reason why it took an Eisenhower to warn us about the Mil-Indus Complex

Few people hate war more than those who understand and experience it personally. I'm encouraged by the fact that it took two generations for the New Deal, Fair Deal, and GI Bill to create a Republican majority in the middle class while it only takes about four years of Bush's warmonkeying to turn the Army Democratic.

It would be a delicious irony if it weren't for all those dead people.

[zbdent]

9. I always hear the Righties pointing out how "those people" over in the ME

"stink" ...

well, if water is a rare commodity (remember, much of it is a desert region!), then BATHING IN WATER IS A LUXURY ... so you do what you can ...

[bdamomma]

10. all this for *'s lies, I can't stand it, our troops shouldn't be treated

this way. All water under the bridge, but Iraqis did not ask for us to invade their country.:banghead:

[Javaman]

11. The draft is progressive?? since when? nt

[Ganja Ninja]

12. Actually I would favor a draft once they get out of this war.

Even better then a draft a universal service of some kind.

When you think about it the all volunteer military and the GI bill is really just another way to keep using the underclasses as cannon fodder. It encourages people that can't afford to go to college to sign up so they can get their GI benefits. How many of them would sign up if a college education were available to all with no strings attached? People with money never have to make that choice and they never have to serve their country. That's something we need to correct one way or another.

[Javaman]

13. Are you eligible for the draft say it was at the current enlistment ages?

18-42?

[Ganja Ninja]

14. I'm too old and I've already served 4 years in the Navy.

Everyone should serve their country regardless of their economic status or family connections.

[Javaman]

15. Thank you for your service, but I always find it interesting that

people who can't be drafted always call for the draft.

[Ganja Ninja]

16. If you have universal service then it wouldn't be a draft.

Everyone would go and no one would get out of it. It doesn't necessarily mean all would serve in the military but all would serve in one capacity or another. I just don't think it's fair for people that don't have money to be lured in while people with money never serve at all. We're less likely to start wars when the children of the privileged are as likely to get sent to the front as anyone else. I don't particularly want a draft but there has to be a better system where all classes of society have to serve not just those who's choices are limited by economics.

[Javaman]

18. Fine keep thinking that. And I'm sure you would be the first to sign up

your son or daughter for the draft right?

[Bettie]

19. A draft isn't progressive, but my BIL

...is frustrated that there is not a bigger public outcry against this war. He thinks that if more people were at risk of having to go, they might think a little harder about it.

I don't like the idea of a draft, but I do understand his frustration.

[Gregorian]

17. No water. Yet Bush and his friends are simply bathing in your blood money.

Sick. It's absolutely sick. And even if people find what I say to be offensive, I still hold the American people responsible. Even as much as Bush. They are letting this happen. They are comfortable and ignorant.

I'm sickened by this. Poor girl.

I'm really sorry Bettie.

[AZBlue]

23. And no oil available. In a country brimming with oil.

Pardon my French, but WTF????

[DIKB]

21. In a way, my heart goes out.

When I was that age, I did a youth rebellion, and was the only member of my family that flirted with conservatism and the repukes. It's almost natural to try to define oneself as being different from one's parents.

I feel sorry for her that the epiphany moment has to come when and where it does, Iraq of all places. My wakeup moment was the partisan witch-hunt over the Lewinsky scandal, noone died, just a lot of people yelling about morality, it was fairly benign. Her moment will be watching friends die for RW lies, and knowing she bought into them, putting herself in grave danger. I hope it doesn't cost her too much. It seems for some the "price of a good education" may end up being one's sanity, or one's very life.

[AZBlue]

22. She should write a book!

We all need to hear the truth of the situation there.

Thank you for sharing this with us - I'll keep her in my thoughts for her safe return!