An extremely disturbing article appeared in the London Guardian, describing exhaustion and combat stress reducing the effectiveness of US troops fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Guardian reports US troops harboring seething resentment against the US media and Washington politicians who offer misleading sunny reports of successful combat missions to justify ‘the surge.’ Many soldiers have become addicted to drinking ‘Rip it and ‘Red Bull’ to stay alert. The war has caused havoc in soldier’s lives - the prolonged absences generating large numbers of divorces, increasing numbers of suicides and emotional and physical trauma.
Anecdotal reports confirm what General Powell has been insisting for months, namely that the US army is ‘about broken’. The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have destroyed a staggering 40 per cent of the US army’s equipment totaling $212 billion. Officers are leaving in alarming numbers and only one-third of the regular army is designated as combat ready. These statistics fly in the face of misstatements by White House and Pentagon officials. More and more combat missions are being launched from the air causing a significant increase in Iraqi civilian fatalities fueling more resentment against the occupation forces. It is time for citizens across the country to break their silence and demand an immediate withdrawal of all foreign occupation forces from Iraq. This is the only way we can collectively demonstrate support for our troops and stop the mayhem we helped to create.
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