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Politics : Stockman Scott's Political Debate Porch -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: jlallen who wrote (24635)	8/8/2003 12:04:07 PM
From: Karen Lawrence	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 89467

"The 101st is burned out, plain and simple," one officer, in an e-mail, said of the airborne division operating in northern Iraq. Troops complain of conditions in Iraq By Rowan Scarborough THE WASHINGTON TIMES U.S. soldiers fighting a hunt-and-destroy war against Saddam Hussein loyalists say the Army is not doing enough to provide them better food, mail service and living conditions in Iraq. The infantrymen say they realize the Army's 5th Corps has launched major combat sweeps of towns west, north and east of Baghdad. Living conditions for soldiers under those conditions is always austere. But they say the Army could make improvements for units not in combat and ones resting up for the next raid. "The 101st is burned out, plain and simple," one officer, in an e-mail, said of the airborne division operating in northern Iraq. An Army official at the Pentagon said they were aware of the problems with quality of life. The official said acting Army Secretary Les Brownlee was briefed yesterday on a comprehensive plan to improve daily life by shipping in facilities for showers, recreation and food preparation. Army officials said in interviews that ongoing hostilities have made it difficult to bring in more permanent structures. A major complaint is food quality. Soldiers lived on vacuum-packed meals ready to eat (MREs) during major combat operations. They say that in the two months since Baghdad fell, there has been little improvement. Few units receive hot meals, although the Army has mobile facilities that can transport and heat up precooked meals. "Soldiers believe that the most powerful military in the world could provide more food variety and food supplements if a higher priority was given to soldiers," said a 5th Corps officer. The 5th Corps is headquartered near Baghdad's international airport. The Corps is comprised of the 101st Airborne Division, the 3rd and 4th infantry divisions and the 1st Armored Division. "They were willing to eat two MREs a day during combat, but they can't understand that now that ammo doesn't need to be hauled from the rear to the front, that food couldn't be hauled up instead," the officer said. Soldiers say mail delivery is slow at best. Those field PX stores that have opened often feature empty shelves. "Many soldiers have their T-shirts, socks and drawers wearing out after four months in country. Most lack access to field PXs and therefore even if the items were on the shelves, they could not replenish their requirements," the officer said. Shari Lawrence, a spokeswoman for Army Personnel Command, said the military has chartered 747 jets to clear up the mail backlog. "Unfortunately, some of the troops are moving, and you have to catch up with them," she said. "It's certainly not a perfect situation. The [Army] mail companies are working 24-hour operations to get mail out there. ... Mail is definitely a morale booster." Army Col. Mark Storer of the Defense Department's Military Postal Service Agency said deliveries should pick up once Baghdad's airport is able to accommodate more cargo flights. "We certainly hope the service improves as the area continues to stabilize," he said. In central Iraq's searing 120-degree heat, solders sleep in stuffy tents, in their vehicles or on the ground. Promised air-conditioned tents are slow in arriving. Lt. Gen. David McKiernan, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, said the extended combat is not degrading readiness. In a press conference Friday, he declined to say when Army units might be rotated out. "I have units that have been over here far longer than 90 days. My own headquarters has been over here on and off for two years, through both Afghanistan and Iraqi operations," he said. "I'm not worried about our units and our soldiers losing their combat edge. Their leadership will make sure that that does not happen. "There does become a point in time where the equipment needs to be pulled out and regenerated, maintained. And there is a time where forces need to be rotated. We do have plans, but they're all conditions-based. It depends on what the enemy does." A second Army official at the Pentagon said that because the 5th Corps' operating area is still a war zone, it is difficult to ship in permanent improvements. "It's still a little volatile over there," said the official. "They can't go in and set up permanent things until it stabilizes a little bit." There are about 160,000 U.S. troops in Iraq. Marines are working in the south, where the Shi'ite population was generally anti-Saddam and has not mounted a resistance movement. The Marine commandant has said the last Marine may leave Iraq by August. The Bush administration is trying to line up commitments from allies to send peacekeepers to Iraq, possibly to relieve the Marines and some Army forces.

