Troops echo frustration with war critic

Troops echo frustration with war critic By KIMBERLY HEFLING, Associated Press Writer
2 hours, 15 minutes ago



JOHNSTOWN, Pa. - While Staff Sgt. Randy Myers was dodging roadside bombs in Iraq, his congressman was calling the war a lost cause.
Sixteen-term Rep. John Murtha (news, bio, voting record), a decorated Vietnam veteran and military hawk, has become the face of the Democrats' anti-war movement since he called for the withdrawal of U.S. troops last fall. His oft-repeated criticism of the Bush administration's war policies also has earned him the wrath of Republicans.

At a welcome home ceremony this week for Myers and other troops from the Johnstown, Pa.-based 876th Engineer Battalion, the crowd cheered when a Murtha aide welcomed the troops on the congressman's behalf.

Myers said he backs Murtha, an opinion echoed by a number of other troops and their families. Several share his frustration with the conflict.

"I'm not sure we're doing a whole lot of good," Myers, 46, said of the U.S. presence in Iraq. "Everybody thinks we are. We're trying to, but we're not going to change what they want to do, and if they don't want to change, they're not gonna."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060621/ap_on_el_ge/murtha_hometown_troops;_ylt=AjGTa3z_b9ZEjE30tQ0nr3WMwfIE;_ylu=X3oDMTA4NGRzMjRtBHNlYwMxNjk5


There are many quotes from the troops supporting Murtha in the article. So much for Murtha hurting the troops, they are with him. This was a good read.

To me it reads that the troops are frustrated with Murtha. Maybe it's just me.

:shrug:

I bet 90% of them believe that Saddam was responsible for 9/11 thanks to the Bushbots and they don't realize that the folks who sent to war never served and the ones who are most critical are decorated veterns.

You sorely underestimate the intelligence of the enlisted!
Give them a break, will ya?

that think Saddam did 9/11. They're not stupid but they are, to a certain extent, brainwashed.

a lot of info is carefully kept away from the troops, even in this age of easily obtainable news.

and all, at some point, have access, depending on where they are.
They aren't all on the "temporary" :sarcasm: bases, at the same time.

US Bases in Iraq: Part I: Baghdad
http://indexresearch.blogspot.com/2006/04/us-bases-in-iraq-part-i-baghdad.html

I don't know many kids, right out of high school, that are 'on top' of ANY news!
But not all that are deployed there are high school kids either.

"The Air Force's air-conditioned tent camp lies within 300 yards of an extremely active flightline.
It is inside a larger Army-controlled area. There are trained dogs here,
as well as a movie theatre, washers and driers, popcorn machines, air conditioned SUVs,
a broadband satellite internet service and a chapel."

"The 48th Brigade Combat Team’s headquarters here is considered the low-rent district,”
wrote David Herschman. With a lighter note than the above reporters, he wrote:
“There’s food provided by KBR — not Army cooks — and it’s excellent ...
The tents have full-time electricity and wood-framed doors that cut down on dust
and allow soldiers to walk in and out without crouching.
There’s Internet access around the clock and AT&T phone service..."

US Camp Victory – al-Nasr, Baghdad
"The Pegasus Dining Facility also has “a short-order grill, salad, pizza, sandwich and ice cream bars;
… a Burger King stand, and a PX (04.04) which offers
… televisions, gas grills, A/C units, microwave ovens, women's thong underwear and condoms.
"There are also “internet cafes, weight rooms and basketball courts."

"As of mid-2004, troops stationed at Camp Slayer had access to running water,
functional toilets and showers … and … had access to the internet."

"As of June 2004, Gulf Catering Co. was reported to be the contractor in charge of catering
the thrice-daily meals to soldiers stationed at Camp Victory North,
inside a massive air-conditioned and new dining facility equipped with two wide-screen televisions."

:shrug:

About how great the war is, how noble Smirk n Snarl are, how close to victory we are and if you don't agree, you're probably a terrorist.

