How to Win a War with FIVE ( 5 ) Bullets?
By LINDA GALE NOLEN
Apparently, the UK and the US military leaders believe their soldiers
can scare
the enemy with their mere presence. Not enough bullets, flak jackets,
green
uniforms and vehicles in a desert are just a few examples of how the
UK and US
soldiers were and still are being sent into war in Iraq.
It certainly seems to me to be a unique plan. What I don't understand
is how it is
possible to win with that plan. Perhaps our leaders also believe their
pompous
publicly advertised threats are as good as bullets? Just when it seems
the whole
mess can't get worse, it does.
I am full of empathy for all of them. I feel sorry for the leaders who
obviously are
without a clue of the danger they are in themselves and for those poor
souls
they have ordered into this insane war. Also, my thoughts and sympathy
extend
constantly to the families and friends of those sacrificed men and
women who
have been sold a pack of lies to induce them to give up their lives
for the good fight.
But, you must know too, it is not a good fight at all. When our own
leaders undercut
the patriotic men and women they send into battle it is beyond my
comprehension
how they can actually still believe there can even be a good fight.
I'm sure you've read about American and British mothers buying flak
jackets and
other necessities for their sons and daughters and sending them to
Irag in hopes
their children will live to come home eventually. You've also surely
read that the
military officials have not honestly addressed this shameful
situation.
When, in history, did mothers have to buy military flak jackets or
anything else that
used to be the standard military issued equipment?
As the article, which I included below, states, the UK soldiers were
not only given
the FIVE bullets for guns that hold THIRTY bullets, they were also
issued GREEN
uniforms and vehicles making them completely visible in the desert! Am
I the only
one who feels this is blatantly setting them up as easy targets? Oh,
no, I guess
I shouldn't think that. Only conspiracy nuts would come to such a
crazy conclusion.
Sure.
So, can someone explain the real reason for the military's diabolical
treatment
of their soldiers? I'm thinking they might as well tie one or both
hands behind
the soldiers’ backs....and maybe blindfold them. Why not?
Why stop at just FIVE bullets, no flak jackets green uniforms in a
desert, and a long
list of other necessities I’m sure you already know about.
There is so much more I can say about this atrocity, but I’m going to
assume you
also keep up to date on the real news too. I just want to point out
that what we read
months ago about our soldiers’ abandonment by their own military has
not been
corrected or improved but is getting worse.
Fear of punishment has kept so many soldiers silent, but, as we know,
everyone
has a breaking point. Everyone can take just so much and survival
instincts are
bringing them forward to let us know the truth, the ugly truth, that
too many
Americans don’t want to hear or think about.
Please think about it and find whatever way available to you to keep
this outrageous
treatment of our soldiers, and our allied soldiers, from falling into
the same cracks as
the 9-11-01 investigations and many other injustices and cover ups our
lying leaders
continue to avoid that you already know about.
**********************************************************
UK Soldiers Issued ‘ 5 Bullets Each ’ In Iraq
By Matthew Taylor
The Guardian - UK
2-24-4
A serving soldier reignited the row about equipment shortages
during the Iraq war last night, claiming he and his men
had been issued with just five bullets each for the entire conflict.
The unnamed soldier, who said
he came under fire several times on the frontline in southern Iraq,
told Channel 4 News:
"We had five rounds each to defend ourselves.
I actually crossed the border with five rounds.
"The magazine held 30 separate bullets but I was issued with
five separate bullets to last the entire hostilities of the war.
We came under fire in Um Qasr three or four times.
Not fire, it was more like ricochets."
The soldier's claims reopen the debate on equipment shortages
in the army.
Last month, the defence secretary, Geoff Hoon,
faced calls to resign
following the death of Sergeant Steven Roberts,
who was killed after being ordered to hand his flak jacket
to another unit because there were not enough to go around.
The soldier making the latest complaints, who is reportedly based
in Germany and served in Um Qasr, Az Zubayr and Basra,
risks losing his job and pension if his identity becomes public.
As well as receiving just five bullets, he claimed
the unit's camouflage nets and many of their
vehicles and uniforms were green, not desert brown.
The report said the men were also short of maps and body armour
and instead of radios, they were issued with a mobile phone and
instructed to call if they were attacked.
Last night, a spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said
it was impossible to comment on the specific
allegations without knowing the soldier's unit and role.
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1155599,00.html
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