Last night I attended a vigil to support Cindy Sheehan. Towards the end, the vigil was shut down early by the police because they claimed we had exceeded our 200 person limit for attendance. After the announcement was made, I began talking with a fellow vigil member. We started discussing the war and exchanging stories how we both had loved ones safely back from Iraq due to minor but debilitating injuries (messed up knees, collarbones, etc.) that required being shipped back so they could have surgery. We talked a little more about Iraq and then this lady said something that kind of blew my mind.
She said that beginning about two years ago, her son (who is in the Air Force) told her that it seemed as if officers were starting to quietly encourage their men (and women) not to re-enlist. She said that this seemed strange to her, especially as over time stories began to surface about problems getting new recruits. What she began to suspect was that the military brass was not taking Bush’s disastrous policies quite as passively as most of us have been led to believe. Indeed, her belief came to be that the officers were trying to deprive Bush of more bodies.
More on the flip
This is, of course, just an anecdotal story. But it got me wondering. Are there others out there that have been quietly getting the same message? As Iraq has gone sour and the war drums have begun beating about Iran, have the military brass been fighting back the only way they can — depriving Bush of the larger army he needs to continue his disastrous policies?
Has anyone else heard stories like these? Do you know any soldiers who have been quietly counseled not to re-enlist? Do you know any that have been shipped home early for surgeries on knees, shoulders, collar-bones, etc. because some superior officer doesn’t want one more soldier ground up in the Iraq meat-grinder?
It could be this is just wishful thinking. It could also be that this is an important but untold protest story that is quietly simmering just below the surface. It would be ironic indeed if recruiters stateside were sweating to fill the ranks while officers in Iraq –caught in the middle of Bush’s nightmare — were doing what they could to deprive him of bodies.