The only poll taken of U.S. forces in Iraq, about 3 1/2 months ago:
72 percent of the American troops serving in Iraq think the U.S.
should exit the country within a year!

http://www.zogby.com/news/ReadNews.dbm?ID=1075

U.S. Troops in Iraq: 72% Say End War in 2006

An overwhelming majority of 72% of American troops serving in Iraq think
the U.S. should exit the country within the next year,
and more than one in four say the troops should leave immediately,
a new Le Moyne College/Zogby International survey shows.

The poll, conducted in conjunction with Le Moyne College’s Center for Peace and Global Studies,
showed that 29% of the respondents, serving in various branches of the armed forces,
said the U.S. should leave Iraq “immediately,” while another 22% said they should leave in the
next six months.
Another 21% said troops should be out between six and 12 months,
while 23% said they should stay “as long as they are needed.”

Different branches had quite different sentiments on the question, the poll shows.
While 89% of reserves and 82% of those in the National Guard said the U.S. should
leave Iraq within a year, 58% of Marines think so.
Seven in ten of those in the regular Army thought the U.S. should leave Iraq in the next year.
Moreover, about three-quarters of those in National Guard and Reserve units favor withdrawal
within six months, just 15% of Marines felt that way.
About half of those in the regular Army favored withdrawal from Iraq in the next six months.

Murtha. Those "cut & run" soldiers.

past that bitch! ;) maybe that'll shut her up? Naw... just wishful thinking! :)

It's not stupidity if that's all you're told by evil, greedy aholes.

since they're mostly poor, working class kids. However, when it comes to responsibility for 9/11, I feel like it was and is every citizen's responsibility to educate him- or herself. Saying they were "brainwashed" allows them to not fulfill a fundamental responsibility of a citizen of the republic.

Or am I being too harsh? I was not in the military, so maybe my opinion is out of bounds.

The only access people like you and me have to the truth is the internet. I don't think the troops have time to dig up the obscure sites like truthout and DU and consortiumnews. They get their news for their commanders, Faux News, and Limpballs. Remember that 30% of Americans in general think that Saddam did 9/11. That shows you how pwerful Rove's propaganda machine is.

been deployed, joined because of 9-11. My son was already enlisted during Clinton.
My son was guarding O'Hara International Airport after 9-11, for more than six weeks.
He had one week's notice that he was being deployed to Iraq, literally!
He got the word on Dec. 23rd and he was gone on Jan. 6th!
This was after they kept telling him he wasn't going! Right up to 12/23/04!
:grr:

In answer to your question. Yes, a little harsh.
My son has three and a half years of college under his belt.
Not all are "uneducated". They have to have 'at least', a high school diploma.

I've met many that make direct correlations to 9/11 when talking about what they are doing there. Also, and I know (hope) it's a minority, I have met a significant number that would have a difficult time outwitting sheep. I'm not sure I'd feel safe giving them a job pumping gas much less defending my country with loaded firearms.

full-time army guys are probably the most resistant to rational arguments based on history, as in, we created Hussein for our own purposes, and then demonized him for our own purposes.

or say, "hey, that's mean!" :) I'm married to a soldier and so I've met my fair share of dimwit soldiers. However, most of them are not idiots. I don't know many that link 9/11 and Iraq. I don't know many (very very few) that even agree with this war -- whether they consider themselves a republican, democrat, or independent. They are told what to say about Iraq and this administration and some'll repeat it to everyone except those people they know are "safe". Upon arriving in Kuwait and before entering Iraq, my husband and his fellow soldiers were given cards telling them what to say to the media. Blech!

the gung ho ones do almost seem to be reading the general talking points.

They start off perfectly intelligent people, sure, but then they're trained not to think for themselves.

That's why so many still think they're getting revenge for 9-11 and helping the Iraqis.

the troops. But I read just last night (in Octafish's terrific thread about consortiumnews.com):

As a result of Bush’s incessant propaganda, a poll of 944 U.S. military personnel in Iraq – taken in January and February 2006 – found that 85 percent believed the U.S. mission in Iraq was mainly “to retaliate for Saddam’s role in the 9/11 attacks.” Seventy-seven percent said a chief war goal was “to stop Saddam from protecting al-Qaeda in Iraq.”

source: http://www.consortiumnews.com/2006/052906.html

about current event s these days.

for me that paints a very big problem.

