President Bush and Gen. David Petraeus talked a lot about Anbar province in claiming that the surge is making progress in Iraq. But what do Iraqis in Anbar think? A survey last month found that 72 percent of them have no confidence whatsoever in United States forces, and 76 percent want U.S. troops to withdraw now. Also, every Anbar respondent called attacks on coalition forces “acceptable,” and they all said that the U.S.-led invasion was wrong. With friends like these . . .
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
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96 Comments
The Bush regime said they’ll respect Iraqi sovranty. So when the Iraqis stand up and tell the Americans to leave then we’ll stand down, right? Nah, we can’t let some puppet government boss us around because there’s no money in that.
oohhh…
They don’t appreciate that we blew up their country to save them from themselves??
ummm…Ok so you are saying they think they can run their own corner of Iraq without our military randomly shooting them for no good reason other than they are in the way??
I want to know NOW who told them to think this way!!
Was it the lib dems??
“The Bush regime said they’ll respect Iraqi sovranty.” Posted by: Doug | September 20, 2007 at 02:39 AM
“Sovranty?”
What an ignorant, mouth breathing pus-pocket of opinion you are. Try using a dictionary.
It’s sovereignty.=======================”…72 percent of them have no confidence whatsoever in United States forces, and 76 percent want U.S. troops to withdraw now…”
Would help if these poll surveyors would stop interviewing former Baath party members who got kicked out of power when Saddam’s legion of demons fell.
Numbers can stare some people in the face, but they still can’t see them, so they have to resort to pointing out spelling errors and plain bs. The people of that province want us gone . . . period. Understand and get over it. We should be gone from a place we never should have been in in the first place.
You know these Iraqis are so pushy. I mean, we go in there at great expense to ourselves and they now have 8 hours of electricity a day instead of the 16 they used to enjoy and they now have running water for at least a few hours a day where they used to have it alomost all day. And now they say they don’t want to sign over the oil to Bush and they want us to leave. I say we sic Blackwater on their asses!
“Sovranty?”
What an ignorant, mouth breathing pus-pocket of opinion you are. Try using a dictionary.
It’s sovereignty.Posted by: Kansas | September 20, 2007 at 04:26 AM
When you have no point, attack spelling.
Gee Kansas, that post was a little disgusting, even coming from you.
I do believe you’ve achieved a new low.
Gee, Kansas… Yesterday, you left out entire words from one of your posts… and nobody called YOU a “ignorant, mouth breathing pus-pocket of opinion” –
Some might have thought it, but nobody said it… :-)
“Would help if these poll surveyors would stop interviewing former Baath party members who got kicked out of power when Saddam’s legion of demons fell.” Posted by: “Kansas”
Maybe the poll surveyors should be asked to contact “Kansas” prior to interviewing people who live in Anbar. And while we’re on the subject, is it all right with “Kansas” that they live in Anbar? Perhaps “Kansas” has identified another region of Iraq for which the people of Anbar would be better suited.
POLL SURVEYOR: Excuse me, but, are you, like, one of the ones “Kansas” said I can’t interview?
ANBAR RESIDENT: Yes.
POLL SURVEYOR: Never mind.
Walks a few steps.
POLL SURVEYOR: Oh! Sir? I almost forgot: “Kansas” said you have to move.
Really makes you wonder about those 20 Iraqis who were interviewed about wanting the US to stay huh?
What’d they do, stand outside the US embassy and ask?
Must have been 20 Al-Quidas that wanted us to stay.
If they want us out, then let’s leave. Iraqi’s can’t decide who they want to kill anyway, and they been killing each other since Christ was a baby.
So where is the problem? Pack it up boys, the bus is on its way.
From the story:
“There are critical improvements in Anbar. Most important have been remarkable advances in confidence in the Iraqi Army and police. In ABC’s survey in March, not a single respondent rated local security positively — now 38 percent do. Nonetheless, nobody surveyed in Anbar last month gave the United States any credit.”
Hmmm… I thought what we were trying to accomplish was to improve security, and to get the Iraqi police and military ready to take over so we can get the heck out.
Sounds like that’s what’s happening.
Outlander, that’s what’s happening alright, except for the part where we get out.
Oh, I forgot. There’s still oil to be had.
The word is in the dictionary. Alas, the neo-cons can’t deal with the issues so they have to attack the words used. Truly pathetic.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Sovranty
“Hmmm… I thought what we were trying to accomplish was to improve security, and to get the Iraqi police and military ready to take over so we can get the heck out.
Sounds like that’s what’s happening.”
