George Bush says his worries about what might happen in 2041 have caused him to propose a radical overhaul of Social Security. George Bush would do better to worry about what is likely to happen by the end of his term, a likelihood brought on by his own reckless arrogance. Here are items from two newspapers, the New York Times and the Washington Post, from three days, Monday through Wednesday of this week:
Monday, New York Times: Columnist Bob Herbert quotes former soldier Aidan Delgado as saying troops in Iraq would keep glass bottles in their Humvees to shatter over the heads of Iraqi passersby, because the troops “hate being here.”
Monday, Times: Thirty-five Iraqis dead in attacks in Mosul and Baghdad.
Tuesday, Times: General Richard Meyers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff tells Congress that operations in Iraq and Afghanistan severely limit the military’s ability to deal with other armed conflicts and that if the U.S. has to engage in military operations elsewhere, they will likely be protracted and result in high casualties.
Tuesday, Times: Private Lynndie England pleads guilty to seven criminal charges relating to torture at Abu Ghraib prison. Her lawyers asked the court to hear testimony that Pvt. England suffers from learning disabilities and mental health problems.
Tuesday, Washington Post: One Marine pilot dead, one missing after their F-18 fighter jets collide over Iraq.
Tuesday, Post: Italian authorities investigating the shooting death of Italian secret service agent Nicola Calipari by American soldiers said, “It is likely that tension, inexperience and stress led some of the U.S. troops to react instinctively and with little control.”
Tuesday, Times: In September, Army recruiters enlisted a man who had just been released from a psychiatric ward, even though the man’s parents warned the recruiters about the man’s bipolar disorder, which should have disqualified him. The enlistment was eventually reversed, but both recruiters are still working at their positions. Recruiters told a Times reporter that they routinely change grades, invent diplomas, hide drug use and psychiatric and criminal records in order to fill their quotas. The Army has responded to this cheating by relaxing recruitment standards.
Tuesday, Times: Thirteen killed by car bombs in Baghdad and Mosul
Tuesday, Times: Explosion of a cache of arms in Afghanistan kills 34.
Wednesday, Post: Army officials now admit they for weeks lied about the fact that professional football player-turned soldier Pat Tillman was killed by his own troops in Afghanistan and that evidence of Mr. Tillman’s “friendly fire” death was burned. The army only told Mr. Tillman’s family the facts about his death when they feared soldiers returning to the U.S. would inform the family of the truth.
Wednesday, Post: Evangelical students, faculty and staff at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado have been found harassing non-evangelical cadets if those cadets refuse to convert to evangelical Christianity. This follows on the heels of the Air Force Academy’s long-running rape scandal.
Wednesday, Post: Bomb blast in Irbil kills 45, injures 160.
If we reach back to last week, we’d find a story in the Times about Marines in Iraq being so short-handed that they leave dummies guarding their base while they’re out on patrol.
If we reach back to World War II, we’d find a study showing that after 60 days of continuous combat, 98 percent of surviving soldiers will have become psychiatric casualties. Most of the troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan are into their second one-year rotation. Some troops are into their third.
The U.S Army and Marines will soon be broken forces, if they’re not broken already. The rank-and-file troops have been failed by their command structure and Congress and they have criminally failed by Defense Secretary Donald Rumseld, by Vice President Dick Cheney and by Mr. Bush. They have not been given the material, training or support to perform the tasks they’re assigned and their ranks have been swelled by people you wouldn’t want living in your neighborhood, much less representing your nation.
What we’re going to see before the end of Mr. Bush’s term is a legion of soldiers returning to lives, communities and families where they no longer fit. Many will descend into substance abuse and violence and we’ll be seeing them on our streets and in our homeless shelters and prisons for decades. It’s a problem now; within months it will be a crisis and forever after it will be George Bush’s legacy.
Three Days in May
George Bush says his worries about what might happen in 2041 have caused him to propose a radical overhaul of Social Security. George Bush would do better to worry about what is likely to happen by the end of his term, a likelihood brought on by his own reckless arrogance. Here are items from two newspapers, the New York Times and the Washington Post, from three days, Monday through Wednesday of this week:
Monday, New York Times: Columnist Bob Herbert quotes former soldier Aidan Delgado as saying troops in Iraq would keep glass bottles in their Humvees to shatter over the heads of Iraqi passersby, because the troops “hate being here.”
Monday, Times: Thirty-five Iraqis dead in attacks in Mosul and Baghdad.
Tuesday, Times: General Richard Meyers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff tells Congress that operations in Iraq and Afghanistan severely limit the military’s ability to deal with other armed conflicts and that if the U.S. has to engage in military operations elsewhere, they will likely be protracted and result in high casualties.
Tuesday, Times: Private Lynndie England pleads guilty to seven criminal charges relating to torture at Abu Ghraib prison. Her lawyers asked the court to hear testimony that Pvt. England suffers from learning disabilities and mental health problems.
Tuesday, Washington Post: One Marine pilot dead, one missing after their F-18 fighter jets collide over Iraq.
Tuesday, Post: Italian authorities investigating the shooting death of Italian secret service agent Nicola Calipari by American soldiers said, “It is likely that tension, inexperience and stress led some of the U.S. troops to react instinctively and with little control.”
Tuesday, Times: In September, Army recruiters enlisted a man who had just been released from a psychiatric ward, even though the man’s parents warned the recruiters about the man’s bipolar disorder, which should have disqualified him. The enlistment was eventually reversed, but both recruiters are still working at their positions. Recruiters told a Times reporter that they routinely change grades, invent diplomas, hide drug use and psychiatric and criminal records in order to fill their quotas. The Army has responded to this cheating by relaxing recruitment standards.
Tuesday, Times: Thirteen killed by car bombs in Baghdad and Mosul
Tuesday, Times: Explosion of a cache of arms in Afghanistan kills 34.
Wednesday, Post: Army officials now admit they for weeks lied about the fact that professional football player-turned soldier Pat Tillman was killed by his own troops in Afghanistan and that evidence of Mr. Tillman’s “friendly fire” death was burned. The army only told Mr. Tillman’s family the facts about his death when they feared soldiers returning to the U.S. would inform the family of the truth.
Wednesday, Post: Evangelical students, faculty and staff at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado have been found harassing non-evangelical cadets if those cadets refuse to convert to evangelical Christianity. This follows on the heels of the Air Force Academy’s long-running rape scandal.
Wednesday, Post: Bomb blast in Irbil kills 45, injures 160.
If we reach back to last week, we’d find a story in the Times about Marines in Iraq being so short-handed that they leave dummies guarding their base while they’re out on patrol.
If we reach back to World War II, we’d find a study showing that after 60 days of continuous combat, 98 percent of surviving soldiers will have become psychiatric casualties. Most of the troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan are into their second one-year rotation. Some troops are into their third.
The U.S Army and Marines will soon be broken forces, if they’re not broken already. The rank-and-file troops have been failed by their command structure and Congress and they have criminally failed by Defense Secretary Donald Rumseld, by Vice President Dick Cheney and by Mr. Bush. They have not been given the material, training or support to perform the tasks they’re assigned and their ranks have been swelled by people you wouldn’t want living in your neighborhood, much less representing your nation.
What we’re going to see before the end of Mr. Bush’s term is a legion of soldiers returning to lives, communities and families where they no longer fit. Many will descend into substance abuse and violence and we’ll be seeing them on our streets and in our homeless shelters and prisons for decades. It’s a problem now; within months it will be a crisis and forever after it will be George Bush’s legacy.
© Mark Floegel, 2005