I was wrong...we are failing in Iraq...

[TaurusCIA]

If it's true maybe he can go work for Kerry...a self incriminated war criminal.

KERRY: There are all kinds of atrocities. And I would have to say that, yes, yes, I committed the same kind of atrocities as thousands of other soldiers have committed, in that I took part in shootings in free fire zones; I conducted harassment and interdiction fire; I used 50-caliber machine guns which we were granted and ordered to use, which were our only weapon against people; I took place in search and destroy missions, in the burning of villages.

All of this is contrary to the laws of warfare. All of this is contrary to the Geneva Conventions. And all of this is ordered as a matter of written established policy by the government of the United States from the top down.

And I believe that the men who designed these, the men who designed the free fire zone, the men who ordered us, the men who signed off the air raid strike areas, I think these men, by the letter of the law, the same letter of the law that tried Lieutenant Calley, are war criminals.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RUSSERT: Thirty years later, do you stand by that?

KERRY: I don't stand by the genocide. I think those were the words of an angry young man. We did not try to do that. But I do stand by the description--I don't even believe there was a purpose served in the word ``war criminal.'' I really don't.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/nation/sidebars/rumsfeld.html

the men...the men...the men...the men...are war criminals, but not me John "50 cal" Kerry.

 

[Don Gwinn]

That's possible. My first thought was photoshop.

 

[Lone_Gunman]

I agree its very unlikely he did what is printed, but its in extremely poor taste to dupe people like that.

I hope his buddies got a good laugh.

I wonder if they will still be laughing when it is translated into arabic and used as a motivational tool for the insurgents in Iraq they are fighting?

 

[CarlS]

I have a sneaking suspicion that that's Lance Corporal Boudreaux standing right there, and he intended this to make his friends chuckle. I very much doubt that he actually killed that boy's father or impregnated his sister.

I tend to agree. Actually, it sounds like something I might have done many years ago!

 

[Michigander]

From what I understand, "Boudreaux" is kinda a generic name down south in the Louisiana area. Maybe like "Bubba" is elsewhere. IOW, the serviceman pictured is not actually "Boudreaux."

In any case, it is very poor taste to say the least.

(note: I also tried to find out if this photo was doctored before I posted it. To the best of my knowledge, this is the original, although there are others on the net that have different messages written on the cardboard, but those are pretty obvious touch-ups.)

 

[TaurusCIA]

To the best of my knowledge, this is the original,

No accusation intended. It looks original to me too but I'm not setup to analyze it thoroughly.

I had several similar idiots in boot camp with me years ago but we weeded most out before graduation. It looks like some still slip through.

 

[Drjones]

Michigander:

If you have such a low opinion of the people serving in our Armed Forces that you would not instantly think that photo was a joke of some sort (or perhaps photoshopped), you have big problems.

 

[AF_INT1N0]

Actually we are doing well in Iraq. Very well when you consider we've lost only a few hundred troops. You here these Demos talking about Vietnam. We lost moire folks in some weeks in Vietnam than we have so far in Iraq.
I'm not trying to trivialize the loss but it could be a hell of a lot worse.

As far as not finding WMD. Iraq has a heck of alot of desert and you don't need massive amounts of space to hide NBC. Saddams spide hole filled with anthrax would easily infect a city. I don't doubt for a second that they buried it somewhere (knowing Saddam under a school) If they don't have NBC then someone play a heck of a joke on the Bathists, because every Iraqi General we get ahold of is sure someone had them even if his army did not.

The problem is that the Kerry crew and the rest of them are skewed to far off kilter.

These are the same people that think if you take away everyones guns all of a sudden criminals will suddenly get jobs and lead productive lives.

 

[Reno]

I'm pretty sure it's photoshopped. It's very easy to fake text like that. If it's not, it's a joke. Deal with it.

 

[AF_INT1N0]

{ I'm pretty sure it's photoshopped. It's very easy to fake text like that. If it's not, it's a joke. Deal with it. }

Well said.

 

[mohican]

WonderNine
Senior Member

Registered: Dec 2002
Location: Shaolin Temple
Posts: 3676
No, if it was up to France the Middle East would be a nuclear wasteland right now as Saddam would have had nukes by now, provided by them of course.

The French have nukes?

And I thought that all they exported was greasy cheese and hairy women
Oh, and how could I have forgotten the Citroen?

 

[AF_INT1N0]

(And I thought that all they exported was greasy cheese and hairy women
Oh, and how could I have forgotten the Citroen?)

Hey!!! That's not funny!! The Citroen is a marvel of of modern technology!!
You marvel as to who would actually pay real money for one.

 

[RatFink]

I vote photoshop, either from Fark or Something Awful.

 

[Michigander]

If you have such a low opinion of the people serving in our Armed Forces that you would not instantly think that photo was a joke of some sort (or perhaps photoshopped), you have big problems.

I never said I have a low opinion of the people serving in our Armed Forces.

And if you read my posts, you'd see that I did indeed scrutinize the photo and did some research on it as well prior to posting it here. Obviously it is a joke; poor taste, but a joke nonetheless. I suppose I was trying to point out that not every American in Iraq is benevolent. There are many accounts of indecency, to say the least, of our troops in Iraq. Of course, I cannot verify them and even if they were verified ten ways come Sunday, certain people here at THR would never, ever, ever believe it. They would close their eyes, cover their ears and start humming.