Posted by: outlander | September 20, 2007 at 09:07 AM
“We” didn’t do it. THEY did it. And we should leave now.
Problem is, republicans are too stupid to declare victory and get the hell out.
I guess they’re too busy sitting in front of their computers talking tough and watching other people’s kids getting killed and maimed.
“”ignorant, mouth breathing pus-pocket of opinion”
Hey, it coulda been worse. Troll boy could have called us, wait for it…
VALUES VOTERS!!!!!!!
If values boy says it’s bad, you know it must be so!
All called the United States-led invasion wrong, including 68 percent who called it “absolutely wrong.” No wonder: Anbar, in western Iraq, is almost entirely populated by Sunni Arabs, long protected by Saddam Hussein and dispossessed by his overthrow.
But it seems clear that popular sentiment in Anbar is another matter entirely. Indeed, one other result from our poll may be of particular interest to Anbar’s tribal leaders and the United States military alike: Just 23 percent in Anbar expressed confidence in their “local leaders”; 77 percent had little or none. That’s better than it was in March — but still nearly the lowest level of confidence in local leaders we measured anywhere in Iraq.
Confidence in local leaders, as it happens, is lower only in Diyala — the other province Mr. Bush mentioned in his speech as a focal point of progress in Iraq.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/16/opinion/16langer.html?_r=1&bl&ex=1190260800&en=a470462dc88125e1&ei=5087&oref=slogin
Can we just leave Anbar and focus our attention elsewhere?
“Just 23 percent in Anbar expressed confidence in their “local leaders”; 77 percent had little or none.”
HECK, I DIDN’T KNOW BUSH WAS PRESIDENT OF IRAQ.
Is Iraq a sovereign country? Will the Blackwater killers be tried in the Courts of Iraq?
Whatever the answers to those two questions is will be the same. Either YES to both or NO to both.
A sovereign state has the right to try people accused of criminal activity on their soil.
I think that Bush has been having a gay old time playing in Iraq with no accountability. Now, though, he’s in a bit of a bind. He’s been using mercenaries so that he would have enough soldiers and not have to bring back the draft, therefore having very little accountability to the American people, and presumably, the Iraqi people as well. But he has to admit that they are a sovereign nation, or admit that he has made absolutely no progress. If he admits they are a sovereign nation, then yes, Blackwater will be held accountable, and suddenly, he won’t be able to use mercenaries. Will he start the draft then. I don’t think he can get away with that since there will be much more scrutiny, since EVERYONE’S brothers, sisters, friends, etc. will be in danger of going to the Middle East and being killed. I hope this unravels quickly, so that he won’t be out of office before it all FINALLY comes back to bite him in the ass.
Would help if these poll surveyors would stop interviewing former Baath party members who got kicked out of power when Saddam’s legion of demons fell.
Posted by: Kansas | September 20, 2007 at 04:26 AM
How true. how true;
We could also stop all that anti-war crap here in the US if those pollsters would just stop interviewing Americans.
Bye the way, just what is a mouth breathing pus-pocket? (or is it puss-pocket)
Apparently Blackwater wants to open a compound in California where they can secretly train their terrorists, oops, freedom fighters. Is it really a good idea to have a huge paramilitary force in America that’s open to the highest bidder?
Where are all the neo-cons who warned us about black helicopters and armed militants patrolling the streets of America like in New Orleans? Oh right, they only said that during the Clinton administration. So when the black helicopters and private army is used during the Bush regime it’s a bit more acceptable.
Bush is a most dangerous crazy man this Planet has ever had, as he carries the means to completely incinerate the Earth and its people.
The Lunatics in Israel are all for starting a nuclear war to satisfy their greed and lust for power.
Don’t you so-called Christians and Jews see the seven deadly sins in what Bushco is doing?
You keep pointing at Islam.
That is not where the real problem lies.
The majority of Iraqis can all agree on one thing, it’s ok to kill the occupiers. Now that’s progress.
Not only is bush too dumb to be President, he’s too dumb to know it!
Doug, you got bloggers here that sound like they would LOVE to join Blackwater…. LOL….
Chas, they’ll happily wear the uniforms and carry the guns around to look all macho and push people around. Once people start shooting back they’ll hand in their resignations.
Chas- RE: “Doug, you got bloggers here that sound like they would LOVE to join Blackwater…. LOL…. ”
Didn’t you mean “love to join Backwater”?
Iraqi warlords and militias to Bush: Thanks for the weapons, you can go now.
