How low can * go? Soldiers polled for * support (Fake Turkey followup)

[CatWoman]

Look who couldn't come to dinner



The president's ballyhooed surprise trip to Baghdad on Thanksgiving, widely admired as a cunning political move at the time, just gets more disturbing the more you know about it. A U.S. soldier back from Iraq gave an interview to Intervention Magazine about what went on the day before the president came to town:

"Stationed in the area of the Baghdad Airport at the time of President Bush's Thanksgiving 2003 visit to the troops there, recounts that on the day before the president's visit, the troops were given a questionnaire that asked them whether they 'supported the president.' Those who did not declare their support with sufficient enthusiasm were not permitted to take part in the Thanksgiving meal, and had to make do with MREs (meals ready to eat, referred to by the soldiers as 'meals refused by Ethiopians') in their quarters."

The "pre-screening" of U.S. soldiers was also reported in Stars and Stripes, although the military paper said the soldiers were screened for security reasons. This is also the same dinner, recall, in which Bush proudly raised a too-good-to-be-true "trophy turkey" for his photo-op.

http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/index.html/index.html

[grytpype]

1. How is *hole going to campaign...

... when he will ONLY speak before friendly audiences???

[grannylib]

2. I was under the impression that the entire country was a 'free speech

zone' but I guess Chimpy has other ideas...
Fucking coward. I guess if you can't see or hear or be aware of the dissent, it doesn't exist.

[MissMarple]

3. My cynicism has just been redefined.

Words fail me. The man and his administration are an embarrassment. How could those in command tolerate such treatment of those they are responsible for?

[CatWoman]

4. I like the way you put that -- I'm at a loss for words

"My cynicism has just been redefined."

[BOSSHOG]

5. And I ask again

why would Soldiers sent to a combat zone to "fight for their country" need to be "screened for security reasons" once they are in the Zone? Per the gop, many of our kids are good enough to die for bush's personal and political gain but not good enough to have a hearty Thanksgiving meal.

[charlie]

10. Even worse

Cheney's Halliburton buddies (y'know the guys who recently got in trouble for overbilling in Iraq) are stiffing contracted food services. Soldiers' meals may consist of cold sandwiches soon:

The company, Event Source, serves 100,000 meals a day in Iraq under a contract with a Halliburton subsidiary. vent Source claims Halliburton owes it $87 million, including payment for President Bush's Thanksgiving dinner with the troops.

...

In an interview with NBC News, Morrell says he’s already laid off employees in the United States and soon will have to feed sandwiches to the troops, instead of hot meals, because his company is running low on money.

...

Morrell says he believes Halliburton and its other food service contractors did overcharge, billing the government not for meals actually served, but for meals a facility could have served.

“In a lot of cases,” says Morrell, “that was two or three times the number of troops who were actually coming in. And we just thought that was just unethical and decided not to go down that path.”

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/4480796/

[GainesT1958]

6. Well, it's bad enough when he has citizens disagreeing with him...

Quarantined in "Free-Speech Zones". But....our TROOPS!?:mad:

This sorry AWOL spoiled brat really does have NO LIMITS as to how low he'll go. "Security reasons"? What did he think those who didn't support him would do, tear down his new "Mission Accomplished" sign? Just grab some of that turkey(hash) at the chow line and leave? Boo him when he talked with his mouth full?:wtf:

First he keeps the guys on the Lincoln away from their families for one more day, just so he can prance around in his "Play Top Gun" flight suit. Now this. All I can say is, you can suuure tell HE never served! :grr:

They called Clinton a "draft-dodger", and boy did HE ever have more compassion fo our troops than Dub! :mad:

B-)

[comsymp]

11. Just because

edited for nostalgic sigh

[NormanConquest]

7. How can they continue to claim Bush supports our troops?

It's amazing how even the photo ops are politicized now--and from a constituency (military) the Repubs supposedly "own."

"Can you imagine if Clinton..." is starting to become a popular phrase around here.

[underpants]

8. I think the T-Day trip was when the press turn a bit on W

I have read the interview with the corpsman-BTW the author replied to the original thread on this and said verified the Marine is authentic, take that as you may.

I have noticed that the press is actually reporting on all of the BS and cover ups perpetrated by W&Co. and it started just after his suprise trip to Iraq. I have also noticed much more criticism or at least discussion of what is going on in casual conversations. Both of these might be the result of the Dem primaries and people/press actually seeing someone stand up and point out that the emporer has no clothes.

I think that Rove et al made a big mistake in only allowing certain press members to accumpany them. I think the press finally saw that there was a pecking order and favorites amongst the press corps. They said it was done due to secrecy and security but I get the feeling that the press members and their bosses didn't like being made into the second class. Just muy opinion.

[CatWoman]

13. good to see the undies made its way back

:hi:

[DinahMoeHum]

16. Didn't Rove refer to some press people as "weenies" earlier?

THAT won't get you many friends, either. They remember that.


