[shadha]

maliqazi: funny thing is, people generalize all the resistance fighters as terrorists who are animals without families yada yada yada
but the US and british soldiers are somehow different

Hey if I ever said that, please feel free to post a quote from me about it.

JRollDiddy: The British Army is facing a real recruitment crisis. No one (or very few anyway) wants to go and fight in Iraq.

As is the American military. Didn't all branches by far missed their mark- maybe not the Air Force? Though, I know even the Air Force was trying to give people bonuses to reenlist/change job title. At the end of the year, didn't Obama call on Americans to join the military and expand the number of Army and Marines by thousands and "properly training and equipping our troops to face the battles of the 21st Century"?


shadha-

[Jamroll]

Originally Posted by shadha

JRollDiddy: The British Army is facing a real recruitment crisis. No one (or very few anyway) wants to go and fight in Iraq.

As is the American military. I think all branches by far missed their mark- maybe not the Air Force? Though, I know even the Air Force was trying to give people bonuses to reenlist/change job title. At the end of the year, didn't Obama call on Americans to join the military and expand the number of Army and Marines by thousands and "properly training and equipping our troops to face the battles of the 21st Century"?


shadha-

Yeah, I don't know what the situation is like in the US, but over here the main reasons people don't want to join the Army so much anymore (in my observation) is that:

a) they think they will be sent to Iraq
b) the British media shows Iraq to be hell on earth, and I guess that makes the potential recruits feel there's a real high possibility that they will die
c) most Brits are aware that there is no national interest in Iraq, and that who wants to give their life for "Queen and Country", when the country is against what they're doing.
d) the other major British deployment is in Afghanistan. People (including potential recruits) are deathly afraid of the Taliban thanks to British media coverage of the conflict.

[shadha]

JRoll: Yeah, I don't know what the situation is like in the US, but over here the main reasons people don't want to join the Army so much anymore (in my observation) is that:
a) they think they will be sent to Iraq
b) the media shows Iraq to be hell on earth, and I guess that makes the potential recruits feel there's a real high possibility that they will die
c) most Brits are aware that there is no national interest in Iraq, and that who wants to give their life for "Queen and Country", when the country is against what they're doing.
d) the other major deployment is in Afghanistan. People (including potential recruits) are deathly afraid of the Taliban.

And you think that list is different for the Americans?


shadha-

[Jamroll]

Originally Posted by shadha

And you think that list is different for the Americans?


shadha-

I don't really know. Logically speaking I would have thought the list would be about the same, but I don't understand the American psyche as much as I do the British one. Also, when I see American news coverage of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan they're quite different from the way it's shown on British media, so I imagine that would have some kind of impact.

[YOUSUFofSD]

Originally Posted by Jamroll

I don't really know. Logically speaking I would have thought the list would be about the same, but I don't understand the American psyche as much as I do the British one. Also, when I see American news coverage of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan they're quite different from the way it's shown on British media, so I imagine that would have some kind of impact.

I'm sure you have some blind patriotism...but here it seems to be much more rampant.

Many people I have talked to feel the need for us being there, but still don't know the actual reasons that we are there.

And of course many know exactly why we are there and condemn it.

[Variable]

Canadians are taking the heaviest losses in Afghanistan (we don't use helicopters, and thus are more vulnerable to IEDs) and we're enlisting in droves.

[Jamroll]

Originally Posted by YOUSUFofSD

I'm sure you have some blind patriotism...but here it seems to be much more rampant.

Many people I have talked to feel the need for us being there, but still don't know the actual reasons that we are there.

And of course many know exactly why we are there and condemn it.

Yeah, it's just I've seen first hand how different the medi reporting can be. We get Fox News and one or two other US news networks over here on cable.

So say there's a story which is reported by different networks.
On BBC, it's like "4 soldiers killed in Baghdad explosion".
Sky News, another major UK network, might say "US soldiers killed in clashes with Iraqi insurgents".
On the very exact same story, a US network like FOX would say "AL-QAEDA ATTACKS AND KILLS AMERICANS"
It's so ridiculous it would be hilarious if it wasn't so serious. I can see if the American public is constantly subjected to reporting like that it would have an impact.

[YOUSUFofSD]

Originally Posted by Jamroll

Yeah, it's just I've seen first hand how different the medi reporting can be. We get Fox News and one or two other US news networks over here on cable.

So say there's a story which is reported by different networks.
On BBC, it's like "4 soldiers killed in Baghdad explosion".
Sky News, another major UK network, might say "US soldiers killed in clashes with Iraqi insurgents".
On the very exact same story, a US network like FOX would say "AL-QAEDA ATTACKS AND KILLS AMERICANS"
It's so ridiculous it would be hilarious if it wasn't so serious. I can see if the American public is constantly subjected to reporting like that it would have an impact.

Very true, some of my own family(non-muslims), my mom's side, watch that stuff and have these crazy questions which aren't crazy when you understand the stuff they are watching...it is amazing.

[sixpakistan]

there is a john mccain ad on the left side of this page. there are frequently obscene ads as well. not sure which bugs me more. anyway, a number of people have complained about these ads for months, so what gives? why are they still there?

[MossadConspiracy]

Originally Posted by sixpakistan

there is a john mccain ad on the left side of this page. there are frequently obscene ads as well. not sure which bugs me more. anyway, a number of people have complained about these ads for months, so what gives? why are they still there?

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$