Gee, Iraqis have figured-out that they don’t like being murdered, their homes being used as target practice by the goons who drop bombs on them, and their families being slaughtered {or “cleared” } from their homes and set against each other by Jews operating inside their country.
What a horrible excuse for a man is Bush and his G-D Neocons and the G-D worthless Zionists are to this planet.
What garbage…
“from their homes and set against each other by Jews operating inside their country.”
Should be: from their homes and set against each other by Mossad-Jews operating inside their country.
An opinion piece by the head of vetsvote.org concerning the feeling of troops polled in Iraq that the military is overextended.
http://tinyurl.com/2cmw7j
From Vaughn’s link:
“The debate over the Webb-Hagel amendment was fast and fierce. VoteVets.org brought forty veterans to Capitol Hill to push for the bill, while the White House dispatched staff from the Joint Chiefs to lobby against it.”
“It’s frustrating, because in this particular debate, it was so clear that one side was pro-troops and one side was anti-troops. Yet, in their efforts to try to present a “fair and balanced” story, the media lost sight of the fact that on this issue there is really no debate among the troops. They are overextended and are saying so. It’s not just because troops want to come home and rest. Troops are saying that they are too overextended to be effective. They are telling America that this is a matter of our national security; that they don’t think they can meet our global commitments or destroy al Qaeda in Afghanistan, let alone lock down all the violence in Iraq.”
Sad day when vets and the White House are on opposing sides. But then, there is much to be sad about those who currently occupy the White House. I wonder if America can survive long enough to get rid of bushco.
lindainks55,
The reason why Webb’s bill was objected to is that in order for the extended home stay to take effect, the military would have to activate reservists and employ more National Guard to fill the vacancies because of the extended stay.
Do you wish this to happen lindainks55?
Didn’t think so.
linda – I think part of it comes from the fact that so few (if any) in this administration are combat veterans.
The reason Webb’s bill was objected to is bushco don’t want to take responsibility for the mess they’ve made! I think Americans need to know what the troops are feeling, what they are saying, and how stretched to the max they are. I’m sick of bushco playing political games with the lives of our military. Someone has to face the truth instead of allowing him to continue with his game of delay and delay some more until I can get the hell out of town. He is responsible for this mess!
Did you watch Bush’s speech the other night and the response? Quite a contrast with an army Ranger coming on after BushDaBum.
Yes I watched. And I agree. Quite a contrast.
linda – I think part of it comes from the fact that so few (if any) in this administration are combat veterans.
Posted by: Ben | September 20, 2007 at 04:12 PM
The decision was offered as a suggestion to the President by Secretary of Defense Gates and his staff (loaded with combat veterans)
lindainks55,
The reason why Webb’s bill was objected to is that in order for the extended home stay to take effect, the military would have to activate reservists and employ more National Guard to fill the vacancies because of the extended stay.
Do you wish this to happen lindainks55?
Didn’t think so.
Posted by: Kansas | September 20, 2007 at 04:04 PM
That is NOT the only option for Bush, Kansas, and you know it. He could start treating the troops with the respect they deserve and give the time they need at home, NOT use the National Guard or Reserves, and START THE DAMN DRAWDOWN!!!!!
Do you know something that the DOD doesn’t know TDT?
Kansas, Bush has been more than willing to activate reservists and deploy the national guard in Iraq the past 4 1/2 years.
Do you think he’s suddenly had a change of heart?
The reason why Webb’s bill was objected to is that in order for the extended home stay to take effect, the military would have to activate reservists and employ more National Guard to fill the vacancies because of the extended stay.
Do you wish this to happen lindainks55?
Didn’t think so.
Posted by: Kansas | September 20, 2007 at 04:04 PM
Yes its true the extended stay is a problem for the military. But its the total lack of foresight and planning for this extended occupation that caused it yet they don’t want responsibility for it.Sure they don’t want additional call-ups because that would escalate the public distaste for this Iraq business tenfold.But what are you saying to our troops, sorry its not politically feasible to provide you relief so tough shit. (PS We are very grateful, Semper Fi) Oh yes guys/gals should you be one of very few to be injured while over there we have allocated an additional 500k in the VA budget for prosthetic devices.
OVERLAND PARK, Kansas (Reuters) – A Kansas military cemetery has run out of space after the burial of another casualty of the Iraq war, officials said on Thursday.
“We are full,” said Alison Kohler, spokeswoman for the Fort Riley U.S. Army post, home of the 1st Infantry Division.