:kick:

[cmf]

9. This made me physically ill.

I just have no words to describe what I'm feeling right now. How can he send these people off to war to die and then deny them a decent Thanksgiving dinner because they don't "support him"? Asshole is too kind a word. :grr:

[yowzayowzayowza]

12. If the audience was screened...

by political leaning, shouldn't this be a campaign stop and therefore be billable to the */Chainy 04 coffers?

[fob]

14. And what about the anti-Hillary Clinton T0day email that made the

rounds complaining about having the troops wait for 3 hours and some didn't get to eat. I hope this ACTUAL TRUE story of bush* goes around the world 100 times as much!!

[MissMarple]

15. You have to read this. There is much more.

http://www.interventionmag.com/cms/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=668&POSTNUKESID=65f5bd8f3474bba61cb0be7c5fa265cd

I've never heard of Intervention Magazine before, this is a good but disturbing interview.


"Are the men and women in the U.S. military in Iraq sufficiently trained before going over there?

No. I am extremely concerned about the major shift that is taking place right now, between now and June, where there’s going to be a much higher percentage of the troops being Reserves rather than full-time, active duty military. The difference is that the active duty go through far more training than Reserves. Up to now, we’ve had a mix of about 20 percent Reserves and 80 percent active duty. With the change going on now, they are rotating out tens of thousands of active duty troops and replacing a lot of them with Reserves. We’ve heard that could be 80 percent Reserves and 20 percent active duty. Some sources say it could be 50/50. But the main point is, nothing like that has ever been tried before, and these Reserves are being sent into a war zone. Many of them are people who would be fine driving a truck or working on a base in some support capacity, but they’re going to be out there on the streets with M-16 rifles. It took me a long time to become skilled with my M-16. You have to learn about dope and windage. It takes time to get it right. "

And there is a lot more. It could break your heart.

Thanks CatWoman, this is a good find.

[Columbia]

17. Salon cites a questionable article

That was discussed here - http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=1200517

[MissMarple]

18. What I found on Intervention Magazine:

I took this from their mission statement. Also, here is Daniel Redwood's homepage. www.drredwood.com

"In 1982, a group of Vietnam combat veterans and veterans of the anti-Vietnam War movement came together to start a print quarterly entitled Intervention Magazine. At that time, the Reagan Administration was dedicated to eradicating the so-called Vietnam syndrome by engaging in what we considered immoral and ineffective military interventions in Central America and the Middle East. Our mission was to remind readers that "Never Again!" was a calling that needed to be reinforced every decade. The Advisory Board of the publication included Peter Arnett, US Congressmen Thomas Downey and Walter Capps, Daniel Ellsberg, Victory Navasky, and Studs Terkel. After several years, Intervention Magazine ceased publishing.

Fast forward fifteen years to the rebirth of Intervention Magazine. A big difference in this new publication is the platform: the Internet. While many of the same combat veterans and antiwar activists are the editors and writers today, we also have an influx of new participants to enrich the mix. Both veteran writers and new contributors remain committed to the same ideas and goals. In fifteen years, however, the world has changed much, and so has Intervention. The new publication is broader politically and more diversified in content, which represents a mission that is both wider and more complex. Even the word "intervention" has changed in our minds.

We are still concerned with military intervention, still leery of military interventions. Today, however, the US military is not confronting the singular threat of communism that led this country into several dreadful adventures. The military is now engaged in a variety of murky, complex operations including humanitarian interventions that defy simple moral positions. In fact, those who advocate US intervention today are often the very same people who were staunch opponents of intervention yesterday.

In the last fifteen years, money and corporate profit have become the primary motivating factors in determining international policy, and often domestic policy. For us, then, intervention also means citizens intervening in their political system. It means citizens strengthening and continuously scrutinizing the tools of democracy and institutions for public participation. From the world economy down to local zoning, increased participation is crucial for justice. Political intervention is crucial. "

http://www.interventionmag.com/cms/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=668&POSTNUKESID=65f5bd8f3474bba61cb0be7c5fa265cd

[Columbia]

19. I have no problem with the organization

But the specific inaccuracies in the interview by Mr. Redwood leaves me to doubt the veracity of the other unsubsantiated claims in the article.

[MissMarple]

21. How could one check that out? Could he be a Vietnam vet?

From his picture, he certainly looks old enough. I would hate for this not to be genuine, but I would rather know the truth.

[Columbia]

22. Another Iraq vet

Would be able to counter the inaccuracies given in the interview. Even if Mr. Redwood is a Vietnam vet, I don't believe he would be able to discern them.

For someone who seems to be so well-versed in political matters, the anonymous soldier Mr. Redwood interviewed seemed to lack a lot of accurate military knowledge, especially when it comes to Iraq.

[Q]

20. Under our Constitution...this is blatantly illegal...

...and one of the reasons the military is under the command of a CIVILIAN.

- The troops must follow the ORDERS of the CIC...but they're under no kind of obligation to support him or his politics. In fact...only a despot would bribe/intimidate the troops into supporting him.