The WaPo let's the Truth out of the Bag

You may have already seen this on the front page of The Daily Kos, but it is unusual so I am compelled to spread it along. For once a less than varnished truth gets out. in an article titled "For Marines, a Frustrating Fight" Soldiers speak the truth the post outs them. Speaking truth to power can have a negative impact on ones future as long as the goonsquad in charge, so lets do these brave men a favor, and put some adults in charge. It's a long article, and as it exposes the truth on the ground, it is a must read.

Now, two months into a seven-month combat tour in Iraq, Perez said he sees little connection between the events of Sept. 11 and the war he is fighting. Instead, he said, he is increasingly disillusioned by a conflict whose origins remain unclear and frustrated by the timidity of U.S. forces against a mostly faceless enemy.

"Sometimes I see no reason why we're here," Perez said. "First of all, you cannot engage as many times as we want to. Second of all, we're looking for an enemy that's not there. The only way to do it is go house to house until we get out of here."
.........
The Marines' opinions have been shaped by their participation in hundreds of hours of operations over the past two months. Their assessments differ sharply from those of the interim Iraqi government and the Bush administration, which have said that Iraq is on a certain -- if bumpy -- course toward peaceful democracy.

"I feel we're going to be here for years and years and years," said Lance Cpl. Edward Elston, 22, of Hackettstown, N.J. "I don't think anything is going to get better; I think it's going to get a lot worse. It's going to be like a Palestinian-type deal. We're going to stop being a policing presence and then start being an occupying presence. . . . We're always going to be here. We're never going to leave."

And if this is true, I feel a chill draft in the air, regardless of what presnit blinky "the lying sack of shit" bush tells us. Mr. Elston is peaking the truth, and we continue building bases (14 at last count) planned for a permanent occupation, an occupation on the one hand to mirror the one in germany which for the patently stupid sounds like a fine plan, but the Germans never viewed us as the infidel, and our actions have done little to suggest that our intentions are pure. While bush might think he can blame Kerry for a loss of troop morale, it would seem that the ministry of information is doing a fantastic job already

"Every day you read the articles in the States where it's like, 'Oh, it's getting better and better,' " said Lance Cpl. Jonathan Snyder, 22, of Gettysburg, Pa. "But when you're here, you know it's worse every day."

Pfc. Kyle Maio, 19, of Bucks County, Pa., said he thought government officials were reticent to speak candidly because of the upcoming U.S. elections. "Stuff's going on here but they won't flat-out say it," he said. "They can't get into it."
Maio said that when he arrived in Iraq, "I didn't think I was going to live this long, in all honesty." He added, "it ain't that bad. It's just part of the job, I guess."

Mighty fatalistic for such a young man, but then some come to terms with reality sooner than others, but when you have to deal with the following, I guess you learn quick.

As a reporter began to ask Maio another question, the interview was interrupted by the scream of an incoming rocket and then a deafening explosion outside the platoon's barracks. Pandemonium ensued.
"Get down! Get down!" yelled the platoon's radio operator, Cpl. Brandon Autin, 21, of New Iberia, La., his orders laced with profanity. "Get in the bunker! Get in the bunker now!"

Members of the platoon raced out of their rooms to a 5-by-15-foot bunker, located outside at the end of the one-story building. The dirt-floor room was protected by a low ceiling and walls built out of four-foot-thick sandbags.

Jesus. Now for some extremely astute commentary, followed of course by the company line.

"The reality right now is that the most dangerous opinion in the world is the opinion of a U.S. serviceman," said Lance Cpl. Devin Kelly, 20, of Fairbanks, Alaska.

Lance Cpl. Alexander Jones, 20, of Ball Ground, Ga., agreed: "We're basically proving out that the government is wrong," he said. "We're catching them in a lie."

Senior officers said they shared many of the platoon's frustrations but added that it was difficult for low-level Marines to see the larger progress being made across Iraq. Maj. Douglas Bell, the battalion's executive officer, said "one of the most difficult things about the insurgency is identifying the enemy."

Devin, Alexander, thanks for your service, your candor and your Bravery, I pray that we can clear the way to see you safely reunited with your friends and families and that the rest of your pals can make it home safely. Douglas, you are an officer, and as an educated man, must know something of history. Was not the inability to identify the enemy one of the reasons we had our asses handed to us in Vietnam?

Read the rest, this summary only covers the first page and a half of four, and so far its a refreashing blast of truth, if not disconcerting. So I suggest you do what I am gonna do and finish the article.