U.S. Sens. Sam Brownback and Pat Roberts, both Kansas Republicans, on Thursday sent a letter to William Tuerk, the under secretary for memorial affairs at the Department of Veterans Affairs, urging for full funding for a new cemetery for Fort Riley.
“While a new cemetery would not be completed in time to alleviate this situation immediately, it is vitally important,” Roberts and Brownback, a Republican presidential candidate, said in their letter.
“We truly owe our military members a debt of gratitude and the least we can do is provide them with an honorable burial ground,” the senators wrote.
Since the 2003 beginning of the war in Iraq, Fort Riley has lost 133 soldiers and airmen, though not all are buried in the Fort Riley cemetery. Sgt Joel Murray, who died September 4 in Iraq, took the last available plot, said Kohler.
Fort Riley can bury bodies on top of other bodies if family members want to share a plot, said Kohler.
I don’t understand why there is a problem here. After all, the war is only going to last a few weeks, maybe months, NOT YEARS.
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!
No one should call this Bush’s war; it is the Republicans war of choice.With their fascist attitudes that keep them from what this country wants to do,( to do the right thing). The freedoms they are giving Iraqis, they will, someday, if we let them, bring that version of freedom here. How long before we have to sign on here or die.
Let me get this straight. We can’t give our soldiers more time off because we might have to deploy our reservists and national guard to Iraq?
Kind of like we can’t leave Iraq because there might be a bloodbath?
Didn’t you mean “love to join Backwater”?
Posted by: gster | September 20, 2007 at 02:26 PM
=========================
NOPE I meant just what I said… If you dont like it, TOUGH!!!
I just got back from Ar Rutbah, Iraq which is in the heart of Al Anbar, and I can guarantee that survey is way off. Over a 4 month period we chased al Qaeda-Iraq out of that town and those people loved us for it. I talked to citizens everyday that were glad that we were there. Al Qaeda was kidnapping family members for ransom, stealing gas, and robbing people blind. I don’t know what the true percentages are but in Rutbah I would say that MORE than 72% of the citizens had confidence in our (15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, USMC) abilities. Do 3/4 of the people want U.S. forces gone? Probably, but not “now”. I talked to men and women everyday that want us to leave, but ONLY after the country is stabilized and the Iraqi security forces can get a handle on AQI. And don’t let the mass media fool you. This is happening. In Rutbah, we went from having no Iraqi police to backing off and supporting the 300-man police force we helped set up from a pool of over 3,000 volunteers. We screened, trained, and sent the passing applicants through a police academy just like the ones we have here in the states. The country is being turned over to them but it takes time.Anyway, these are just some observations from someone who was there and who actually talked to Iraqi citizens everyday from November ‘06 until April ‘07. I’m no where intelligent enough to know much about politics, I only know what people were saying to me face to face.(You can start flaming me now.)
Oh yeah, I’m going back again in LESS THAN 6 months, not because I want to, but because I signed the damn dotted line. Don’t feel sorry for us, we’re ALL volunteers. Yes, I’m tired of leaving my family, but that just means I’ll get out next time instead of reenlisting again. I knew what I was in for when I signed my name. We all did.
I appreciate what you’re doing, Steve. I was totally against this war from the beginning, and I still think it was a huge mistake, but I agree with you that we shouldn’t leave now because things aren’t happening as fast as we’d like. We owe at least that much to the Iraqi people, seeing how we’re the reason their country has been turned upside down in the first place.
God speed and come home safe.
From the link that VT posted at 3:02 PM:
“Troops are saying that they are too overextended to be effective. They are telling America that this is a matter of our national security; that they don’t think they can meet our global commitments or destroy al Qaeda in Afghanistan, let alone lock down all the violence in Iraq.”
The writer also says that these points, by and large, did not get delivered to the public this week. Of course, if you turned on your television last night at six or seven PM, it was hard to find a channel that wasn’t providing thorough, wall-to-wall analysis of the latest O.J. saga, which apparently trumps mundane matters such as the state of our military. The little bit of TV coverage that I did run across about the Webb/Hagel plan only mentioned that the Dems lacked a sufficient number of votes for passage and consequently…well, time to switch back to O.J. Therefore, the case that needed to be made to the public to apply appropriate pressure and win the debate merely rattled down the runway and crashed into a tree. It’s telling, when you think about it, that VT may have perceived an information gap (I can’t speak for VT) and posted the link. Whatever the case, the in-depth story never saw the light of day and so those who take the time to read the guy’s short opinion piece may actually learn something that the networks failed to deliver in their pursuit of higher truth about the ever-so-urgent O.J. story. It should be noted that I don’t live every minute of my life in front of the TV, so if I missed in-depth reportage on this somewhere, I will stand corrected. Last night, I ended up flipping to channel eight for their rendition (at least they weren’t fixated on a topic of no national significance), in which a good bit of the final segments were devoted to lobbing softball questions to Greenspan. This gave the venerable retired public official an ample amount of time to promote his new book, wherein he reportedly finally gets around to saying a few things that may have been more useful to the public about four years ago. Oh, well: back to O.J.
