Bush, December 9, 2004: "We're doing everything we possibly can to protect your loved ones in a mission which is vital and important. The concerns expressed are being addressed, and that is, we expect our troops to have the best possible equipment."
Schreck, a soldier from CT, January 23, 2005: "If there is one thing that has always stood out in my head during my deployment it was when we were told 'The Army will never put you in a losing situation.' At this point of my deployment that statement could not be further from the truth. Not only were our vehicles in an unserviceable condition, we were also putting the unit whom we were escorting at risk."
Guard and Reserve Deployment:
Bush, October 13, 2004: "The people I talked to, their spirits were high. They didn't view their service as a back-door draft. They viewed their service as an opportunity to serve their country."
Ssgrat, a soldier from AZ, October 23, 2004: "I'm just another typical Army National Guardsman who discovered that the 'National' in that phrase doesn't define which 'Nation' I would be serving in. I was activated for 12 months and then extended after our 7th month to complete the 12 months "boots on the ground" requirement which was established once we were already in-country and over halfway through our deployment."
Poor Training:
Donald Rumsfeld, December 7, 2003: "Our force today is as trained, equipped, experienced, combat hardened, benefiting from lessons learned in Afghanistan, benefiting from lessons learned in Iraq, benefiting from lessons learned in the post-major conflict portion of Iraq."
Awbalth, a soldier from CA, October 20, 2004: "The thing we needed most in Iraq wasn't bullets, body armor, cash, air conditioning, hot chow, or armored vehicles, although we were short on all of these things; the thing we really needed the most was training and preparation. We had no or very little training on urban combat tactics, raids to detain or kill targeted individuals, collecting, reporting, analyzing, and using human intelligence, developing sources of information, using interpreters, bomb/unexploded ordinance detection and disposal, handling of detainees, questioning detainees, use of non-lethal force, cordon and search operations, and riot control. This lack of training has caused the deaths of untold numbers of soldiers and Iraqis."
Private Contractors:
Rumsfeld, February 17, 2005: "Tens of thousands of positions previously held by uniformed military--mostly administrative or facilities related--are already being converted to civilian and contractor duties, thereby freeing up additional tens of thousands of military personnel for military responsibilities--an increased usable military end strength without an increase in overall numbers."
Bobbyyen, a soldier from CA, February 28, 2005: "There were contractors for everything. And sadly, often these contractors would work alongside Army personnel who were trained to do the exact same thing, but paid about a third as much...Not only does this prove how poorly treated our own troops are, but hiring these people actively increases our own recruiting problems."
Assistance For Returning Troops:
Rumsfeld, October 16, 2003: "We have to see that we manage the force in a way that's appropriate to them, and that they're paid properly, and that they have the right kind of certainty as to what's going to happen in their lives, and that we do the best possible job with respect to their families."
St_Recon, a soldier from TX, January 19, 2005: "Returned back from the war and looked forward to getting out of the army and starting a new chapter in my life. In a couple of days I will find myself homeless out here in the great state of Texas. Been asking for help since the first day I got back, but to my amazement not one company is willing to hire a war vet."
Reconstruction:
Rumsfeld, November 13, 2003: "We're making enormous progress. In terms of essential services, schools are open, hospitals are functioning, people are out on the streets eating in restaurants, and life is going on, and 23 million people have been liberated."
Awbalth, a soldier from CA, October 20, 2004: "Immediately after the 'war' portion of the fighting, we should have been prepared to send in a massive reconstruction effort. Right away we needed engineers to diagnose problems, we needed contractors repairing problems, we needed immediate food, water, shelter, and fuel for the Iraqi people, and we needed more security for all of this to work...Establishing massive reconstruction efforts that employed millions of Iraqis would have gone a long way toward proving to the Iraqis that we were there to help them, not steal their oil and get rich from reconstruction contracts paid for by the American taxpayer."
Wlfpack07, a soldier from NE, February 6, 2005: "Mobilized: January 23rd, 2003, Notice: Less than 24 hours, De-Mob: April 2004 Job Trained by the Army: Finance Specialist Job Assigned to Perform: Prison Camp Processing Line Administrator and Operational Supervisor Conducted Missions at: Camp Bucca, Camp Ashraf, Camp Cropper, Abu Ghraib Problems: Lack of equipment and training, poor leadership, cronyism, lack of accountability, poor communication, absence of integrity. Political Party: Independent Voted for in 2000: Bush Voted for in 2004: Kerry Hope to vote for in 2008: McCain Donald Rumsfeld: Should be fired. Will I re-enlist?: Absolutely not."
optruth.org
The Truth About Iraq From Those Who Served
(as opposed to the fantasies about Iraq from twits like brian)
Operation Truth is a nonprofit, non-partisan veterans advocacy organization. We are the first and largest Iraq veterans group in America. |
