More dissention is coming out of Iraq, long before troops are even back on US soil. Websites, blogs, and personal email is informing lots of folks who need to hear it from their own loved ones before believing it. Some thoughts from Anna Quindlen on "Dissenters in Uniform"
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19263087/site/newsweek/<snip>
But with an increasingly unpopular invasion dragging on in Iraq, a volunteer Army that signed on to what has been sold for years as a patriotic trade school and an enormous cadre of reservists who have civilian expectations of self-expression, you now have a blueprint for an entirely new level of dissent in the service. <snip>
<snip> What was once underground is now in-your-face, with Web sites like that of Iraq Veterans Against the War, which derides "corporate profiteering" from the conflict and says it "is based on lies and deception." As tours of duty have been extended and progress in some areas has remained elusive, soldiers in Iraq have routinely expressed doubts about their mission. On "60 Minutes" Scott Pelley profiled a National Guard battalion from Iowa, following it for two years. One young man said before his deployment that he was going to Iraq to help those who lacked "the freedoms that we are afforded every day." Two years later he said Americans had "a lot of misconceptions" about the war, adding, "They'll just say 'freedom.' They'll just spout ... something they've heard that's easily repeatable." Reminded of his own earlier words, he described himself as having done "a 180."
So, of course, have many Americans. The difference is that they don't have to pick up a gun and climb into an armored vehicle on a mission they've concluded is senseless, endless and just plain wrong. <snip>
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