[Slings and Arrows]

IBTZ!

[Rembrandt]

Reading the reports on "what Americans did to women at Abu Ghraib" convinced me that this was nothing more than a nicely constructed hit piece.

[rlmorel]

heheh...I saw www.thenation and I didn't bother to read any further.

The moonbat left is extremely efficient in showing their hand when they present a point of view...you can see it a mile away.

I find that I can tell from the first few words exactly what they are going to say in the article.

[Criminal Number 18F]

Interesting article from an unlikely source. I hope it does not get zotted. Instead, let's talk about it.

I have people checking on the gentleman's bona fides. It will take a day or two. Holiday, you know.

d.o.l.

Criminal Number 18F

[pandoraou812]

Funny but none of the soldiers I have met and I meet plenty when I have to go on PGR rides say anything like this. They want to go back and they feel they are doing a good job in Iraq.....I meet ones who are called home to bury their own brothers and don't even have to go back , yet they all have told me thats what their plan is. To go back and finish their mission. To go back so that the terrorists never come here . So I think this story is just plain nonsense.

[Mr Rogers]

I'm skeptical.

1 - I've talked with a number of Army guys who tell me the Iraqis they've worked with will say, "Don't trust us. Like us, maybe - but if my family is kidnapped and their lives in danger, I may become a danger to you." So the idea that we just need to trust Iraqis seems false.

2 - Nothing in the article explains why the Iraqis hate fellow muslims (sunni vs shiite). If their hatred was born of Americans disrespecting their culture, why do they kill so many of their fellow muslims?

[F.J. Mitchell]

This Major may be legit. In most Military outfits, same as in civilian situations, there is always a few pompous kissie a$$ed bastards.

[gusopol3]

buried in the middle is a pretty good story: "Last night the Iraqi Army captured Ibrahim's cell leader and brought the two together in the same small room. For Ibrahim, this was a very traumatic moment, for he saw that the pious Muslim man, whom he followed but had not met, was in fact a 27-year-old tattooed common criminal. Ibrahim began to weep when he realized he had been deceived. A greedy and immoral man who killed for money while pretending to be religious had skillfully manipulated Ibrahim's anger at Americans."

[AndrewWalden]

Major Bill is certain that if our soldiers act with complete perfection then the Muslims will be good and we can go home. Wrong. Islam is not a moral code, it is a system for taking power.

[StonyBurk]

I am conflicted. I've known several SOG types who did live
with the people.Like this soldier they were sometimes
conflicted.The only good part of Apocalypse Now was it
attempted to show that some do cross the line. I worry
that this American soldier is at risk for just that.
But at the same time I wonder if he is unintentionally
prophetic having now documented /exposed the root of the
problem in the war. The culture clash. Islam is a fabric where religion ,government,and society are woven
into the fabric. In America we have so comparmentalized
and erected high and impregnable walls to separate our
professed religion from everything else. How can what is
so fragmented overcome a unity .

[Prodigal Son]

Good read. I already see a lot of Freepers are discounting the Major's experiences and perspectives. He's a liberal plant. A phoney. He's in the wrong line of work.

When the war started, all our men and women in uniform were heroes.

Then when we realised that enlisted men were apt to say embarrassing things on camera, we decided it should only be officers that spoke.

When it turned out that some officers were democrats, we wanted all soldiers screened before talking to the media so that we would know if they were 'good guys' (conservative) or bad guys (liberals).

We only wanted to hear from men 'on the ground' in Iraq but then when the boots on the ground said things we didn't like it all became a MSM conspiracy to make George W Bush look bad.

Why should we listen to this guy anyway? Why not remake the world into the idea that we have in our minds of how it ought to be? Reality ought not to be what it is but what we wish it to be.

Tell this guy to shut up. I know, I know. He's there on the ground. But that doesn't matter. He's thinking too much. Just tell him to get on with it and kill as many of the enemy as he can before he comes back home. Leave the moralising about the Iraqis to us Freepers and others who aren't there and won't be going there anytime soon.

Merry Xmas.

[Doctor Raoul]

I am an American soldier in the Army Special Forces.

The little bastrds can't even lie correctly.

Ever meet one that called it "the Army Special Forces"? Why say "soldier"? Ever meet any sailors in "the Army Special Forces"?

I read these kinds of bull sheet flase flagged propoganda and laugh.

[Doctor Raoul]

This "story" is also on Larry Johnson's blog, so it's definitely questionable.

We may very well find out that Major Bill Edmonds and Captain Jamil Hussein are dating...

[Criminal Number 18F]

I have confirmed to my complete satisfaction that Maj. Edmonds is exactly who and what he says he is in this post.

He is back in the USA and working in a responsible staff position, which is a routine assignment for an officer of his grade.

While it is The Nation, I didn't detect an overtly political message in his essay. I suspect that everyone will take away from it support for the ideas he had already!

I recommend that you read his entire essay and you will get a new feel for some of the problems that face not only our soldiers and advisors, but also our Iraqi allies.

d.o.l.

Criminal Number 18F