“How do we (combat ?) that kind of a press and really get out the story that when an Iraqi police department gets blown up with an IED and kills 50 new recruits, that the very next day there’s 150 new recruits in line to replace them?”
– Master Sergeant Shaeffer, in the Town Hall June 29 with Rumsfeld and Myers, expressing dismay with how the press is — in essence — inflating the numbers of casualties. Sgt. Shaeffer says he works in the “Army Operations Center, down on the CAT floor.” He continues, “One of the things we do every day is track all the incidents that happen in the theater of war and clean the names of all of our casualties and, you know, track their funerals and handle them with the utmost and deep respect. ”
In reply, Rumsfeld praises the Iraqi people’s willingness to risk and sacrifice. Then General Myers adds: “There is, I think, and you probably know this — well, first of all, we ought to recruit you for Public Affairs or — (laughter) — let you try your skills out.”
The remarks are especially troubling given the CNN (via Raw Story) report that “[i]nsurgent attacks in the last six months have killed more than 8,000 Iraqi civilians, police and troops, according to Iraq’s interior minister.” Another 12,000 have been wounded. I didn’t spot stats on how many Iraqi civilians have been killed by U.S. troops.
Amazing what fifty percent unemployment will make people risk for a few bucks, isn’t it? Yes, major snark-and on a sad subject, for which I apologize but that factor seems to elude the media most of the time. If the only paying game in town is risking life and limb, as well as collaborating with the occupying forces, people will do it to try to feed their families.
It’s not working quite as well here yet, although I read that this month the army did make it’s recruiting goal. Perhaps when the job market gets even worse and energy bills higher they’ll have better luck.
There have been some diaries on this yesterday at Kos. My connection is bogging down so I don’t have a link.
The gist of the discussion was that May or June should be the largest recruiting months due to post-graduation unemployment. Someone quoted a figure c. 10,000 per month for summer, whereas the goal was set around 5,600 or so and they got 6k.
The public is just not experiencing the kinds of threats, hardships or injuries at home that motivate them to enlist in a dangerous foreign war. The war is now 2 years old so the time when message and propaganda can stimulate enlistment is past.
because they lowered the quota for the summer months. It was lowered in May. I knew the story sounded fishy when I heard it last night, but only read about the quota lowereing today.
Typical BushCo administration move.
“FUNGIBLE.”
Perhaps a more accurate synonym in “Bushspeak”. The powers that be have absolutely no concept, or appreciation for, the importance of the individuals involved. We/they/everyone is a pawn in their neocolonial schemes…necessary but disposable and, at the end of the day, inconsequential.
History will not be kind to this horrid cabal.
Peace
The thing that really irks me about this guys, and it’s in the previous front page post, is their chummy little laughter.
A war based on lies. haha. Funny.
I am so sick of them.
In my sig there’s another funny one.
what I don’t understand is why they’re still lining them up outside recruiting stations.
It’s probably just emblematic of the whole damn military command’s level (lack) of intelligence. For fuck’s sake, have some metal detectors at the door and move the line INSIDE.
The reason they keep coming is there are no jobs to be had in Iraq except to be soldiers so they must do that in order to survive. Even then it appears they do not get paid on a regular basis.
Yes, I get that.
What I don’t get is why our military command is still lining them up OUTSIDE the recruitment offices – turning them in to sitting ducks for the next suicide bomber.
Glaringly obvious – both the solution and this administration’s stupidity.