good discussion of Irag going on on Imas, msnbc.

[rodeodance]

[rodeodance]

1. saying, the bad guys will continue to blow us up no matter how much

armor we put on the trucks.

[rodeodance]

2. security is so tight it is difficult to travel.

[rodeodance]

3. saying the troop attitude is great--no matter where you go.

[rodeodance]

4. they are talking about a 'Falling Hero's Fund"---has a website (troops).

[salin]

6. implied: don't pay attention to reports

that there is decreasing support for bush and his policies in Iraq among servicemembers.

[salin]

5. implied: Rummy's right we don't need better equipment

it won't make a difference, so keep sending the $ to contractors.

[salin]

7. I dunno - from reading your comments per their themes

there was (from reading, maybe listening was different) implied mixed messages. I added them as I saw them.

[KharmaTrain]

8. Play Devil's Advocate...How Would We React

Every so often, this is a game worth playing. Say the United States were invaded "for our own good" by the Chinese (always good to get a wingnut's attention). I even turn up the noise when I play this with a wingnut...I tell them that Hillary is President and has just had an affair with A-rab Lesbians...and they invaded to "save us". Now we're occupied...what now? Would you welcome the invaders as "liberators" or join the resistance? Even with the Hillary scenario, even the most rabid wingnut I've met still would take up some type of arms to get rid of the invaders. All politics aside, any foreign invader would get the same reaction. Thus I turn this around and ask the wingnut or whomever, wouldn't an Iraqi feel the same way...want the invaders of their country gone?

The more this sorid invasion goes on, the more I feel for those stuck in the middle of this meat grinder...the grunts and enlisted level military people. The ones stuck going back over and over again to play cannon fodder while the profiteers wring every last dollar out of the treasury and this mis-adventure.

I have met several Iraqi war veterans who say the true feelings of many in the military remain very masked...even after they come out as they're so conflicted between their love of the service and those they served with (you always hear them talk about their buddies and their immediate COs) but their growing hatred for the top brass and the "politicians" who have created this mess. The damage this regime has done to our military is massive and one of the biggest cover-ups and dirty secrets of this regime. We've never been more vulnerable.