The effect on the Army
FWIW I know two soldiers who still have several years before reenlisting (they've both reenlisted before) and they are not planning on staying in. A shame. One is in Kuwait and the other in South Korea. They are both assests to the Army and this country.

We are facing death in Iraq for no reason
A serving US soldier calls for the end of an occupation based on lies

For the past six months, I have been participating in what I believe to be the great modern lie: Operation Iraqi Freedom.

After the horrific events of September 11 2001, and throughout the battle in Afghanistan, the groundwork was being laid for the invasion of Iraq. "Shock and awe" were the words used to describe the display of power that the world was going to view upon the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom. It was to be an up-close, dramatic display of military strength and advanced technology from within the arsenals of the American and British military.

But as a soldier preparing to take part in the invasion of Iraq, the words "shock and awe" rang deep within my psyche. Even as we prepared to depart, it seemed that these two great superpowers were about to break the very rules that they demanded others obey. Without the consent of the United Nations, and ignoring the pleas of their own citizens, the US and Britain invaded Iraq. "Shock and awe"? Yes, the words correctly described the emotional impact I felt as we embarked on an act not of justice, but of hypocrisy.
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Reserves chief tells troops to enter full war mode   thanks to Eschaton

Protests Grow Over Year-Long Army Tours
National Guard Recruitment Short of Goal; Impact on Retention Is Predicted

Boots on the Ground, Family Back Home

White House is Ambushed by Criticism from America's Military Community

Life in Iraq

For Sale: Iraq

For Sale: A fertile, wealthy country with a population of around 25 million… plus around 150,000 foreign troops, and a handful of puppets. Conditions of sale: should be either an American or British corporation (forget it if you’re French)… preferably affiliated with Halliburton. Please contact one of the members of the Governing Council in Baghdad, Iraq for more information.

To hear of the first of the economic reforms announced by Kamil Al-Gaylani, the new Iraqi Finance Minister, you’d think Iraq was a Utopia and the economy was perfect only lacking in… foreign investment. As the BBC so wonderfully summarized it: the sale of all state industries except for oil and other natural resources. Basically, that means the privatization of water, electricity, communications, transportation, health… The BBC calls it a ‘surprise’… why were we not surprised?

After all, the Puppets have been bought- why not buy the stage too? Iraq is being sold- piece by piece. People are outraged. The companies are going to start buying chunks of Iraq. Or, rather, they’re going to start buying the chunks the Governing Council and CPA don’t reward to the ‘Supporters of Freedom’.

The irony of the situation is that the oil industry, the one industry that is *not* going to be sold out, is actually being run by foreigners anyway.
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Iraq: the reality and rhetoric
Rory McCarthy reports from al-Jisr, scene of the killing of three farmers at hands of US troops

a poignant Iraqi tragedy

Another Day, Another Death-Trap For The US

Another Day In The Bloody Death Of Iraq
At least 10,000 Iraqi civilians have been gunned down since the end of the war.

And then there are our fearful leaders

Administration stuck in an infinite loop

Indulge me in a pop culture reference.

Remember that big tin robot in those early-‘60s sci-fi films? Remember how at the end of every movie there’d come a point where the hero would outwit the robot or set him on some problem he couldn’t solve and the robot would slip into a feedback loop and smoke would start coming out of his ears?

The White House is the robot.

How else to explain President Bush’s defiant speech to the U.N. General Assembly and all the recent zigs and zags about bringing in the United Nations?

People disagree over how much we should involve our allies or the United Nations in our various military and diplomatic forays abroad. But we’re beyond that now. It’s no longer a matter of which approach is better. The problem is that the White House seems incapable of choosing one over the other and now oscillates back and forth between the two on an almost weekly basis.
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Iraq's occupiers suspected of losing touch with reality

Bush address to UN Disappointing

Can You Hear Me Now, Mr. Bremer?
Our forces in Iraq can't even get decent cell phones.   thanks to Eschaton

An administration in disarray   thanks to Information Clearing House

The Truth

"Can You Handle the Truth?"
The Dick Cheney Tapes

Tonight I have been authorized by our President to tell you the truth. We have been reluctant to do this, because, as that movie actor once said, we didn't think you could handle the truth. But we have become concerned that your support for the Iraq effort is wavering, and we cannot let that happen.

So we're going to tell you the truth, because, to be frank, we've tried just about everything else and you still don't seem satisfied.

In recent years, you, the American people, have demonstrated your toughness. You have shown that you can deal resolutely with horrifying attacks on our country, with terror alerts, and with seeing your sons, daughters, and spouses sent off to war in Asia. You have stoically accepted - most of you - some adjustments in your Constitutional rights. You have tolerated floods, droughts, forest fires, and a massive electrical blackout.

You have worked your way through many difficulties, but there is one blow that has not yet struck you - a blow the full force of which, we are convinced, you simply could not withstand. It is a challenge that we must confront head-on or else be crushed. I am talking about a sharp and permanent rise in the price of petroleum.
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