[Moderator]

Caught this on digg. Thought I'd share it with everyone. I thought it captured the state of things about right.

best of craigslist : From an Angry Soldier

I'm a Marine and I served my tour in Iraq. My husband, also a Marine, served several. He should have been home a month ago but they extended his tour and now he's coming home in a box.

------

They don't care about us. We're disposable. We're numbers on a page and they'd rather forget we exist so they don't have to be reminded about the families and lives they ruined while they're sipping their cocktails at another fund raiser dinner. If they were really concerned about supporting the troops, they'd bring them home so their families wouldn't have to cry at a graveside and explain to their children why mommy or daddy isn't coming home. Because you can't explain it. We're not fighting for our country, we're not fighting for the good of Iraq's people, we're fighting for Bush's personal agenda. Patriotism my ass. You know what? My dad served in Vietnam and NOTHING HAS CHANGED.

[Jawbone54]

Good thing she speaks for our whole military.

[smacintush]

I guess that negates all of the soldiers' opinions who believe in what they are doing.

[Rumor]

There are many that believe what they are doing is just, many that do not and many that are indifferent.

[Orion27]

I CALL BULLSHIT. There is a peace symbol in the URL ( Craigslist? ) and the post is from the San Francisco Bay Area. While I'm not saying a US Marine would not have a disagreement, I find this post highly suspect. No name and do not contact

[Orion27]

Hours old from a front line Marine:
http://www.drudgereport.com/flash1.htm

.........yeah and i got a qoute for that douche harry reid. these families need us here. obviously he has never been in iraq. or atleast the area worth seeing. the parts where insurgency is rampant and the buildings are blown to pieces. we need to stay here and help rebuild. if iraq didnt want us here then why do we have IP’s voluntering everyday to rebuild their cities. and working directly with us too. same with the IA’s. it sucks that iraqi’s have more patriotism for a country that has turned to complete **** more than the people in america who drink starbucks everyday. we could leave this place and say we are sorry to the terrorists. and then we could wait for 3,000 more american civilians to die before we say “hey thats not nice” again. and the sad thing is after we WIN this war. people like him will say he was there for us the whole time.
and for messages back home. i have a wife back home who is going through a tough time. i just cant wait to be back home and see everyone. haha and i cant wait to go back home and get some starbucks. i love it when those people serve me. hahaha”

[Rumor]

What is your point, Orion27? Some are happy, some aren't. Is that impossible for you to grasp?

[Orion27]

Originally Posted by Rumor 

What is your point, Orion27? Some are happy, some aren't. Is that impossible for you to grasp?

Yeah Rumour, maybe I just don't get it. Your perspicacity is just so, well, how should I put it, nuanced. Forgive me.

[Chuckit]

Originally Posted by Orion27 

I CALL BULLSHIT. There is a peace symbol in the URL ( Craigslist? )

That's the Craigslist favicon.

[Orion27]

Originally Posted by Chuckit 

That's the Craigslist favicon.

Thanks, never really took notice before.

[hyteckit]

Originally Posted by Orion27 

Thanks, never really took notice before.

Nothing new about that. Jumping the gun too quick like always?

[Snow-i]

Originally Posted by hyteckit 

Nothing new about that. Jumping the gun too quick like always?

So he apologizes and admits he never noticed it before....and you attack him for this?

Get over yourself.

[Chuckit]

Originally Posted by Orion27 

Thanks, never really took notice before.

I don't think it's always been a peace sign. I was just saying it's not a URL hack or anything.

[hyteckit]

Originally Posted by Snow-i 

So he apologizes and admits he never noticed it before....and you attack him for this?

Get over yourself.

Apology? Where?

[Snow-i]

Originally Posted by hyteckit 

Apology? Where?

you must have been enjoying the odor coming out of your ass too much to read between the lines.

Thats besides the point though. your attitude will never lead to a productive discussion about anything.

He probably says alot of things you don't agree with, but as one person to the next could you please give him the courtesy of being allowed to admit he was wrong without jumping on him for it?

[hyteckit]

Originally Posted by Snow-i 

you must have been enjoying the odor coming out of your ass too much to read between the lines.

