Shocking Interview with Unembedded, Independent American journalist in Iraq

[Strider]

going from right-wing nutcase to right-wing is NOT liberal!

OK, I am exaggerating, but there's quite a bunch of radical US nationalists here who will not believe in any wrong by Bush even if he admits it.

CFC OT has become (!) a place where liberals and socialists can speak their minds, but by no means is it left of center as a whole!

A few months ago OT was extremely liberal/socialist. Now however, there are more and more right-wingers appearing everyday.

 

[newfangle]

OK, I am exaggerating, but there's quite a bunch of radical US nationalists here who will not believe in any wrong by Bush even if he admits it.

Name one. And provide evidence.

 

[Peri]

But sadly these right wingers dont have any interesting or constructive comments to make. Instead of reading good counter arguments I end up reading 'I am right and you arent going to change my mind la la lala' or my favourite 'I suppose America is evil ' as a response to any criticism of the USG.

Moderator Action: Warned for trolling
Please read the forum rules: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=422889

 

[Peri]

Name one. And provide evidence.

That is trolling and you should not encourage it.

 

[carlosMM]

A few months ago OT was extremely liberal/socialist. Now however, there are more and more right-wingers appearing everyday.

not true, just some very radical ones had left.
by European standards, an average US democrat is a 'conservative' to 'nationalist conservation intolerant religious fanatic' and [slight exaggeration] a Republican a case for whichever agency is responsible for monitoring anti-constitutional political activity. [/exaggeration]


What is true is that many right wing radicals have stopped posting their usual lines as they get beaten with logically sound arguments whenever they surface.

 

[Bronx Warlord]

Well tell us then since you have been there:

When were you there? For about thirteen months give or take a few days from october 03 to september 04

So where exactly in Iraq have you been? Mainly various cities and bases southern Iraq and the Sunni triangle, along with Baghdad. Don't eat the food in Baghdad, ever.

How long were you there?See response to question one

Did you have any contact with ordinary Iraqis?Yes, moreso when I was wounded and taken out of my company kicking and screaming. I've met quite a few of them from children to elderly.

Did you become aware of any disregard for Iraqis by the US soldiers?Everyone has diffrent feelings, even in the military. I never saw anything as this man describes, I did meet some that were rather cold towards them, I also met some that went out of there way to help them. I did not meet any that enjoyed killing them.

What was the morale of the soldiers like?I can't speak for the military as a whole, nor any of the other services as my contact with them was somewhat limited. I know the Marines I served with were motivated and good to go, they knew there mission and there jobs.

Was there any evidence of tacit support for those Iraqis attacking US troops from the people?A few wackjobs here and there but for the most part many Iraqis hate them, look at who is doing most of the dying there.

How did Iraqi people react to the deaths of US soldiers?Can't speak for all of them because everyone is diffrent. I saw some that were happy about it and even threw rocks, I saw some that were sad and would pray for the dead and wounded. I saw others that had seen so much death in that hell hole of a country that they looked numb to it all.

Did you come into contact with any charities or 'contractors' working there?I met several workers from diffrent charities, red cresent/red cross, groups like that. I had also met some civilian contractors, many were good at there jobs and some were horrid... the horrid ones diden't last long.

Were you aware of any 'atrocities/mistakes' committed by US forces?I saw that in war crazy **** happens, I never saw abuse like ripping fingernails off or any of that crap. I did see some mistakes like fighting with one hand behind our back in places like Najaf and Fallujah, it cost us lives sadly.

Ok my turn

Have you ever been in the military of your nation?
Have you ever been in a combat zone?
Have you been to iraq?
Have you seen what is going on there with your own eyes?

 

[Strider]

not true, just some very radical ones had left.
by European standards, an average US democrat is a 'conservative' to 'nationalist conservation intolerant religious fanatic' and [slight exaggeration] a Republican a case for whichever agency is responsible for monitoring anti-constitutional political activity. [/exaggeration]


What is true is that many right wing radicals have stopped posting their usual lines as they get beaten with logically sound arguments whenever they surface.

Watch it, I'm a right-wing Nationalist. Only thing that I really differ from most nationalists is that I'm not religious.

 

[Peri]

No I havent which is why I wanted to hear from you.

