October 28, 2004A SOLDIER'S STORY: "VOTING FOR BUSH WON'T HELP US"I JUST SAT NEXT TO A VERY TOUGH SOLDIER FROM THE 82ND AIRBORNE on a flight back from Europe. I have been thinking for two days about how to share some of the things he told me without compromising him.
This guy I met is not one prone to talk; he was very serious, very mellow -- and comes from a family of enlisted military men. His dad was in Vietnam.
He has had one rotation in Afghanistan, one in Iraq. He is now in Germany but will soon be transfered back to Iraq. He was at Tora Bora and has seen a lot of Iraq, Afghan, and American dead.
According to him, 75% of all soldiers want Bush defeated in the election and don't care who defeats him; anger and resentment are high. He says that 90% of the officers remain far out of harm's way, from lietenants all the way up -- and that only about 10% of the officer corps has some reasonable concern for the troops. There is general understanding that the officers are hiding in holes, or holding back in well-defended buildings and quite cavalier about sending troops out for assignments and errands that are frequently stupid, poorly planned, and dangerous.
Thursday, October 28, 2004
Worth Reading Every Word
This is how you LOSE wars. Support our Troops, re-defeat Bush. Follow the link above for more.
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3 comments:
It's a really really good story. And it's not true. And it's a really really good story.
I find it interesting that a really really good story is more interesting than the truth, and I am inclinded to displace the truth with a good story.
Not being unique, it is very likely this is not an uncommon thing in people.
Note that the author steadfastly refuses to provide the name of the man that told the story. Hey, that's cool.
But the author has serious reason to 1) talk to the man and verify the story or 2) pull the story as bullshit plus apologies.
But when you're happy with a good story, I mean, you don't have to prove anything.
The only thing that in fact distinguishes a story from truth is the ability to probe for truth. Ergo, this is a story.
Much like science: you might be right, but if you can't or won't prove it and won't even try, it is not science.
QED.
Not true. Hm, based on?...
Is it true? We cannot prove it and thus is born a valid complaint and problem with the story. Is it not true? Also un-provable as the author insists that it is true. So we are left to decide on the author's veracity. Not a good position for him (or us as readers) to be in. If you read the whole comments section (and you can see Jerry's funny post!) you get a feeling of what's going on with the author and with others. There are comments from military types (self professed) that are both + and - about the post. The comments section is excellent. There are the usual flame-trollers and bullshit vs. you’re-a-god posts but there are real gems to be found in between. Thus the comment section is, like the story, worth the read.
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