As I sit here I am still shaking. I can’t take much more of this shit. I am a Marine Pilot. Not that it means anything anymore. Today was another safety stand down put on by the mother fuckers in DOSS. Why? Cause another one of my friends is dead and gone. Why? Cause he flew his shit into the water that’s why. Why’d he do that? Cause the mother fuckers that “be” i.e. the boys at the top have lost their fucking minds and can’t say no.
This is from an entry on craigslist; I find it heartbreaking that such raw grief, frustration and anger should have to be expressed this way – especially from someone who I imagine to be experienced and professional. So much for ‘support the troops’ huh?
The entry is here: http://tinyurl.com/dmmvr
I’m a veteran. Just an old Army clerk really. But this is bullshit. It is time for tax increases and a draft. I know that is politically unpalatable to the politician war mongers, but you gotta pay the ferry man when you go to war.
That is fucked.
aggression as opposed to escalating it to me.
And for the money being spent on invasion and occupation of other countries, there are, as you noted the other day, a lot of Americans who could use some housing and medical care.
Those are issues that become with each passing day, more relevant to the subject of national security, an area which used to have some association with military personnel. Maybe it’s time to consider bringing that notion back. 😉
any gdamn saber rattling for another war with Iran/Syria or N.Korea.
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0107-03.htm This article by a 2001 Nobel prize winner who is an economist and Harvard Budget expert along with Linda Bilmes-also a budget expert have put forth a paper that says the war in Iraq cost will conservatively cost between 1 and 2 fucken TRILLION dollars. This is factoring in the cost of caring for in the long run all the troops who will need lifetime disability and health care and the impact on the economy. Disability payments will probably cost a TRILLION alone. The report mentions wounded soldiers so I don’t know if that even includes PTSS? And also doesn’t even address money spent in Iraq and the impact on the Iraqi people or our supposed rebuilding(ha ha)or how much will continue to go to Haliburton etc for what they are doing(or not doing over there).
And it certainly doesn’t address the human cost to families of all these troops who will forever be living with broken men/women and how that is going to effect the families/friends and the American public in general…because as we all know very few disabled people who can work never get hired for anything. What kind of lives of quiet desperation they and their families/children may be leading trying to get by on disability payments.
The cost of this evil fiasco will reverberate for generations to come with families/the national debt/the impact on society and no doubt our standing(if any)of the world in general.
This also doesn’t include how having to spend this several Trillion dollars will impact on social programs/education programs and so on and how they will no doubt be cut more and more if the repugs have their way about their way about things. Continuing a vicious cycle by repugs of making more and more people poor, less educated, less health care, less housing, less decent jobs, less access to college and to turn the country slowly or not so slowly into a 3rd world country.
the other day. US has a long history of buying guns at the expense of its own children, and the mainstream has contentedly absorbed the social costs, ghettoization, gated communities, and making the domestic prison industry into a perennial investor favorite have kept those costs from too directly impacting the soccer moms, but those strategies, like the underclass itself, have reached critical mass, and is about to burgeon even further as US becomes more pro-active in eliminating the poor and infirm at the same time it pushes even more people into those categories.
It is a toss-up whether the spark will come from within, or from a world waking up to the fact that whoever and wherever you are on this earth, the thing most likely to kill you, directly or indirectly, is that big bloat downstairs from Canada called Somalia with money.
Oh sorry Duct, didn’t mean to duplicate anything. I missed that as I have found out that I cannot visit his diary everyday on a personal level. I seem to find it way to easy to emphasize or put myself in a zone where I feel it so personally about what is happening to so many of the troops/families/Iraqi families that it can get pretty corrosive and depressing for me. I figure I know what is happening to a small extent anyway and if I only read it every several days that keeps me fairly updated. Also why I can’t continue going to iraqwarnews on a daily basis.
Lots of people can’t get to it every day, and they need to see it!
It is, after all, THEIR trillions of dollars. And their children’s, and their grandchildren’s.
You know it ain’t coming out of Mary Cheney’s trust fund.
this bunch of ceo, sabor rattling, nimconpoops, straight from hell are going to try to envade another nation! Hell, They can’t take care of the ones they have for God’s sake! They are so delusional! I do believe they are sincerely crazy and do not understand the ramifacations of such talk or threatening instead of diplomacy..but then again look at who we are discussing here…they are all crooks for the most part from another generation of the same old shit…whoops feces, from whence I was growing up. I Learned a very valuable lession then and I shall never forget it, either. I never trust only verify what I have been told..and more than once too. Nixon and his helpmates are surely have a very good party over this one! Damn then to hell anyhow.
The ramifications are that certain rich men will get a lot richer.
