GI dissent shakes up the Pentagon

[Qanisqineq]

GI dissent shakes up the Pentagon
By John Catalinotto
New York

http://www.workers.org/ww/2004/troops1223.php

A series of events in early December signaled a major shift in political consciousness within the U.S. Armed Forces. Together they struck fear in the hearts of the general staff.

A sailor, a soldier, a Marine, and two National Guard soldiers committed acts of courage. They killed no Iraqis, nor did they rescue wounded comrades under fire. This kind of courage took a different form for each GI, from refusing to kill to confronting the unpopular secretary of defense.

snip

People active in GI organizing in 1968 would probably agree that the mood among the troops now is even more anti-war than it was then. All the symptoms of big problems in the military are there.

The Pentagon reports 5,500 deserters. Only 50 percent of troops are re-enlisting. As many as one-third of the Inactive Reserve, called now to unexpected duty, are failing to show up. Even the news that Iraqi war veterans are already beginning to show up among the homeless, many suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, is a reminder of the Vietnam days.

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The article talks about each of the 5 troops mentioned in the second paragraph and about support of the troops from the anti-war movement.

[roguevalley]

1. I feel a draft. I hope they keep kicking. Its easy to say they all

voted for dumbass. A lot didn't. Its like branding all Americans dumbasses because * is still in the White House. A lot of us didn't
vote for him. Same thing.

This is really, REALLY going to twist their tails. It ended the Viet Nam war and cost Nixon his head.

[Cobalt Violet]

2. They Booed Al Franken for just mentioning the word Democrat...

Last week over there. No link I just heard it with my own ears over the radio. That was a big insult to me. They just booed the thought of millions of Americans. !:grr:

[BrainRants]

4. I'm a veteran

and it honestly pains me to say this, but I'm beginning to come to the conclusion that perhaps the military and their faith based, Shrub voting families should begin reaping what they have sewn.

If that means reduced benefits at home for their families, having services cut when they return, extended tours of duty, poor leadership, poor supplies, inadequate armor, etc. then you can boo all you want when someone who's risking their ass to entertain YOU in a war zone mentions his party affiliation.

I know that's a blanket statement about all service people, but at some point I stop feeling sorry for those that don't appreciate the effort we make to get their asses home. This tells me they don't care, why should we?

Flame me if you like, but I served in the military and the Franken thing touched a nerve. :grr:

[The Zanti Regent]

3. well, I wonder why this isn't in the SCREW YORK TIMES?

Oh, I forgot, they're doing another brown lipstick contest there!

[ElsewheresDaughter]

5. oh but, it's okay when Rumsfeld/McNamara responds to a soldier's question

You're not smart enough to understand, soldier. Like it, or lump it.


McNamara is hated by a generation of military officers who blame him for plunging the Army into a failed ground war; it's too early to know whether Rumsfeld's war will turn out as badly as Vietnam did, or whether he'll have the permanent enmity of the military, but he's certainly on his way. Similarly, McNamara and Rummy have a knack for attracting congressional criticism within their own party. Last week's parade of Republican senators calling for Rumsfeld's resignation -- John McCain, Chuck Hagel, Susan Collins, Trent Lott -- was reminiscent of the pressure from conservative Democrats on the Senate Armed Services Committee who were lobbying LBJ to dump McNamara in 1967.

Like McNamara, Rumsfeld has failed to communicate effectively with a war-traumatized nation. There were many things he could have said when questioned in Kuwait about the slow pace of armoring Humvees, because the Pentagon has been working hard in recent months to fix this problem. But in seeming to dismiss an enlisted man's criticism, Rumsfeld came across as saying, in McNamara fashion: You're not smart enough to understand, soldier. Like it, or lump it. Rumsfeld gets many of the little things right, but he has gotten the big thing wrong.

Like McNamara, he realized that the war he had advocated was turning into a "long, hard slog." And like McNamara, he was unable to find a way to alter strategy in the midst of that conflict. Like McNamara, he will probably become a political casualty of the war he helped set in motion.

Rumsfeld gets some of the little things right, but he has gotten the big things wrong. Like McNamara, he realized that the war he had advocated was turning into a "long, hard slog." And like McNamara, he is unable to find a way to alter strategy in the midst of the conflict. Like McNamara, he will probably become a political casualty of the war he helped set in motion.

He will be bush*s "SCAPEGOAT"

[adigal]

6. My friend, in the Reserves, voted for Bush

and supports him still. So when he gets sent back to Iraq, leaving his wife and kids, I will have no sympathy. He is an intelligent thoughtful man. And if they draft his 20 year old son, I will have no sympathy. You got what you wanted. And I hate to sound horribly cold, but I will reserve my sympathy for those people who did not approve of this war, but fought bravely anyway, because it was their duty. I have a pin that says, "Draft Republicans." So my sympathy for those who support Bush is absolutely a big fat ZERO.