Does anyone really know what is going on in Iraq, it doesn't seem that we are getting all the information, or let me say all the correct information? I don't know for sure if I am the only one that feels this way, but I really don't think so. Being a veteran, it breaks my heart to see what are troops are expected to do with the limited amount of men and resources they have. I think the whole situation is bad, from the plan of action on down. We are constantly being told that there are outside elements that have infiltrated Iraq and they are the ones that are causing all the trouble. But is this true? Not according to most news journalists I have heard. They state it is just the opposite. That most of the rebels are the people that were formerly in privileged positions with the old Sadam regime.

Iraq Oil Fires
Photo Source: NASA

I still say we shouldn't have invaded Iraq. It was something for the U.N. to handle. Oh I know the U.N. has a bad record in these matters, but isn't that what it was created for? Maybe we should work on trying to improve the U.N. so it can handle these situations. All that business about terrorists being in Iraq and working with Sadam, all seems to be just a bunch of bunk now as is the question of weapons of mass destruction. I would like to know how we think we can ever get that country on the right road the way we are handling the situation? It seems like every day we lose more and more soldiers, not to mention the amount of Iraqis that are dying. Just today as I am writing this article, it was announced that over 70 people were killed or wounded in a mortar attack on a mess hall on a U.S. base. Mortars are not really long range weapons. A medium range mortar has a range of about 5700 meters or about 3.5 miles. This range is from the mess hall not from the edge of the camp. The mortars must have been very close and undetected How can this be? Its most likely due to the fact that we don't have enough troops to patrol properly or maybe some Iraqis troops were looking the other way. Even heavy mortars have a range of about 7200 meters or 4.5 miles. Now I don't know how big these camps actually are but I am willing to bet they are fairly large.

Another thing that bothers me is the casualty counts. It seems we are being slipped the bad news a little at a time. First you will hear of an attack and you will be told a total of 20 people were killed. At this point you know nothing more, not even how many were from our military. Some time later you are given a higher count and maybe told that some were Americans. Finally you are told a higher number and given a figure for American dead. One thing about this was that is different, is that we are not given a daily count of wounded as we were during the Vietnam War. Could this be because if the American public knew the total amount of wounded they would be so appalled that some would demand that we withdraw ? Another thing we seem to be in the dark on is the amount of deserters. Oh yes there are deserters! Now hold on to you hats. CBS says that the Pentagon states that over 5,500 service people have deserted, as of December 21, 2004, rather than go to Iraq. Many of them state that they just don't believe in this war and are not cowards. Many of these former military have moved to Canada.

Many of the soldiers and marines that are in Iraq are ill equipped. Can you believe that an American Army doesn't have what it needs? When Donald Rumsfeld visited the middle east, he received many complaints about the lack of armored vehicles. Troops told him that they had to go out on patrol in unarmored Humvees. They also complained about having to go through junk piles looking for things like bullet proof glass that wasn't damaged too badly to use on their vehicles. This is a sad state of affairs indeed. To make matters even worse, a Warrant Officer that was in charge of supply, did the age old thing that supply officers do, he got hold of some items that were needed by his unit that weren't being used and distributed them. He is now waiting to be Court Marshaled. On top of all this the troops that are in Iraq are routinely having their tours of duty extended. Talk about fostering low morale, it seems that we are specialists in that area. Some troops don't even have protective vests.

So there we have it, a mismanaged war, not enough troops, not enough equipment, low morale, extended tours, secret causality figures, wrong info on who the enemy is and a high amount of desertions. Sounds pretty grim doesn't it? But we just keep doing the same thing over and over. The people in our armed forces are brave people. They are capable of carrying out the hardest and most perilous tasks, but they are being abused by policies that show no feeling for the people in the service. All people, even the military, should be treated fairly and should have competent leaders and the necessary equipment. The president has proposed that 540 people be cut from the Veterans Administration in his 2005 budget. The president had asked in 2003 to cut the combat pay for those serving in Iraq from $225 to $150. I bet you didn't know the soldiers in the British Army are paid way more money than soldiers in the U.S. Army? To see how much more you can go to this site for their pay scale: ( Copy and paste the address into your browser address window) http://www.army.mod.uk/servingsoldier/condofserv/mm/pay/ss_cos_mm_pay_rates_sldr_w.html
To see the pay proposed pay scale for U.S. soldiers for 2005 you can go here: http://www.dfas.mil/money/milpay/pay/proposed-paytable2005.doc
The British pay scale is in pounds and the one pound is about $1.70 U.S.

I would also like to mention the fact that we allowed Sadam's lawyers to pass a message to the fighters. Many will say it wasn't us but the Iraq interim government who did this, but is really the government right now?

I believe Iraq is a time bomb and that if we stay on the course we are on, thing will only get worse. I hope I am wrong, but only time will tell.