American Soldiers Becoming Depressed, Disillusioned
by Ian Mosley
The American infantry soldiers still on the ground in Iraq are becoming increasingly depressed, demoralized and disillusioned. A few of them force down the neocon Kool Aid about making Iraq a democracy. By the third or fourth tour, it’s getting to be more about survival than idealism. They volunteered to defend America from real threats, not to die in Iraq for Israel and Halliburton.
The International Herald Tribune reports that: “In interviews with more than a dozen soldiers over a one-week period, most said they were disillusioned by repeated deployments, by what they saw as the abysmal performance of Iraqi security forces and by a conflict that they considered a civil war, one they had no ability to stop. They had seen shadowy militia commanders installed as Iraqi Army officers, they said, had come under increasing attack from roadside bombs - planted within sight of Iraqi Army checkpoints - and had fought against Iraqi soldiers whom they thought were their allies.”
When push finally comes to shove over there, on whose side will the so-called “Iraqi Army” fight? At whom will all those guns we handed over to them be pointed? Or will they drop their guns and run away as the more-motivated private militias fight it out to control Iraq? (more…)