Pat Dollard | Young Americans

Some dipshit political hack who collects a paycheck from ABC for posing as a credible journalist

According to ABC News all troops in Iraq want an immediate pullout and support Hussein. In fairness, they did quote one exception: a soldier who supported Hillary. Perhaps they simply couldn’t find anyone like this. Now, when you run a piece like this, your intention is to give the folks at home a sense of what the prevailing feeling is amongst the military serving in Iraq, and so clearly ABC’s intention was to give the folks the impression that most of the troops supported Hussein. They went so far as to cite one soldier as saying that it seemed pretty clear that Hussein “supported” the military more than any of the other candidates like, oh, let me see, John McCain. I can assure you that overall the troops do not want to abandon the mission before it is completed, to have witnessed their own and their brothers’ blood shed in vain. I talk to Iraq vets and those currently serving, hours and hours a day. Let me be as clear as the pure-driven snow. For the last three years 80% of my time interacting with other human beings is spent interacting with Iraq warriors. What 90% of them have to say about Hussein is a complete 180 from what you’re getting in this hack job. When you’re on the front lines, especially on regular combat patrols and interacting with the population who suffer so greatly at the hands of the Al Qaeda and Iranian-backed terrorist/gangsters (aka militias and “militants”) you have a greater sense of what is at stake in Iraq than the average American, and are not as easily fooled by the likes of a bullshit artist without a clue as to military operations, culture and war itself, like Always Been A Civilian Hussein.

ABC News:

ABC’s Martha Raddatz asked American soldiers in Iraq what issues are most important to them when looking at the presidential candidates.

Though the military is not supposed to engage in partisan political activity, these soldiers spoke out about their personal endorsements, and their opinions are likely to matter. In 2004, 73 percent of the U.S. military voted for a presidential candidate, and officials believe it may be even higher this time around.

PFC Jeremy Slate said he supported Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., because of his stated intention to pull out of Iraq right away.

“That would be nice,” Slate said, “I’d like to be home, yea.”

SFC Patricia Keller also expressed support for Obama, citing his representation for change.

Spc. Patrick Nicholls from Eggawam, Mass., pointed out that many soldiers on the frontlines frequently think about their families back home.

He suggested he was too engaged in Iraq to keep up with politics back home. “I haven’t really been following it too much since we’ve been over here, ma’am,” he told Raddatz. “So, don’t really know which issues are too important to me right now. … I don’t know who’s running, ma’am.”

Lt. Leah Wicks said that, tied into concerns about her family’s welfare, were concerns about the economy, “where we’re going to be in the future.”

Only moments before speaking with ABC News, the troops had been listening to Vice President Dick Cheney give a rousing speech, but it didn’t change their political preference.

Spc. Imus Loto said he supported Obama. “It will be something different. But he’s out there and he’ll probably support us a lot more.”

By support, Loto meant pulling out troops. “Pull me out, too.” he said.

Though the military is generally a more conservative group, soldiers like Sgt. Justin Sarbaum are just as eager for a pull-out as the Democratic candidates. Sarbaum said he wondered which presidential candidate would be able to better the U.S. relationship with rogue nations, such as Iran, so that soldiers are not sent off to another war.

“Iran is obviously a big issue,” Sarbaum said, “Here in Iraq for my third time; starting another war right now — is it really necessary?”

Sgt. Cory Messingham from Lewisville, Texas, said he wasn’t following the race, but he was concerned about candidates’ paying attention to the emotional toll that the war has taken on soldiers.

“My biggest issue is support for the military, military funding and our deployments, not having long deployments anymore. Because [the] majority of us are doing …15-month deployments. So, it’s tough on the soldiers and tough on the soldiers’ families. Those are really my biggest issues.”

1st Sgt. David Logan said, “I am leaning toward Hillary. I think that we should have a gradual drawdown.”

Though the soldiers have been living in Iraq, they listen closely to the candidates on issues far beyond the wars they are fighting.

“Education back in the states is one of my main concerns,” Spc. Matthew Durkin said.

Economy and environment were on Staff Sgt. Derek Dion’s mind. “Things like gas prices, and look at the environment and what we’re going to leave our children.”

Spc. Joseph Lindsesdt, who is from Alaska, said he was watching for consistency of the candidates’ views. “The steadiness of the candidate, whether they’ve changed their views, constantly, over time, or with political wind, as I like to put it.”

To that end, Lindsesdt’s pick is Obama. “The fact that he’s followed his views, regardless of what they have been [sic] and whether I’ve agreed with them or not, sometimes. But he’s been steady the entire way.”

When asked if he was concerned about criticism that Obama had less political experience than some of the other candidates, the battle-weary soldier replied, “No, I think being a decent leader doesn’t have to do anything with experience much.”