Yankee army, enervated, all petered out and in crisis in Iraq ?

roscommon | anti-war / imperialism | other press

Sunday August 12, 2007 13:13

by Padraig Murphy - Cosantoiri Siochana

Officers educated at the elite West Point academy are leaving at a rate not seen in 30 years, with the consequence that the US army has a shortfall of 3,000 commissioned officers

In today's issue of the Observer, Peter Beaumont in Baghdad reports that the US occupation army is enervated, all petered and in crisis: "Exhaustion and combat stress are besieging US troops in Iraq as they battle with a new type of warfare. Some even rely on Red Bull to get through the day. As desertions and absences increase, the military is struggling to cope with the crisis".

US marines asleep at their base in Falluja, Iraq. Photograph: Nicolas Asfouri/AFP/Getty images

Excerpts : "The anecdotal evidence on the ground confirms what others -prominent among them General Colin Powell, the former US Secretary of State - have been insisting for months now: that the US army is 'about broken'. Only a third of the regular army's brigades now qualify as combat-ready. Officers educated at the elite West Point academy are leaving at a rate not seen in 30 years, with the consequence that the US army has a shortfall of 3,000 commissioned officers - and the problem is expected to worsen".

"The army's exhaustion is reflected in problems such as the rate of desertion and unauthorised absences - a problem, it was revealed earlier this year, that had increased threefold on the period before the war in Afghanistan and had resulted in thousands of negative discharges"

"In a radio interview, America's 'war tsar' Lieutenant General Douglas Lute has called for the nation's political leaders to consider bringing back the draft to help a military exhausted by wars in Iraq and Afghanistan".

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Comments (7 of 7)

Wahhh?

by R. Burton

Sat Aug 18, 2007 02:58

44 out of over 507,802 End Strength is an epidemic?, hardly is this a Wahhhh?

US army suicides hit 26-year high

by pat c

Fri Aug 17, 2007 15:10

Theres certainly a crisis. So far this year 44 US soldiers have taken their own lives. Heres an excerpt from a BBC article. More at the link.

US army suicides hit 26-year high

Long conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq have put troops under strain
At least 99 American soldiers killed themselves last year, the US army's highest suicide rate in 26 years, according to a new report.
The rate of 17.3 suicides per 100,000 soldiers compares with 12.8 in 2005, officials said.

Twenty-eight of the soldiers who took their own life last year did so while serving in Iraq or Afghanistan. The army listed failed relationships, legal and financial issues and work stress as factors behind the suicides. Two soldiers' deaths from last year are still being investigated. If confirmed as suicide, the figure for 2006 will climb to 101.

The highest number recorded was 102 in 1991, the year of the Gulf War - but more soldiers were on active duty then, meaning the rate per 100,000 soldiers was lower than in 2006.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6950158.stm

neither journalism nor ligusitics be thy forte then

by gurgle

Mon Aug 13, 2007 15:52

The word means different things to different people, but almost nowhere beyond the confines of the US homeland is it generally taken to be an insult, except of course in the former anthem of the Sandinistas. Read about yankees and do less doodlying - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/yankee
:- "A humorous aphorism attributed to E.B. White summarizes these distinctions:

To foreigners, a Yankee is an American.
To Americans, a Yankee is a Northerner.
To Northerners, a Yankee is an Easterner.
To Easterners, a Yankee is a New Englander.
To New Englanders, a Yankee is a Vermonter.
And in Vermont, a Yankee is somebody who eats pie for breakfast."

racist tone

by not a journalist

Mon Aug 13, 2007 10:25

I'm not a journalist but I would immediately question why you use the term "Yankee army" in your headline.

Certainly, it's not a flattering piece on the US Armed forces but slipping at once into the pejorative does nothing to further your point.

Hmmm, Anectdotal, that means....

by Otto Skorzeny - ODESSA

Sun Aug 12, 2007 21:27

No Facts yet ,correct?

Anectdotally speaking, Marxiists were predominently Peadophiles, Goebbels said so- so it must be true....

What I find odd is the Figure which shows 37% of the american army hasnt deployed to afghanistan or iraq yet

actually its a girlie soldier...

by undefined gender

Sun Aug 12, 2007 19:12

either that or the marines have taken to wearing make-up and become rather effete...
anyway, Fallujah is where the experiment (post 9/11 failed, it ended with the assasination
of Margaret Hassan as Bush took the podium for his second term of office, no-one thought
to tell the Hawks).

The Uk armed forces are also banning access to computer sites such as IMC and myspace.

http://www.guardian.co.uk

we know the man is asleep and not dead because of where his hand is.

by angry woman

Sun Aug 12, 2007 16:25

What is it with men? Why do they sleep that way? You don't see them dying having a last clutch at the crotch, do you? Are they scared someone is going to bite it off?

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Yankee army, enervated, all petered out and in crisis in Iraq ?

Comments (7 of 7)