And to be fair, diplomacy is not really an option when the subject under debate is “Obey America or get bombed.”
That may make sense to some in the US, but it doesn’t really play well in Teheran or Damascus.
It’s just a case of different viewpoints about diplomacy 🙂
Yes. I believe a draft and a tax hike would be the ticket to instant mass unrest. Precursors to instant peace protestors. Maybe that revolution.
at least to an extent. I don’t. I confess to hoping that the transition to a court appointed figurehead in 2000, then the 911 events, then every single aspect of the 2004 “election campaign,” including the exciting season finale, and then Operation Crescent Cleansing would do that.
None of it did, and I don’t think that impressment of the underclass would do it. And do not be fooled. The affluent would not be deployed as expendables to guard the Ghraib and melt the flesh off toddlers and grandmas. They are always able to make some arrangements…
You make a good point here. It would be a pretty big gamble, to pin one’s hopes on a draft being the straw that woke America. I could be volunteering my 9 and 5 year old daughters for “peacekeeping service” in Iraq or Iran or Syria or Venezuela. Hell. Anywhere, really. At least anywhere with a valuable resource or strategic/economic U.S. interest.
the big question remains;
What in the hell is it going to take to wake people up to the realities of BushCo?
I hope it doesn’t take a Katrina-like BushCo response to a 1918 style pandemic to do it.
I doubt they will do a draft…and continue to spend more/more of taxpayer money on the whole ‘contractor/mercenaries’ sick boondoggle because for one Rummy has always been about privatizing the military and two…the draft would make people start thinking too much about how fucked it is over there/not enough troops. Paying for mercs when most people don’t even know about them also hides the fact that we don’t have enough troops. And gives the merc companies-many tied to bushco gravy train-hard earned tax payer money and also gives them pretty much a license to kill with almost no ramifications.
And we know no taxes will be raised or even put back to Clinton levels while bush is in office instead bushco will continue to borrow money which has made us a debtor nation for the first time in our history.(and another thing the fucked up MSM continues to ignore)
the majority over there are not wealthy… and the last thing they want are more potential Cindy Sheehans. When mainstream moms start thinking about the war, watch out
The absence of personal economic viability is the only thing that will shift the tide of public pressure against this regime and it’s insane policies.
Embarrassingly, tragically, the vast majority of people I come in contact with seem to be more exercised about things that merely threaten their lifestyle thnn they are about things that threaten, or take, the actual lives of others.
Until we can evolve past this disgusting form of petty yet arrogant selfishness as a society, we wil always be inviting disaster upon ourselves and inflicting catastrophe on others.
I agree and also there seems to be a huge disconnect with Bush always repeating endlessly that we are at War yet it seems most Americans in general discuss or talk very very little about it unless more than one or two troops die in one day in Iraq(and forget Afghanistan-the forgotten war now)
And starting my broken record mantra…as long as the MSM continues to not cover what is happening in Iraq/the massive ripoff of Billions going into bushco’s pockets and not reporting on the real state of the economy the public will continue to ignore pretty much Iraq/what’s really happening to the troops and the Iraqi people and their country.
I think we’re headed for(or at the beginning of) a ‘Great Depression’ here and that would be the only thing as far as I can tell that might wake people the fuck up…when it’s too late really.
Rangel’s bill has been mischaracterized as a “draft” when the language casts the net far wider:
Skeleton bill, the concept is still valid: everbody serves, no exceptions. Given the wide variety of volunteer/paid opportunities in programs like Peace/AmeriCorps, as well as federal funding for community service projects, this is not that big a stretch. Also keep in mind that something less than 20% of military personnel actually see action in combat.
Our young people could do a lot worse than serve the country for the fifteen-month tours of duty (two years would be better), while getting pay and full medical benefits. Coupled with massive reductions in “privatization”, this type of program might reduce the overall defense budget.
Worth thinking about for the long-term, worth more support than one co-sponsor today.
One thing that seems to elude some critics of Washington’s management of the crusade is that its purpose is not to provide a benefit for expendable assets.
There also seems to be some confusion regarding the reasons for increased privatization. Under the current policy, expendable assets who survive their deployment receive medical treatment for life, even though many of them require large quantities of that high-profit commodity.
While expenses for disorders such as PTSD or those related to covert operations involving certain substances can be avoided, not all injuries fall into those categories, and until policy changes can be enacted that would empower these men and women to share the freedom enjoyed by their civilian brothers and sisters to provide for their own post-deployment medical treatment, it is very simply more cost-effective to utilize commercials wherever possible. Unlike “official” US expendables, commercials are actually employed by private sector companies. If they wish to offer lifetime medical treatment to their employees, that is of course their right, as it is Wal-Mart’s right. Whether they do or whether they don’t, the US government will not be getting the bill.