Steve,You sound like a brave patriotic man. And without a doubt I believe you and your fellow soldiers have done a great job. I believe the troops have been successful at everything they have been asked to do. Its bush that suggest, they haven’t by saying come home upon success. That must not mean, on the troop success, but on Iraqi success. So it’s not the Iraqis that are dependent on the troops, but the troops that are dependent on the Iraqis.
Thanks so much for your service Steve! Thank you very much for you first hand insight into the goings on in Iraq.
God bless you and yours.
Remember to always “check six!” :)
I really have not heard the soldiers themselves clammoring for more time at home. While they might miss the family and the mundane “regular” job they have most of them like doing what they do and being where they are with the “other family” of fellow soldiers whom they are often closer to than the family back home.
It needs to be made clear to these people that, while we are here now, we are not going to stay here forever and babysit you Arabs and keep you from killing each other. If you sons of bitches want to kill each other, then we will happily step aside so you can. Arabs are like little children with dangerous weapons and I don’t feel like babysitting these assholes forever.
If you sons of bitches want to kill each other, then we will happily step aside so you can.
Posted by: Kev
Sounds like a plan, Hannibal (A team reference).
And another thing to the Iraqis trying to run off from Iraq- NO you are NOT all coming to the USA. We already have too many immigrants here that don’t want to fit in or get along with everybody else and we don’t need to be overrun by Arabs like France and England have been. If you don’t like Iraq, try Europe or Canada.
Kev..you need to deal with your anger…they didn’t invite us to invade their country now, did they? We broke it, now we should fix it.
Steve–
Thank you for your service.
Might it be possible that people say something different to pollsters armed with a paper and pen than they do to a Marine in combat gear with a military rifle in his hand?
Also, since I’m assuming you don’t know enough Arabic to carry on a conversation, might you be getting a skewed sample since you’re only talking to English speakers?
Just wondering.
“I’m no where intelligent enough to know much about politics” . . . hehehe, intelligence is a LIABILITY in politics.
Just look at W.
Well Steve, one of the first things we were taught in Nam is, if the Vietnamese person you’re talking to is smiling, they’re probably lying to you.
SteveThe public is with you. The most important thing is for you & your buddies to return ASAP intact. Thank-you for all you & your loved ones have sacrificed.
Soooo ummmm is Kev in Iraq too???
intelligence is a LIABILITY in politics.
Just look at W.
Posted by: CapnAmerica
Proven by 95 per cent of the political posters on the WE blog
Be safe Steve
And, remember watch your six (back, while you’re cheerleaders sit at home in fron to tv with their six (pack)!
Good Luck, Steve… IF you are real… and not fake… If you are a sock puppet… just get out the athlete’s foot spray!!
I guess thats a No Answer from Kev…
Is bush moving to enlightment? Today when asked whether he had a chance would he do the same thing in re: to Iraq. He responded “I really don’t know”.
Phantom, looked like he just lost his place in his notes… He doesnt have Rover and Snow to set it all up for him now…
Anbar’s Ghost
The ‘Ghost of Anbar’ – also known as Abu Risha, the man behind the US success story in Iraq’s Anbar province, was brutally murdered in a roadside bomb this week.
As a result, People & Power revisit ‘Anbar’s Ghost’ which was shot just weeks before his death.
The story behind Abu Risha’s so-called success fuels with controversy. US officials credit him with leading Sunni tribes who killed Americans in the past into a new alliance with them.
Because of Abu Risha, American political and military leaders say, Sunni attacks on US forces have dropped dramatically and life is beginning to return to normal in Anbar, once the heartland of the Sunni Insurgency.
But was Abu Risha everything he claimed to be?
Filmmakers Rick Rowley and David Enders set off to find out – and to see who is paying the price.
——————————-This was very interesting. Click on the web site below to view the videos.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/C223AE63-CE85-4887-9275-D2278C2A844C.htm
Must have been more sock puppets
From the video it looks like we are helping with the ethnic cleansing, whether intentional or not. We scratch the Sunni back, and they won’t shoot us in the back.
