July 30, 2003
Uncle Sam Wants You (Pretty Please)!
Chris Hedges, author of War Is A Force That Gives Us Meaning, has told of addressing a High School audience shortly before the massacring of Iraq was initiated. Asked by Hedges how many supported the impending slaughter, most raised their hands. Asked how many would be willing to enlist, none raised their hands.
Anecdotal, but perhaps an omen, as now the army, "stretched thin worldwide", is "clearly facing a crisis". Extended tours -- "The time frame has gone away, and there is no time frame" -- in the 120° heat of Iraq, coupled with commitments elsewhere, threaten to spell "the unraveling of the army" as weary and homesick troops "might leave in large numbers".
According to the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, "the Army is either going to have to change the deployment environment or run the risk of having people vote with their feet."
But with other nations loathe to send occupation forces to Iraq, and with the Pentagon now allowing that, "It's fair to say it's still a war zone" in Central Iraq (while at the same time "a terror network in northern cities, including Kirkuk and Mosul, is set to begin operations against U.S. troops and those Iraqis who support them," and, "Once an anti-U.S. trend takes root in southern Iraq, the security of U.S. troops will be seriously in question,") a changed "deployment environment" doesn't seem likely.
Too bad the Bush Administration's ingenious plan to allow futures markets to predict geopolitical events has been ditched before it even got out of the gate: it would've been fascinating to see how high the "market value" for reinstating the draft might have climbed!
Posted by Eddie Tews at July 30, 2003 02:10 PM
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