[Canard]

Hey, you know some of the British armed forces aren't even British citizens at all. Maybe you'd like to pop over here and tell the Brigade of Gurkhas about their lack of patriotism and lack of fight. You game?

[ishabibble]

I certainly did not mean the British Army's Gurkhas, the legendary fighting force from Nepal. Nor do I mean the Sihks who have long been regarded as some of the finest fighters in the history of warfare. I think you would agree that these distinctions are necessary when discussing the news article.

Of course the stats provided are misleading as on any given day there are desertions from any army. As a matter of fact, there were mass desertions from my brother's secret tree fort army at lunchtime or when the ice cream man's bell would ring out on our street! (1962-64)!


Within the last month I have also read an article re the new Iraqi Army and it's rate of desertion. Buried near the end of that article was the information that most of the "deserters" were in fact, simply following the customs of their culture, which included leaving their posts and returning to their homes to look after their families. A common practice in the old Iraqi Army. The headline made it seem that the Iraqi soldiers were running away en masse. It was just as misleading as this article, and it wears on my nerves. I also read another here at FR that reported an attack on a Sihk family in NJ, where some rowdies simply saw the very distinct headress of a Sihk and, not recognizing it, started some trouble. I have no doubt whatsoever that the Sihk men finished it.