Kimberly Hefling is an AP writer, not an on-the-scene reporter. I don't know her poltical leanings, but her headline belies her journalistic expertise.

i can't believe they let that slide out into print.

"Echo" can mean "one who imitates another, as in opinions, speech, or dress" (Free Dictionary), so "Troops echo frustration..." means that they are in agreement with Murtha.

The writer is trying to sound "academic" and causing confusion in the process. This is a classic example of using a $20 word when a 20-cent word would have worked just as well if not better.

At least that's my take on it, but I'm not a professional journalist...

Whether it's just to lure both kinds of readers into the article, or to fly under the net of the White House censors who call up newspeople and scream at them for supposed bias, I don't know. But it's oily.

The headline can be taken two ways. Very poorly written.

It should read "Troops echo frustration ALONG WITH war critic".

for AP, not an on-the-scene reporter. She headlines and composes many AP stories for many news outlets. So may headlines are misleading. Many people read no further than the headline, even on this forum, unfortunatly. Makes one wonder wherein lies news writer's political leanings.

woke up with a jerk" (My wife says that about sleeping with me most of the time :)

Associated Press, CNN, MSNBC, and of course Faux all make confusing, ambiguious centrist headlines these days so they can basically go up the middle and not piss off any audience. The country is so divided and of course all they are worried about is their bottom line. Most of the time on the major networks they phrase headlines with a question mark nowadays. The gutless bastards don't want to be held responsible for shit and that way they can seem patriotic. There is no 4th estate anymore. Just droning fools with bad hairstyles. I saw a headline on CNN the other day while I was standing in Atlanta Hartsfield Airport. It said " Alien Abduction?" The story was about a Mexican national that was missing after coming into the country. They spin shit so perversely it's pathetic. That headline belongs in the National Enquirer which is of course what they have all become. Most local papers get their news from AP and that is the worst of the bunch. Reuters is better as its based in the U.K.

Reuters appears to hire better writers. It is frustrating because many people never get past reading the headline.

... I had my coffee!!

"I just believe everything he says is very true," said Cindy Saylor, 49, whose 19-year-old son
was among those who returned home.
"I think we need to get out of there. People are getting killed needlessly."

"I would like them out of there," said Bonnie Shable, 53, whose husband, Army Sgt. 1st Class James Shable,
served in Vietnam and Iraq and returned home with the battalion this week.
"I think we've done what we're going to do over there and it's time for everybody to come home."

"I'm not sure we're doing a whole lot of good," Myers, 46, said of the U.S. presence in Iraq.
"Everybody thinks we are. We're trying to, but we're not going to change what they want to do,
and if they don't want to change, they're not gonna."


National Guard Sgt. 1st Class George Wozniak, of Portage, Pa.,
is reunited with his wife Tammy and their children,
Alexis, 8, left, Kaelyn, 5, center, and Arianna, 1, right,
Monday, June 19, 2006, in Johnstown, Pa., when more than 30 troops
from the National Guard's 876th Engineer Battalion returned after
a deployment to Iraq in January 2005.
GARY BARANEC


========================

What a beautiful picture! ;) Right on!! This needs to bumped up the the greatest page!!

:kick: and Recommended!

In the words of Roger Waters:

Thanks for posting it!! :)

I recently upgraded my DVD software and found that I could now take stills of my DVD's, and that particular shot was the first one I took since it's just such a cool setting.

Pathetic.

the OP meaning? It goes to show how people will take time to refute and complain about ANYTHING. I got their meaning, it wasn't blatantly misleading.

What is Kimberly Helfing's email address?

That was what I thought at first too.

Especially the folks who get all their news from the headlines, rather than reading the articles.

To prove it, here is a shorter headline that says what the article means:
"Troops echo frustration of war critic"
Saved two letters of typespace and it's not confusing.

I think this and the first sentence are misleading. But it's the freaking AP, so what else can we expect.

And the first line implies that Myers' congressman is not supporting him. Hmm, maybe it just the writer's opinion.

Not from articles. Not from T.V - and not secondhand... from the mouths of the soldiers serving (in both Iraq and Afghanistan)...that's active, reserve and national guard.

