US Troops "Naïve Mercenaries"?

Do you ever wonder what the liberal press really thinks about our soldiers fighting in Iraq?
They claim to be against the war but for our soldiers.
They lie.

From the Washington Post

My comments in red.





William Arkin : "Troops Should Be Happy We Don't Spit at Them"

I’m all for everyone expressing their opinion, even those who wear the uniform of the United States Army. But I also hope that military commanders took the soldiers aside after the story and explained to them why it wasn’t for them to disapprove of the American people…

Mr. Arkin states "even those who wear the uniform" as if their opinions were somehow beneath those who sit on their ass enjoying the freedoms others have died for. He doesn't believe our military should expect public support...that somehow they must earn it.
Haven't they done that already? Who is he to cast judgment?
Another pompous ass running at the mouth.

These soldiers should be grateful that the American public, which by all polls overwhelmingly disapproves of the Iraq war and the President’s handling of it, do still offer their support to them, and their respect.

The soldiers should be grateful? They are risking their lives every day. We are the ones who should be grateful. How can any reporter be so stupid and out of touch. Without them, he wouldn't be able to print the trash he calls journalism. Soldiers, Marines and Sailors don't choose what wars they fight. They follow orders.

Through every Abu Ghraib and Haditha, through every rape and murder, the American public has indulged those in uniform, accepting that the incidents were the product of bad apples or even of some administration or command order.

Again...the isolated incidents of a few outweigh all the hard work and risks these brave men and women have taken. He acts as if our military has conducted a campaign of systematic rape and murder. He fails to mention the atrocities committed by our enemies which in comparison, far outweigh any injustices committed by American forces. His claim that the American public has indulged our military is preposterous and disgusting. Bad apples? More like bad journalism.

Sure it is the junior enlisted men who go to jail, but even at anti-war protests, the focus is firmly on the White House and the policy. We just don’t see very man “baby killer” epithets being thrown around these days, no one in uniform is being spit upon.…

Is this man saying that our military deserves to be spit on? I'd like to see him try. I would enjoy watching him trying to pick up his teeth.

So, we pay the soldiers and decent wage, take care of their families, provide them with housing and medical care and vast social supporter and ship obscene amenities into the war zone for them, we support them in every possible way, and their attitude is that we should in addition roll over and play dead, defer to the military and the generals and let them fight their war, and give up our rights and responsibilities to speak out because they are above society?

Decent wage? Starting in 2007, the starting pay for an enlisted man is $1207 per month. That's less than $15,000 per year. Nobody joins the military to get rich. Money wasn't the reason they joined but honor and a sense of duty is something that William Arkin could never understand.
Housing? I'm willing to bet that this man (I'm being generous here) has never lived in barracks or on a ship.
Healthcare? Considering that they are risking their lives, I think it's only fair that they receive decent medical care. Artificial limbs and other severe injuries are also part of the deal.
And as for those obscene amenities, I guess he must be talking about the hot tubs and caviar I sent over last year. Or maybe he doesn't think they deserve bullets to go with their M-16's.

But it is the United States and the price we pay for a mercenary - oops sorry, volunteer force that thinks it is doing the dirty work.
If I weren’t the United States, I’d say the story end with a military coup where those in the know, and those with fire in their bellies, save the nation from the people.

This human excrement dares to call our military mercenaries and then calls for a violent overthrow of our government. Isn't this treason? This goes far beyond "freedom of speech" and far beyond the bounds of human decency. This man better watch his back or he will get what he deserves. In all my life, I've never seen such filth from a major newspaper. The Washington Post should be ashamed and Mr. Arkin should have his ass kicked (for a start).
Maybe this is one opinion that he should have kept to himself.



The entire article can be read here.