I was wondering if Steve wasn’t a sock puppet.
looks like they were paying the sheik to talk on camera
Steve’s script sounds way too much like Hannity and O’Reilly’s talking points… and Drudge’s too…
I think he just didn’t want to answer the question about how many of them were attacking the U.S. before the deals were made. The U.S. should escort the displaced Shiite and Sunnis to the strong holds for each, and not leave them in limbo.
I think “Steve” is about as much of a Marine, as Mr. Snerdly is a real person..
Just for the sake of argument let’s accept Steve for what he says he is. Because the locals in his assigned area are expressing luv doesn’t necessarily make it fact. What would you say to a soldier in full battle gear… F off American pig! Didn’t work for Rodney King.
There were way too many “friendly folks” back in Nam that were a bit less than sincere.
Bottom line is we may have removed a tyrant but we have destroyed so much in the process. Locals can get a bit testy about that stuff.
What Steve really is does not change the fact that those he says he represents get home soon & safe.
Wont happen unless somebody lights a firecracker in Bush’s shorts!! Today, he couldnt even get his opening lines right… And he was fairly confrontative… I have seen Alzheimers patients much like that in the early stages…
Well, it’s that time once again…
Good Night, Good Luck, and God Bless, whatever you conceive God to be!!
Blessings all!!
I have seen Alzheimers patients much like that in the early stages…
Posted by: Chas.
Better hope not or Cheney will become President in name and power instead of only behind the scenes. Sleep safe now.
“”"Kev..you need to deal with your anger…they didn’t invite us to invade their country now, did they? We broke it, now we should fix it.”"”‘
We have been trying to “fix” that part of the world for decades. I am quite frankly fed up with trying to “fix” the Middle East. The people there are mostly savages and they have been killing each other for thousands of years.
“”Soooo ummmm is Kev in Iraq too??? “”"
Not there, never been there and never will be there.
Not necessarily Anon… I mean, we had Reagan with Alzheimers for most of his second term LOL
Kev, I agree on the fighting in the Middle East… In fact ever since Isaac and Ishmael…
Not necessarily Anon… I mean, we had Reagan with Alzheimers for most of his second term LOL
Posted by: Chas.
Dont you mean his first term. I saw it that way, but I knew several people with Alzheimers at the time. Little things many people missed are what gave me early indications. I have friends now dealing with the problem and it is sad to watch an active person slowly slip into the disease. One friend works and takes his wife to work with him. She no longer moves on her own and he carries her from place to place, feeds her and does all the things most of us do for ourselves. I would not wish such a condition on my worst enemy.
“”"”Kev..you need to deal with your anger…they didn’t invite us to invade their country now, did they? We broke it, now we should fix it.”"”‘
The way to “fix it” is to leave.
We are the problem and when we leave we take the problem with us.
There is your “fix it.”
to the flamers:
My name is Steve. I am a Staff Sergeant in the Marine Corps. I speak Korean and passable Iraqi-Arabic. I enlisted in 1999 out of the recruiting office in Wichita on West St. and went to boot camp at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego and was trained with Plt3026, Lima Co, 3 Recruit Training Bn. Before that I went to Heights and WSU. I don’t watch Hannity & Colmes or listen to Rush. I don’t have the time. Although I live at Camp Pedleton, CA, I like to check Kansas.com for updates on my hometown and read the local sports (especially since we’re flooded with Chargers propaganda out here!) I’ll give it to you that I could easily not be a Marine since this is all anonymous, but I dare you to make that “snerdly” remark to me while I’m back home on leave this fall. You’ll leave our meeting with fewer teeth. I understand that many locals smiled and told us one thing during the day and shot at us at night. We caught and/or killed several who claimed to be on our side, only to later attack us. My only point was that there are people out there who are glad we are there and I believe that number to be higher than the percentage reported in the above article.
Steve – I hope you are correct – for the sake of my country and for the sake of Iraq.
How do you like Southern California? I lived in LA back in the 70s.
I love the geography of California but miss the people of Kansas!
….Well most of them anyway. The Phantom and Chas can shove it. Hehe.
Steve – I used to know some real good ‘dives’ in LA and San Diego I could recommend … but has been too many years.
I think my father-in-law was at Pendleton.
“I understand that many locals smiled and told us one thing during the day and shot at us at night. We caught and/or killed several who claimed to be on our side, only to later attack us. My only point was that there are people out there who are glad we are there . . . ”
Steve, thank you for your service.
But your conclusion is contradicted by your evidence.