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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Rock_nj who wrote (381697)	3/29/2003 5:55:38 PM
From: DuckTapeSunroof	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

"Propagandist", yes, but mostly it's info-tainment.

To: Rock_nj who wrote (381697)	3/29/2003 6:10:18 PM
From: Emile Vidrine	Respond to of 769670

Wounded U.S. Soldiers Shocked at Iraqi Resistance Thu March 27, 2003 11:16 AM ET By Jeff Mason LANDSTUHL, Germany (Reuters) - For them, the war is over. A few U.S. soldiers were half the way home on Thursday, bearing wounds inflicted by Iraqis they thought they were liberating. Two army soldiers and one marine recounted to journalists how they came under fire at the weekend from Iraqi troops in civilian dress at the city of Nassiriya, scene of some of the fiercest fighting to date. "We were very surprised. We were told when we were going through Nassiriya that we would see little to no resistance," Marine Lance Corporal Joshua Menard told a news conference at the U.S. military's medical facilities at Landstuhl, Germany. A group of Iraqis in civilian clothes opened fire on Menard as he and six other marines approached them on a bridge near Nassiriya on Sunday, he said. "We were more prepared for what happened in the Gulf War when they turned over and surrendered most of the time... They weren't rolling over like we thought they would," Menard, 21, from Houston, Texas, said, with his left hand bandaged. Beside him, in hospital robes, sat Army Staff Sergeant Jamie Villafane and Sergeant Charles Horganof the First Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment. They told of being hurled out of their Humvee jeep by an Iraqi missile in a separate attack. "The amount of resistance, some of it I don't understand. I mean we're there to help them to get them out of the regime. But you have to understand they are being threatened to fight against us," said Villafane, 31, from Long Island, New York, his heavily bandaged left arm resting on a pillow. JUST LIKE THE MOVIES Villafane said his battalion had been briefed that Iraqi soldiers might disguise themselves in civilian clothes, but he was still surprised when it happened. "It was a shock that they would actually do that given the treatment we try to give them. We try to treat them fairly... I guess they have to do whatever they have to," Villafane said. Horgan, 21, from Helena, Montana, said he was less surprised to see Iraqi troops fighting back. Horgan, whose right leg and foot were ripped open when he was blown from his gunning position, described seeing an incoming missile and barely having time to warn his colleagues before it struck. "It was just like in the movies. I thought 'Oh my God, I'm going to die'," he said, adding he feared as he was thrown to the ground that he might lose his legs. "I looked down and saw I had my legs. I was pretty relieved about that." The three wounded men said they felt a sense of guilt at leaving friends behind in Iraq. "I'm relieved that I'm out of that sort of thing. I'm also kind of sad that I'm not with the guys who protected me," Horgan told reporters. All three will head for the United States for further treatment, Horgan needing extensive physiotherapy if he is to walk again. Villafane said that before the war he had already had thoughts about ending his term in the military, after 12 years of service. "I made a decision before this actually started with my family that I was going to get out... This kind of just put the icing on the cake," he said. Horgan said his thoughts were more on recovering. "Nobody can be shot and say 'Wow, I really want to go back out there. That was great'," he said. The three also said they hoped any anti-war sentiment at home would not turn into acrimony against soldiers. "You may be against the war, but don't be against the soldiers there who are fighting it. I joined to serve my country but when I was there I was fighting to protect my friends," Horgan said. Landstuhl, America's largest military hospital outside the United States, is currently treating 72 patients from "Operation Iraqi Freedom," 24 of them wounded in combat. Five are in intensive care. The hospital is expanding to 320 beds, doubling its normal capacity.