Yes, US could implement impressment of every individual between the ages of 12 and 75, and it is reasonable to assume that were this done, more Iraqis could be slaughtered. However, without intending to minimize the importance of improved morale such a result would bring about among the voting classes, supporters of the Marine in the original article should not expect that there would be an improvement in conditions for him or his fellows in the absence of key US business interests either voluntarily or involuntarily agreeing to a reduction in generated revenue.
And as for the notion of “no exceptions,” I am confident that even if the children of the affluent were obliged to perform some type of “service” you can be sure that they would NOT find themselves on leash duty at the Ghraib, or “flying into the water” like the friend of the young Marine.
Aside from the fact that it would not be culturally acceptable, it would neither be militarily acceptable.
From the point of view of the young Marine and others like him, how would their chances of surviving their experience be improved by the influx of millions of young men and women, whether underclass or affluent, who do not wish to be there, and some of whom may not even agree with the crusade at all? Remember there are over 25 million Iraqis who have not yet been exterminated, and over three times that number of Iranians.
Aerial bombardment nets more kills than even willing and eager boots on the ground, even if those boots were accompanied by body armor. Adding millions more “boots,” few of which can boast the zeal of the expendables already deployed would add more expense, both long and short term, than it produced either kills or profit.
Not to mention that US has robot soldiers now, I believe those will begin deployment in spring, when Operation Iranian Liberation begins.
I tried without success to find one point in your response dealing with the concept of universal service as set forth in Rangel’s bill. My comment was a direct response on point to BostonJoe’s, and has nothing to do with the conflict in Iraq.
that should be “sbj” NOT “BostonJoe”.
What are you trying to drag me into here, pilgrim? 🙂
that would specifically prohibit any of those impressed into universal service from being deployed to Iraq or any other crusade theatre.
Do you think he may be considering such a revision?
Your point about Charlie Rangel’s bill is well taken. Not only would such a system likely facilitate a reduction in the rapacious “privatization of the military tasks” spending, such a plan would, by it’s nature, bring a much larger majority of people in the country directly to a position where they are more invested in the politics surrounding whether and for what reasons we go to war in the first place.
I am by no means a direct advocate of such a plan as Rangel advocates on it’s face, even though I see his idea as vastly superior to what is going on now with a runaway, delusional and autocratic executive branch practising autocracy.
If we had a more functional democratic process that honored the rule of law and the principles our constitution enshrines, then we wouldn’t even be havingthese types of discussions. And this is the core of our social and cultural tragedy. Once the government succeeeds in placing itself above the law, there are no “good” remedies for the plight we then find ourselves in. All solutions then require the kinds of suffering and sacrifice typically rejected by the populace; solutions that more frequently lead to violent governmental overthrow through revolution. And it is for this reason that Rangel’s proposal wil almost certainly never gain traction with the public or with cogress. The environment for such clarity is already contaminated beyond the point of repair.
I said that impressment would be more expensive than using commercials, but essentially I agree with what you say. And it is indeed absurd, at least from my point of view, to even be discussing this stuff when most of us here are opposed to imperialism to begin with, and do not believe that anyone, volunteer or impressment, should be deployed to murder other human beings and make rich men richer while American children crowd homeless shelters and food banks. Or even if they didn’t.
It is no secret that I am of the opinion that the window for a political solution closed some time ago, and the only questions at this point is when the correction will occur, and whether the catalyst will be internal or external.
I regret that the US did not make different choices.
I was replying to rba but your comments resonate also.
Sadly, I recognize that despite the aversion to war that so many of us retain, there is a case to be made that there are instances where military action might be warranted to stop the miitary aggression of others. In the same way as I might intercede to stop someone from mugging someone else, I see that there are times when nations might have a legitimate reason to halt the aggression of another nation for purely humanitarian reasons. (Stopping Hitler’s aggression comes to mind.) Of course, this perspective embodies the basic principle that if oneis the initiator of the aggression, then one is in the wrong, as is certainly the case with Cheney and the neocons and their deadly agenda in the Middle East and elsewhere.
Like you I regret the US has not made different foreign policy choices over these last 50 or so years. I regret too that the other major powers of the last half of the last century, (the Soviets, the Chinese, and to a certain extent the Europeans), didn’t likewise make diferent choices, choices thast would have interrupted the processes by which power is concentrated in the hands of a few at the expense of the many. Now we will reap the results of all this dysfunctional selfishness as the modern “empires” crumble under the weight of their own irrationality.
There is indeed a case that could be made, but I think that making it would not be polite to do on this board, since it resides on a US server. 😉
Perhaps “self-preservation” might be a more compelling reason than “politeness” to not make said specific case openly.