Thats besides the point though. your attitude will never lead to a productive discussion about anything.

He probably says alot of things you don't agree with, but as one person to the next could you please give him the courtesy of being allowed to admit he was wrong without jumping on him for it?

Okay, Snow-i.

Orion27, please admit your were wrong and that you jump to conclusions again.

[Helmling]

Originally Posted by Orion27 

I CALL BULLSHIT. There is a peace symbol in the URL ( Craigslist? ) and the post is from the San Francisco Bay Area. While I'm not saying a US Marine would not have a disagreement, I find this post highly suspect. No name and do not contact

I'm inclined to agree. Sounds seriously bogus to me.

[Rumor]

Originally Posted by Orion27 

Yeah Rumour, maybe I just don't get it. Your perspicacity is just so, well, how should I put it, nuanced. Forgive me.

I say this because last year, a good friend of mine died from a roadside bomb. He believed that what he was doing was correct. I never questioned his beliefs.

I have other friends that do not believe what they were doing was correct.

It's really ****ing simple.

[Powerbook]

Originally Posted by Orion27 

Hours old from a front line Marine:
DRUDGE REPORT FLASH 2007�

[...] we could leave this place and say we are sorry to the terrorists. and then we could wait for 3,000 more american civilians to die before we say “hey thats not nice” again. [...]

And how the fck would the death of those 3000 american civilians be connected with some unnecessary war in Iraq, dumbo? Tell you what - there might just as well die another 3000 american civilians _because_ you are in fcking Iraq.

Like John Kerry said, educate yourself.

PB.

[osiris]

Originally Posted by Orion27 

Hours old from a front line Marine:
http://www.drudgereport.com/flash1.htm

.........yeah and i got a qoute for that douche harry reid. these families need us here. obviously he has never been in iraq. or atleast the area worth seeing. the parts where insurgency is rampant and the buildings are blown to pieces. we need to stay here and help rebuild. if iraq didnt want us here then why do we have IP’s voluntering everyday to rebuild their cities. and working directly with us too. same with the IA’s. it sucks that iraqi’s have more patriotism for a country that has turned to complete **** more than the people in america who drink starbucks everyday. we could leave this place and say we are sorry to the terrorists. and then we could wait for 3,000 more american civilians to die before we say “hey thats not nice” again. and the sad thing is after we WIN this war. people like him will say he was there for us the whole time.
and for messages back home. i have a wife back home who is going through a tough time. i just cant wait to be back home and see everyone. haha and i cant wait to go back home and get some starbucks. i love it when those people serve me. hahaha”

Either that soldier is as stupid as he sounds, or his leaders are lying muthafuc*ers.
I'm betting on the latter, though the former attributes to the acceptance of the latter.

Either way, this soldier signed up to protect the starbuck swilling masses - and to do so without question.
He is disposable. Too bad he's being lied to though.

[Taliesin]

Originally Posted by osiris 

Either that soldier is as stupid as he sounds, or his leaders are lying muthafuc*ers.
I'm betting on the latter, though the former attributes to the acceptance of the latter.

Either way, this soldier signed up to protect the starbuck swilling masses - and to do so without question.
He is disposable. Too bad he's being lied to though.

Who gets shot first in a war? ...Truth.

It's nothing new, in every major war, the propaganda-machinery runs at its highest and strongest, every information, every picture, every sound, every death gets spinned and remodeled.. to mean whatever is useful at the moment.

How about that american football-player that turned down a multiple million-dollar-contract in order to fight in Afghanistan for America and who died fighting heroically against Al-Qaeeda?

Apparantely Tillman, that was his name, died in a friendly-fire accident, shot to death by his own soldier-colleagues, as was newly reported.

Taliesin

[osiris]

Originally Posted by Taliesin 

Who gets shot first in a war? ...Truth.

It's nothing new, in every major war, the propaganda-machinery runs at its highest and strongest, every information, every picture, every sound, every death gets spinned and remodeled.. to mean whatever is useful at the moment.

How about that american football-player that turned down a multiple million-dollar-contract in order to fight in Afghanistan for America and who died fighting heroically against Al-Qaeeda?

Apparantely Tillman, that was his name, died in a friendly-fire accident, shot to death by his own soldier-colleagues, as was newly reported.

