Why are our soldier living in Saddam's palaces?

[cornermouse]

What message does that send to the Iraqi people? The latest fragging incident took place in Saddam's palace according to CBS.

[Monkie]

1. these people are not stupid,i believe its no accident

that they are living in Saddam's palaces..
what better way to send just the right message to the occupied?
freedom&democracy is the lies they tell you...

[wakeme2008]

2. Safe

and they do have things like pools for them to use.... I have no problem with that..

[cornermouse]

3. Are you aware that our guys also have air conditioning and non-stop

electricity? The problem with that?

These are things that have not been lost on the Iraqis as they attempt to cope with summer without electricity, air conditioning, etc. In spite of heartwarming stories about Iraqis making statements like I heard this morning which is condensed to something like the following.

"I'm happy you blew up my house and everything that I own. I realize that this is the price of freedom and I am happy to pay."

These people have been conditioned to say things like that for years by Saddam. Do you really think he truely feels that way and would you feel that way if it was your house that the Americans blew up?

[wakeme2008]

7. Two different parts of the Military

IMHO 90% of the death of civilians and destruction of the electric grid in Iraq is done by Air Force and Navy pilots that do not face losing their lives and fly home to their Steaks and air conditioned beds every night..

Then there is the Army that is on the ground and have to face the people the Air Force just bombed their homes and killed part of their families.

This is War in the 20th Century and why I really get upset with the RW fundies taking over the Air Force Academy. Bomb people into the Stone Age and go home and go to your fundie church and tell people you are doing "God's Work".. :puke:

[izzie]

4. To win the hearts and minds of the people of Iraq.

Every one knows that.:dunce: Go to the corner and sit.

[ET Awful]

5. I'll just quote a certain British author of great reknown:

"As the applause dies down and the card game is resumed, the animals creep away from the window. However, they hurry back when they hear a furious argument break out. The argument is because Mr. Pilkington and Napoleon have both played an Ace of Spades at the same time. But as the animals look from Napoleon to Pilkington, from man to pig and from pig back to man, they find that they are unable to tell the difference."

[oblivious]

8. OMG. That's so appropriate. May I continue?

Chapter 3
..."Comrades!" he cried. "You do not imagine, I hope, that we pigs are doing this in a spirit of selfishness and privilege? Many of us actually dislike milk and apples. I dislike them myself. Our sole object in taking these things is to preserve our health. Milk and apples (this has been proved by Science, comrades) contain substances absolutely necessary to the well-being of a pig. We pigs are brainworkers. The whole management and organisation of this farm depend on us. Day and night we are watching over your welfare. It is for YOUR sake that we drink that milk and eat those apples. Do you know what would happen if we pigs failed in our duty? Jones would come back! Yes, Jones would come back! Surely, comrades," cried Squealer almost pleadingly, skipping from side to side and whisking his tail, "surely there is no one among you who wants to see Jones come back?"

Chapter 6
...It was about this time that the pigs suddenly moved into the farmhouse and took up their residence there. Again the animals seemed to remember that a resolution against this had been passed in the early days, and again Squealer was able to convince them that this was not the case. It was absolutely necessary, he said, that the pigs, who were the brains of the farm, should have a quiet place to work in. It was also more suited to the dignity of the Leader (for of late he had taken to speaking of Napoleon under the title of "Leader") to live in a house than in a mere sty.

..."You have heard then, comrades," he said, "that we pigs now sleep in the beds of the farmhouse? And why not? You did not suppose, surely, that there was ever a ruling against beds? A bed merely means a place to sleep in. A pile of straw in a stall is a bed, properly regarded. The rule was against sheets, which are a human invention. We have removed the sheets from the farmhouse beds, and sleep between blankets. And very comfortable beds they are too! But not more comfortable than we need, I can tell you, comrades, with all the brainwork we have to do nowadays. You would not rob us of our repose, would you, comrades? You would not have us too tired to carry out our duties? Surely none of you wishes to see Jones back?"

[DoYouEverWonder]

6. Why are Saddam's palaces still standing

after all the bombing we did? Especially his palace that became the Green Zone. I would have thought that especially after all the bombs we dropped during Shock & Awe that there would be nothing left of the place. Instead one of the most important targets was left pretty much undamaged. So if we weren't bombing Saddam's palaces, what the hell were we bombing?

[Jacobin]

9. "New boss, same as the old boss"

[oblivious]

10. Here the base seems to have been built around the palace. Is that right?

Soldiers find normalcy at Liberty

By ANTONIO CASTANEDA
Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD, Iraq — One young man cannonballed into the cool blue pool, another applied suntan lotion to his girlfriend's shoulders — and a third swung his machine gun onto a lawn chair. A pair of Black Hawk helicopters hovered above.

The men and women could have passed for American college students, but they were U.S. soldiers at Camp Liberty in western Baghdad, seeking a break from the war raging just beyond the blast walls. Hours later, some would don helmets and flak jackets, jump into armored vehicles and patrol through violent Baghdad neighborhoods.

...Even inside bases such as Camp Liberty and the adjoining Camp Victory that stretch for miles, insurgents continue to kill and injure soldiers by launching mortars and rockets over fortified walls.

But the most popular venue on base may be the palace pools ...

http://www.dhonline.com/articles/2005/06/11/news/nation/nat02.txt