With what we spend on PMCs we could provide a better aremd force. Let’s renegotiate those contracts.
Let’s renegotiate those contracts.
No. Eliminate “privatization”.
As I see it, this diary is condeming, at the most! I think many now are seeing it for what it trully is, a sham at our expense in more ways than one. Once these men and women start to infiltrate our society once again, as I see it already has started, they will start to tell the truth of things and it will most certainly come out. It will not be a pretty sight either. I just hope on a daily basis this happens before I die so I can rejoice int this newbirth of openmindeness of being an American and our country can return to the best that we have in the world. We can produce once again in industry, education, fairness in taxation,((if that can ever be)), and many more things such as clean ear and water. This will be a long and hard strugle once again to get our civil rights back and start to live like what we want America to be like. If I had just 50 more years left to live, I would certainly be in politics. I would do my very best to overturn this adminstration on every step of their way! We have to do what we have to do in order to get our country back!!! It needs good health care. I for one want what only I deserve for my labors, and nothing more. Why cause I care about others in this process and that they need things too. I do not want to be left out when it comes to my retirement. I have worked since 17 to get to where I am now and I deserve what was promised me. I hope that someday, and soon we can do this fixing back to being a good and prosprous nation for all in concern.
When it takes a marine pilot to wake us the f**K up, then we ought to listen to him! Alpha Zulo!!!!!!
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FAILURE OF LEADERSHIP
A General must standby his men and women, they deserve the best equipment, salary and veteran’s pay.
And more important, never get involved in a war of choice!
“Treason doth never prosper: what’s the reason?
For if it prosper, none dare call it treason.”
▼▼▼ READ MY DIARY
This is amazing:
No wonder we can’t send proper body armor. We haven’t got the money to buy toilet paper.
that’s interesting as I just recently heard from mother who used to have a son in Iraq that a gift of toilet paper was one of the most prized.
She said her son refused to share with his buddies until the day he left Iraq.
I shudder to ask what the hell it is they’re currently using, since Sears and Roebuck departed the outhouses a couple of decades back.
and to think we spitted away $hundreds of millions to Rendon and Lincoln group so they’d write and plant happy Alice in Wonderland articles on how well we’re doing over there and here.
So sadly nothing can awake Joe Mainstreet, wrapped in a bubble of illusion with a nano-second focus, overly saturated by the lies. Move along, nothing to see here unless it’s the next missing bride.
Newsprint, magazines, or hands, soap and water. :/
I would (unless someone already has). And let us know the link to your story there so we can recommend it when you do.
Carry on, if you would like to post it at Dkos – I think the more that see it the better, but I don’t post at Dkos any more.
For the others that are wondering about the veracity of it – given the way military blogs have been shut down, I don’t find it at all surprising that this guy would try to stay anonymous. I cannot know if this is ‘real’, only that it feels geniuine; maybe someone who knows marine jargon and acronyms can say if it seems accurate.
Even if that particular post doesn’t happen to be factual it is indicative of everything else we have been reading in the last several years and especially this last year of how the troops are stretched thin, that equipment is breaking down and not getting fixed correctly or worse not even being replaced.
I’ve read quite a few articles which are saying that not only is the equipment being worn out very fast due to the conditions of sand/heat etc in Iraq but the fact that we are not fucken replacing anything and I’d really like to know why the hell not…how are we supposed to ‘invade’ Iran(not that I want to) with broken down or equipment that is not being replenished at our stockpiles around the world…yeah I know just bomb the shit out of the country and annihilate the whole place-problem solved. I read at least a year ago we have run out of bullets and are buying them from companies overseas.
Went to this Marine’s posting via your link and then emailed him a letter of support. Can we get this to the powers that be? Feingold? Kennedy? Boxer?
This is the response I received after emailing this Marine:
“Sorry, but the craigslist user address you recently mailed (anon-118782492@craigslist.org) does not seem to be valid. It could be you’re trying to respond to a very old posting, or that the user has not requested anonymous email forwarding. Please check the address and try again.”
Do we know this “Marine” is for real? I don’t doubt it with all that we are seeing but do feel the need to question. He may just not want a tracable email?
Today’s Tragic Chopper Crash Has Been Diaried Here, you might want to Add this: 12 Thought Dead After Copter Crash in Iraq
As a Read First link leading into the Craigslist Posting!
It is also being reported that another 5 were killed by IED’s and 3 by Small Arms Fire!!
Take this comment dated Dec 05, multiply it by a who knows how many who would like to say the same thing but haven’t, and what you have is an exhausted worn out military. Now, do we all feel safer over here, because our boys are dying this way over there??