This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 16th, 2007 at 9:34 am and is filed under News, War. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
How Low Can the Army Go?
As I hear about sending more troops to Iraq, I can’t get off my mind a quick comparison chart in this month’s Mother Jones showing lower recruiting standards for the army. How much lower will they need to go to meet targets? We know they are already sending in high-paid mercenaries. At what point will conscription begin? I’m sure they know the answer to this, but I don’t know.
A friend sent me a news of the weird notice yesterday that brought all of this forward for me. A 22-year old Iraq war veteran — bored, apparently — decided to try something he’d seen on Jackass. He shoved a fireworks rocket up his rectum and lit it. The Daily Mail even has a lovely video. Granted, he’s British not American. Maybe the war made him unstable. Still, this leads me to wonder if the standards aren’t already too low. How many Iraq war veterans from any country could win Darwin Awards?
| was | now | |
| substandard aptitude test | 2% | 4% |
| high school dropouts | 10% | 19% |
| waivers for serious criminal records | 408 | 630 |
.
I know Bush says he’ll do what he wants, and he will trot out as many generals as he can find to support his plan. But, I hope Congress remembers what so many Americans said was the main issue on their minds when they voted for change, and I hope they fight this man and his plan. Apart from all of the reasons WE SHOULDN’T BE THERE, we clearly don’t have the depth for this. Shouldn’t the generals be telling Bush that? Yes, they are. Then they find themselves retired.
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