New spin:.. Soldiers don't WANT to wear their armor

[SoCalDem]

According to some soldiers interviewed on CNN, they don;t wear it because it's too hard to climb with it..it's too heavy, too bulky..etc.. No doubt this is just to counter democratic claims that lives could have been saved with the proper armor,..


spin spin spin..

I wonder why they didn't interview some injured soldiers at Walter Reed and ask them how easy it is for THEM to climb these days....:grr:

Rover is still diligently working away in the basement of the WH.. I hope Fitz indicts the little weasel-bastard soon.

[babydollhead]

1. ask the 80 percent who died, who wouldn't have

[DS1]

2. The point is they never had the option

and besides, if it's too heavy, they're to weak

[babydollhead]

3. they only get one meal a day, that'd make anyone weak

[DS1]

4. where did you get that info?

[Captain Hilts]

8. MRE's have about 3000 calories I believe.

They're designed to be a once-a-day thing.

[jbnow]

17. There was a post on Daily Kos

Cindy had gotten a letter from another mom who had talked to his son soon after a few of his buddies had been killed in front of him. When asked what he was eating he talked about the microwave being broken and food wasn't coming in. They ate once a day and some examples were a cold 6 inch pizza or a cold hot dog (without a bun). Not quite so many calories there.

[madokie]

5. I read about this this last week in the local paper.

And the first thing I thought was bullshit. Trash talk from the re:puke:'s

[Miss Chybil]

6. Soldiers don't WANT to do a lot of things.

But, they do them anyway, because that's their job. I hated wearing my helmet. So fucking what? Nobody gave me a choice. It was my job to stay alive so I could help other people stay alive. Fortunately, I was never put to the test, but I still wore my helmet out in the field. If I didn't, I'm sure somebody would've been around to kick me in the head until I put it on.

[gratuitous]

7. Someone remind me again why military service is so noble

In order to score Republican talking points, soldiers are willing to go on CNN and sell out their dead and wounded comrades so that the Republicans don't look bad for failing to equip the military. Real noble there. Real upstanding and honorable. So true to the memory of the fallen.

[erpowers]

14. Very Honorable

These kids are fighting for the right reasons. This is not to say that Bush is right. Those kids want to fight for what is right and for freedom it just so happens that is not what bush wants.

You cannot interview kids in the military and expect them to say something bad about the President and other in government. That would lead to court martial. I think we need to blame this one on the media. They know these kids cannot really say what they want to say.

[gratuitous]

16. They've never heard of "no comment"?

These guys are being used, and as far as I can tell, being used willingly. They're in an illegal war, killing non-coms and dying by the dozen, and some of them are going on camera to say that they don't really want extra armor, armor that the Pentagon's own study shows would have saved hundreds of their comrades. "Gee thanks for the honor Sarge, but I'd rather honor my fallen comrades' memory by not shilling for a negligent administration. Ask someone else, couldja?" And damn if there isn't someone there to parrot the administration line, "for the right reasons." Well, they sure as shit aren't protecting me or defending freedom or any other feel-good GOP sound bite excuse. They're killing civilians and dying by the dozens to prop up a mistake, plain and simple.

[sandnsea]

23. Oh no, blame it on John Warner

and military leaders. They were the ones who trotted these troops out to a press conference on C-Span earlier this week. This is completely orchestrated.

[Jara sang]

9. Those guys are sitting ducks with all that armor.

Seriously, have you ever watch a grunt run with that stuff on? Add another 50+ lbs. in web gear/ammo and you are completely weighted down.

[The Traveler]

10. Might not be spin

Seriously. The best way to not die is to not be hit. Depending upon the tactical situation, you might be best off the shed the armor. It really does depend a lot on the job and such, as well as the soldier's own risk management strategy.

But, ya know, that decision is best left to the man in the field. The problem is not that some guys sometimes (or all the time) choose not to wear their armor ... the problem is that many who WOULD wear it have no armor or inadequate armor to wear. While I do not doubt the soldiers in question, that does not mean they speak for everyone over there.

[erpowers]

11. It Is True

Why would soldiers want to wear that bulky body armor that could save their lives. Did you not hear that the soldiers got down on their knees and begged Bush to go to war. It is just like how they sent back all that body armor that Bush tried to send to them. They also sent all those armored vehicles that Bush tried to send to them back to America. You know this is like a Bungee Jumper. They do not really want to wear those cords on their backs. Come on those things are so constricting and they stop them for enjoying the sensation of hitting the water.

Of course those soldiers do not want to wear their body armor. Just like cops who want us to sell gang members and other criminals armor piercing bullets. After all why would these soldiers want to come home to their wives, children, and other family members. :sarcasm:

I know that some people might be angry at my post. I do not take lightly the problems soldiers are having in Iraq. My point with this post is to point out how ridiculously foolish it is for the media to even try to put forth the idea that soldiers do not want to wear body armor. We all know that soldiers know what will happen to them if they do not wear body armor. I do not believe they want that to happen with all people they will have to leave behind. The problem is that the people the media really need to talk to are not here to say why they wish they had been given body armor earlier.

[bridgit]

12. bush's uncle is part of a defense consortium that provides anicillary...

and support materiel for the irag war; perhaps we should be asking the bfee how they are able to look themselves in the mirror while shaving their faces without a sense of deep and boundless shame, and yes...that would include the bfee women
http://www.infowars.com/articles/iraq/bush_uncle_profited_from_iraq.htm

[Zynx]

13. Actually, a bunch of Rangers said the same thing in Somalia.

We also got a lot of Rangers killed and wounded there.

[NuttyFluffers]

15. ... and they like going hungry or getting rotten food.

and they like missing limbs, helps them stay lighter to be more agile...

fucking revolting spin-think :puke:

[justabob]

18. You know, it may be spin in this case but

the whole question of protection vs mobility is centuries old... whether we are speaking of armoring people, horses, tanks or airplanes.

Having said that... if the soldiers indeed asked for armor and didn't get it, that is inexcusable; however, if the soldiers don't want to wear the the armor, that is their business and there isn't a lot we can do about it.

[SoCalDem]

19. This latest spin is in direct response to the pentagon's OWN report

that said they did NOT have the proper armor..If a soldier HAS the armor and chooses to not wear it, that's his decision, I guess...but if he gets injured and his fellow soldiers are injured trying to save him, then..well... there's that too

[B Calm]

20. Back at the start of the war, the republicans dropped the company

that was supplying body armor, for another company that contributed heavily to the GOP. The original company provided a much better product and was lighter.

[B Calm]

24. Simula given $12.5M body armor order ...

Then we can trade these off for a more favorable financial deal." ... company officials said Monday.

phoenix.bizjournals.com/ site_map/phoenix_sitemap_119.html - 104k -

[SoCalDem]

25. So... does this mean they will forfeit the order, or just make the armor

anyway and warehouse it until the next war?

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

21. Hell, when I was in, we didn't want to wear uniforms.

All most of us wanted to do was to get out of the military and get a real job.

[sandnsea]

22. Yep

The day after Hillary went on the morning shows about the armor, Warner had a press conference with a soldier who said he didn't want to wear it. Definitely the spin. Oh, and they can't release any studies about the armor because it would aid the enemy. I could almost buy that, if it weren't for the fact that "the enemy" is all over in the Iraq army and can look at the armor up close and personal.