Taliesin

I hear stories from my girlfriend's family (Japanese) who fought in WWII.
The stories they retain about what the American Soldiers would do to them if caught were horrific.
Tales of raping children, wives, and farm animals, horrendous torture, live dissection, etc... all mostly untrue.
Sure the internment camps sucked, and a few woman got gang banged out of existence, but at least they didn't have electrodes up their asses.

Of course, now we do some of those things, but you get the idea.
War sucks, and it is the vehicle of liars to achieve goals that benefit a privileged few. No Sh*t.

Tillman wasted his life by believing the liars, poor guy. The liars lied, as expected, and spun the golden yarn that became the great story of Tillman. Then the liars couldn't even get that story straight.
What a GD waste.

[DBursey]

More thoughts from an Ex US Army Ranger:

After Pat's Birthday - by Kevin Tillman

It is Pat’s birthday on November 6, and elections are the day after. It gets me thinking about a conversation I had with Pat before we joined the military. He spoke about the risks with signing the papers. How once we committed, we were at the mercy of the American leadership and the American people. How we could be thrown in a direction not of our volition. How fighting as a soldier would leave us without a voice… until we got out.

Much has happened since we handed over our voice:

Somehow we were sent to invade a nation because it was a direct threat to the American people, or to the world, or harbored terrorists, or was involved in the September 11 attacks, or received weapons-grade uranium from Niger, or had mobile weapons labs, or WMD, or had a need to be liberated, or we needed to establish a democracy, or stop an insurgency, or stop a civil war we created that can’t be called a civil war even though it is. Something like that.

Somehow America has become a country that projects everything that it is not and condemns everything that it is.

Somehow our elected leaders were subverting international law and humanity by setting up secret prisons around the world, secretly kidnapping people, secretly holding them indefinitely, secretly not charging them with anything, secretly torturing them. Somehow that overt policy of torture became the fault of a few “bad apples” in the military.

Somehow back at home, support for the soldiers meant having a five-year-old kindergartener scribble a picture with crayons and send it overseas, or slapping stickers on cars, or lobbying Congress for an extra pad in a helmet. It’s interesting that a soldier on his third or fourth tour should care about a drawing from a five-year-old; or a faded sticker on a car as his friends die around him; or an extra pad in a helmet, as if it will protect him when an IED throws his vehicle 50 feet into the air as his body comes apart and his skin melts to the seat.

Somehow the more soldiers that die, the more legitimate the illegal invasion becomes.

Somehow American leadership, whose only credit is lying to its people and illegally invading a nation, has been allowed to steal the courage, virtue and honor of its soldiers on the ground.

Somehow those afraid to fight an illegal invasion decades ago are allowed to send soldiers to die for an illegal invasion they started.

Somehow faking character, virtue and strength is tolerated.

Somehow profiting from tragedy and horror is tolerated.

Somehow the death of tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of people is tolerated.

Somehow subversion of the Bill of Rights and The Constitution is tolerated.

Somehow suspension of Habeas Corpus is supposed to keep this country safe.

Somehow torture is tolerated.

Somehow lying is tolerated.

Somehow reason is being discarded for faith, dogma, and nonsense.

Somehow American leadership managed to create a more dangerous world.

Somehow a narrative is more important than reality.

Somehow America has become a country that projects everything that it is not and condemns everything that it is.

Somehow the most reasonable, trusted and respected country in the world has become one of the most irrational, belligerent, feared, and distrusted countries in the world.

Somehow being politically informed, diligent, and skeptical has been replaced by apathy through active ignorance.

Somehow the same incompetent, narcissistic, virtueless, vacuous, malicious criminals are still in charge of this country.

Somehow this is tolerated.

Somehow nobody is accountable for this.

In a democracy, the policy of the leaders is the policy of the people. So don’t be shocked when our grandkids bury much of this generation as traitors to the nation, to the world and to humanity. Most likely, they will come to know that “somehow” was nurtured by fear, insecurity and indifference, leaving the country vulnerable to unchecked, unchallenged parasites.

Luckily this country is still a democracy. People still have a voice. People still can take action. It can start after Pat’s birthday.