 

[Bronx Warlord]

What are you talking about? You think that doctors from one of the most prestigious medical programs (at Johns Hopkins University) lied about the civilian figure? First of all, there have obviously been at least 10 times as many civilians killed, as there are much more Iraqis dead each day than U.S. soldiers. Second of all, what figures do you have to go with if not those? The Bush administration refuses to count the number of civilian dead, remember? Are you simply going to come up with a number that suits you?

I have no problems with a study being done, I just think that a study that estimates 20k-200k is not exactly well done. That is a huge margin, and I think they should try and narrow it down some more before I take it as fact. Is that too much to ask for?

From what I have seen on the ground there, 40-70k is a more accurate number than 100. Considering 80% of the country is rather calm, I would even say that many of the deaths are from combat in the sunni tirangle and terror attacks with things like ide's and carbombs.

 

[carlosMM]

Watch it, I'm a right-wing Nationalist. Only thing that I really differ from most nationalists is that I'm not religious.

no need to watch it - I know from experience that you are open to logic and reason (usually ;p). You are not dogmatic in your positions, so I wasn't even referring to you

 

[carlosMM]

I have no problems with a study being done, I just think that a study that estimates 20k-200k is not exactly well done. That is a huge margin, and I think they should try and narrow it down some more before I take it as fact. Is that too much to ask for?

From what I have seen on the ground there, 40-70k is a more accurate number than 100. Considering 80% of the country is rather calm, I would even say that many of the deaths are from combat in the sunni tirangle and terror attacks with things like ide's and carbombs.

hm, the study was done, and the results phrased carefully to make sure the real number is in the given margin - what's your problem?

second, you say 40-70k - !!!!!
your lower number differs almost as much from the study's lower number than your higher one from the study's higher!

 

[North King]

Certainly. Especially since it results in me gaining more for myself somehow.

Wow. That's pretty callous of you.

 

[newfangle]

That IS the ultimate goal. Callousness. Is there anything, errrrr, harder?

 

[North King]

That IS the ultimate goal. Callousness. Is there anything, errrrr, harder?

You're joking about prioritizing internet text over human lives. For some reason I don't find that funny.

 

[BasketCase]

Actually, NK, that thing about Internet text over human life probably wasn't a joke. We humans can't really afford to look at the Big Picture too hard, because the Big Picture is freakin' ugly. The tsunami that recently wiped half the Middle Eastern seaboard out of existence? That was a natural disaster that cannot be stopped. We will always have tsunamis, and earthquakes, and wars, and other disasters killing hundreds of thousands every year. We have to be able to turn away from that, and focus on our anger at Internet spam, and the flat tire on our car, and that kid who just sent a baseball through your kitchen window, and all those other little tiny things. We HAVE to ignore the Big Picture and focus on those little things, or we go crazy.

 

[North King]

Actually, NK, that thing about Internet text over human life probably wasn't a joke. We humans can't really afford to look at the Big Picture too hard, because the Big Picture is freakin' ugly. The tsunami that recently wiped half the Middle Eastern seaboard out of existence? That was a natural disaster that cannot be stopped. We will always have tsunamis, and earthquakes, and wars, and other disasters killing hundreds of thousands every year. We have to be able to turn away from that, and focus on our anger at Internet spam, and the flat tire on our car, and that kid who just sent a baseball through your kitchen window, and all those other little tiny things. We HAVE to ignore the Big Picture and focus on those little things, or we go crazy.

That's a bleak condemnation on all of humanity.

 

[BasketCase]

Did I type anything up there that wasn't true?

For all the complaints about this or that nation being "stingy" in its donations to tsunami victims, the most generous nations are donating something like a hundredth of a percent of their national GNP.

Take a look at the number of violent crimes where the police reports show witnesses didn't do anything to intervene and stop the crime from happening.

How many of us drive right past that guy with the cardboard sign saying "Will work for food" and pretend not to see him?

Stanley Milgram proved scientifically that most people will torture a person almost to death if ordered to do so.

Viewed from history's standpoint, the things allegedly going wrong in Iraq aren't anything special. Just par for the course. Either we exist this way or we don't exist at all. Which would you choose?