:thumbsup:

It reads as if the troops are complaining about Murtha. Only after a careful re-reading can one see that maybe they agree with him. When troops have frustration with a critic, wouldn't that mean they are irritated by him?

Echo is the key word here. They are repeating what Murtha has to say.

ech·o (ĕk'ō)
n., pl. -oes.

Repetition of a sound by reflection of sound waves from a surface.
The sound produced in this manner.
A repetition or an imitation: a fashion that is an echo of an earlier style.
A remnant or vestige: found echoes of past civilizations while examining artifacts in the Middle East.
One who imitates another, as in opinions, speech, or dress.
A sympathetic response: Their demand for justice found an echo in communities across the nation.
A consequence or repercussion: Her resignation had echoes throughout the department.
Repetition of certain sounds or syllables in poetry, as in echo verse.
Music. Soft repetition of a note or phrase.
Electronics. A reflected wave received by a radio or radar.

If they are echoing "frustration with war critic," then they are echioing those who are frustrated with the war critic, not echoing the war critic's frustration. Those who are frustrated with the war critic are people like Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh, etc.

Get the hell out as soon as possible.

or another would be more like it. The old one is still there...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060621/ap_on_go_co/murtha_hometown_troops

Back from Iraq, some troops echo frustration of war critic Rep. John Murtha
http://news.newstimeslive.com/story.php?id=86139&category=Politics

to blast Murtha. Two questions:

- How long will it take them to figure out that the SGT agrees with Murtha?

- How long before they ask; "why does that soldier hate 'Murika'"?

"critic?"

It sounds like they are frustrated with Murtha. I thought it was going to be one of those "you're downing our morale things."

its a great story, forget about the darn headline and talk about the actual story!

to read: Troops echo frustration over war in Iraq. Maybe Ms. Hefling doesn't appreciate her headlines being changed. Many many people do not read past a story headline, that is why the fuss. get it?

I think the Democrats should mirror the conservative argument against no deadlines for welfare recipients. The U.S. public doesn't like the Iraqis anyway in general, and though such an argument is likely bad public policy, it's great politics, and that's all we need right now in order to win.

Example: "Republicans are creating a 'culture of dependency' among Iraqis by telling them that we'll never leave unless they ask us. It's time for Iraqis to stand up. We've provided them the support, knowledge, and the tools to succeed. It's time to let Iraqis assume responsibility for their destiny. We know that in a culture of dependency, inaction is the rule."

That's Web Headline Pittsburgh Post Gazette puts on same story. Interesting the people quoted as frustrated with Murtha are all civilians not the troops who actually had their butts on the line in Iraq. BTW, even though Murtha represents the district that area of PA has turned heavily Republican probably based on the Guns, Gods and Gays issue the Repubs like to tout.

At no time in the history of the US has what the troops thought mattered. And it doesn't matter now. We will be staying in Iraq well past 20 Jan 2009.

VOTERS!!!!!
;)

Fortunately, Illinois voted Kerry.

here's hoping that'll change this year! I have hope.

Vote absentee! I did last year and it was counted.

Welcome home! I hope you are doing well! :hi:

I am glad your son made it back safe. Take Care. :hug:

And I'm glad you're here at DU!
:hug: Backatcha! ;)

Jeanette in FL's remark, I mean: "So much for Murtha hurting the troops, they are with him."

Jane Fonda: Oh Richard, there's a horrible demonstration outside!

Other Protester: So -there's always a demonstration outside, Pat.

J: This one's different! They're angry and I'm afraid they'll strom the WH.

O: Then I'll just call out the Third Marine

J: You can't Richard!

O: Why not?

J: It IS the Third Marine!

:D

as though the soldiers are frustrated with Murtha for criticizing the war. And this sentence, "While Staff Sgt. Randy Myers was dodging roadside bombs in Iraq, his congressman was calling the war a lost cause," makes it sound as though they feel Murtha was betraying them while they fought and risked their lives.

Very slimy framing.

typical - just another lovely example of how multi-million dollar media works hand in glove with the republican party to try and shape public opinion.

STOP PAYING ANY ATTENTION TO THEIR MEDIA.
don't watch it. don't read it. don't buy it. just let it go to hell where it belongs.

As written, it states troops are frustrated with Murtha.

n/t