The Green Zone Follies
Deplorable conditions here, including defective ammunition (and a serious lack of it due to the Falcon disaster) lack of armor, increasingly sophisticated and very deadly attacks on U.S. troops with no countermeasures either in place or at all effective, coupled with Bush’s obvious intentions to quickly and greatly increase the number of troops here and his plans (often discussed by the brass) of a “huge new push” designed to “knock out the resistance and permit a withdrawal with face” ( a direct quote from a classified order.) have done nothing to defuse what my informant believes is a “critical situation.”
My source in the CIC tells me that the team is in a dilemma at this point. If this gets into the foreign media (it would never get into the tame U.S. media unless mass rebellion broke out and then it would be heavily censored) the internet, cursed by the administration, will cover it and given the gross inability of the pencil-necked geeks in DoD’s propaganda division, it would become a major political scandal stateside. If a swoop is made and GI instigators are arrested, there is the very real risk that the one thing the Pentagon is frantic to prevent and keep silent, will get out.
The CIC has an army of snitches running around all over Iraq, and especially here in Baghdad, but the more they find out, the more frightened they are becoming. Now, the rumors are that Russian or Iranian agents are fomenting rebellion but this is very doubtful. It is known that Bush hates Putin and everyone here knows Israel hates Iran so these rumors are obviously planted by these parties.
Arresting ringleaders (some of whom are very obvious) might trigger more serious problems and transferring “infected” units to Germany for some “R&R” can’t be done because they are badly needed here and worse, might terrify cadre in Germany to the point where the rot could easily spread back to the States. This is redolent of the mass mutinies of French troops in 1917/18 in which thousands were shot out of hand.
A pleasant Christmas is expected here with myself planning to get home for a week. Who knows? I might resign my commission and write a book…and then be shot while watering the lawn.”