However, perhaps the suicide rate of our Armed Forces in Iraq is an indication of how they feel about themselves. And when my country invades and occupies another country whiched posed us no immediate threat, let alone any threat at all, then yes indeed I have big problems.

 

[LawDog]

Personally, I thought the Lance Corporal Boudreax picture was a hoot.

Of course, I've actually been the 18-year-old soldier.

I can remember what is was like to be 18, blitzed out of my skull on testosterone, bullet-proof, and so high-speed-low-drag that angels were jealous.

*shrug*

Lot of things were damned funny when I was that kids age. Probably more than a few pictures of me laying about that would cause conniption fits amongst those with delicate sensibilities.

That kid is in a shooting war. There are people with Bad Intentions looking to toe-tag him, or his one of his buddies, with car-bombs and RPGs and ambushes.

He's either making fun of himself, or one of his squaddies. A laugh that he either needed right then, or one of his buddies needs right now. So he's blowing off steam with a picture, something to josh his friends with, something funny to him.

Used to be we understood that kind of thing.

LawDog

 

[7.62FullMetalJacket]

Back on topic,

we are doing good despite the best efforts of the left to stop it.

 

[Drjones]

And when my country invades and occupies another country whiched posed us no immediate threat, let alone any threat at all, then yes indeed I have big problems.

I was not mistaken.

You do have problems indeed.

 

[RKCheung]

Oh man, if you guys are offended by that tame picture, you would scream bloody mary at some of the ones I took over there...

These kinds of things aren't meant to be published, but when you are out there day in and day out working in dangerous situations, you need something light-hearted to keep your head straight.

 

[Brett Bellmore]

Nearly all primary and secondary schools are open.

Coalition has "rehabbed" 1,500+ schools (500 ahead of schedule).

Teachers earn from 12-25 times their former salaries.

One quibble: It's kinda important what those schools are teaching. The real enemy is pretty big on what they'd call "education", too.

 

[Khornet]

Michigander,

Posting that photo makes me think of Mark Twain's remark about nasty rumors:

"It takes two people to hurt you with slander: an enemy to slander you, and a friend to tell you about it."

 

[CarlS]

However, perhaps the suicide rate of our Armed Forces in Iraq is an indication of how they feel about themselves. And when my country invades and occupies another country whiched posed us no immediate threat, let alone any threat at all, then yes indeed I have big problems.

Michigander, have you ever served? Have you ever served in combat? If so, you know what it is like to have your life on the line 24/7. Sometimes you live minute by minute. You see buddies get wounded or killed. If you have not been there; don't criticize. You cannot begin to understand.

The battlefield is not a liberal, politically correct place. Such a photo taken at a ski resort might be in poor taste. Taken in an combat area as a joke, it is a stress reliever; a way of keeping one's sanity. Nice, warm, fuzzy, politically correct stuff does not apply to a combat zone.

"And when my country invades and occupies another country which posed us no immediate threat, let alone any threat at all, then yes indeed I have big problems." I agree; you do have big problems.

 

[TaurusCIA]

Taken in an combat area as a joke, it is a stress reliever; a way of keeping one's sanity.

Used to be we understood that kind of thing.

That is why it continues. Understanding immaturity and bad judgement is one thing, condoning it is another.

That attitude is the reason the photo was not immediately dismissed as a fake. I hope it is a fake but since some consider it a legitimate way to "blow of steam" then it might be authentic.

There are other ways to blow off steam that show respect for the principles that we are supposed to be fighting for.

"It takes two people to hurt you with slander: an enemy to slander you, and a friend to tell you about it."

And who would be the be slanderer here?

Attacking the dignity of people who we are supposed to be helping is not a joke.

 

[Ebbtide]

The picture could be anything. Three brothers in Texas, two cuban kids and a GI in florida, or even three Iraqis making trouble.

Is it normal to not have any markings on the uniform? The guy in unform looks French to me, and who gives a "thumbs up" with the left hand anyway?

More info here: http://electroniciraq.net/news/1444.shtml

Awad said CAIR has also received an anonymous letter from a soldier who recently returned from Iraq that claims a commanding officer engaged in inappropriate conduct with prepubescent Iraqi girls. The letter states that the officer, who was named by the writer, referred to the girls as "pre-rag heads" and coerced local Iraqi leaders to provide them in exchange for protection by American soldiers. (The officer's military unit was also named in the letter.)

Sounds like crap to me!

 

[Leatherneck]

To the best of my knowledge, this is the original, although there are others on the net that have different messages written on the cardboard,

IOW, my fake is the original fake. Nice tough analysis there, Mich.

Does your further analysis indicate that the Iraqi boy holding the sign reads and writes English--you know, the English on his sign?

Gimme a break.

TC
TFL Survivor

 

[R.H. Lee]

And when my country invades and occupies another country whiched posed us no immediate threat, let alone any threat at all, then yes indeed I have big problems.

Saddam paid rewards to families of homicide bombers. Saddam sponsored and ran terrorist training camps in Iraq. Saddam harbored fugitive terrorists.

How "immediate" is necessary for you?