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An "Unknown Soldier" --
http://www.interventionmag.com/cms/print.php?sid=668 -- back
from Iraq,
speaks out about the military and political situation there, including
the
lack of training for reservists, the treatment of wounded vets, the role
of
private contractors and the military's attempt to silence dissident
voices.
"We did our job," he says. "We need to come home."
When asked what he expected to happen with large numbers of soldiers
coming back from Iraq, he said "Mass exit from the military. Mass!" The
AP
reports on attempts by U.S. CentCom commander, Gen. John Abizaid, to --
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-us-iraq-future-wars,0,4576624,print.story?coll=sns-ap-nationworld-headlines
-- convince soldiers to re-up. Plus: Greg Palast on 'The Forgotten
Soldiers.'--
http://www.gregpalast.com/detail.cfm?artid=317&row=0
The "unknown soldier" also said that the only troops allowed to have
Thanksgiving dinner with President Bush, were those who expressed
support
for him in a pre-visit questionnaire. NBC reports --
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4480796/ -- that the company that
served the
dinner, Event Source --
http://www.eventsource.com/ --, is owed $87 million
by the Halliburton subsidiary that contracted it.
The Guardian reports that the U.S. is hiring Chilean mercenaries --
http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/0,3858,4873065-111580,00.html
-- to replace
soldiers guarding oil wells in Iraq, with recruitment being handled by
Blackwater USA --
http://blackwaterusa.com/ --, which Barry Yeoman --
http://www.barryyeoman.com/articles.html -- reported on in
'Soldiers of good
fortune.' --
http://www.indyweek.com/durham/2003-07-23/cover.html
American Conservative contributor James Kurth argues that the Iraq War
has
caused "grave and long-term injury" --
http://amconmag.com/2004_03_15/print/featureprint.html -- to
American interests and that ultimately "virtually all honest and
reasonable people
will agree that it would have been best if the United States had never
gone
to war at all."
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