To: jlallen who wrote (24635)	8/8/2003 12:15:44 PM
From: Karen Lawrence	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 89467

Mail is slow at best. No one is motivated. It's hot, dirty, chaotic and the return home date has been postponed three times. They are tired. They don't have enough food. The president is on a month-long vacation. Yet you state you communicate with people there who are motivated and the only thing niggling at them is negative press...which they don't see...yeah, right. Your claims are preposterous. Q&A: Daily life in postwar Baghdad Scott Peterson is currently in Baghdad. He traveled extensively in Iraq and Iran before the Iraq war. Since the end of hostilities, he has reported on conditions there. When you talk to individual soldiers, what's their state of composure given the recent attacks on US and British troops? Are they getting edgy? There are a combination of things eating away at the minds of American troops, as they pull duty in the scalding Iraqi heat. The spate of attacks is certainly raising alert levels across the country, but most soldiers in Iraq have been here for months, played critical frontline rolls during the war, and so are coping with the new stress. There is another remarkable thing that you pick up when you speak to troops that have been here long-term. They are tired - the kind of psychological tired that accompanies taking part, surviving, and conquering in war, and capture of Baghdad - and then watching that euphoria dissipate as their go-home date has been extended time and time again. Many troops are now concerned about how they will cope when they return to the US, and are worried that their victory will be tarnished with the mismanagement of the post-war phase. As an occupation force, they are the only game in town, and are blamed for much that goes wrong. Does the average Iraqi on the street believe the US will pull out before a lasting democracy or an orderly government is established? The average Iraqi on the street remains unsure of US motives in his country. One officer told me today, about this mismatch of expectations, that most Iraqis believed that when the regime collapsed, the Americans would "drive up and park with the full American dream: a house, two-car garage, white picket fence and a dog." Instead, there is only one thing that Iraqis - nearly three months after the war - can point to as an improvement since the fall of Saddam Hussein: freedom of speech. Other than that, the litany of complaints is long, and that means the window of opportunity for the US to put together a credible interim government is swiftly closing. How easy is it for people in Baghdad to get food and basic necessities for cooking, cleaning, and healthcare? Chaos still reigns in terms of most public services. Electricity remains the most troublesome, as temperatures climb toward 120 degrees. Food is not as big a problem, but sporadic water, spotty power, and chronic insecurity means that few new jobs are being created. Lack of electricity has meant that some hospital emergency wards have had to shut their doors from time to time. Iraqis say repeatedly - and seem to believe - that the US chief administrator for Iraq, Paul Bremer is "punishing" them for resistance to the US occupation, with the electricity cuts. The reality is that the weakness of the electrical grid, and sabotage, are thwarting efforts to put the system back together. Military engineers have met every day for more than a month to solve the problem - but Iraqis rarely believe that. How would you describe life in Baghdad now for an average Iraqi? In the daytime? After dark? Do US troops go on even higher alert after the sun goes down? Life in Iraq has been hard since the start of the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, but many remember when everything "worked" in Iraq in the 1970s. So, Iraqis spend their days trying to get by. Insecurity has changed their way of living, though. Iraqis have told me that they can't go out and buy shoes anymore, unless they travel - for safety - as an entire family together. And few venture very far after dark. US troops certainly go on a higher alert after dark, but with their night-vision capability, they have many more advantages than those who want to wage guerrilla-style attacks against them. If an Iraqi wanted to travel to another Arab country, and had the means to, how difficult would that be? Iraqis still have their old passports, and if those haven't expired, they can still travel to many nations in the Middle East. Jordan to the west by road is the gateway, since the Baghdad airport remains closed to commercial traffic. But that road is riddled with bandits - journalists' late-model GMC vehicles seem to be the target of choice for thieving gunmen.