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Al Jazeera (English)
    Baghdad Burning Blog (by Riverbend, an Iraqi civilian girl)
            Dahr Jamail's Blog from Baghdad
                Imad Khadduri's blog "Free Iraq" (scroll down for English version)

Iraqi Civilian Deaths ... caused by Bush's unprovoked war

 

Rumors Sow Uncertainty in Ranks
(Matthew Green, Reuters, March 30, 2003)
Dashed expectations of a lightning victory have fueled uncertainty -- fertile soil for the grapevine to flourish. . . . Some say they pay no attention to rumors, but they can be hard to ignore. . . . In the military, information is passed on a need-to-know basis. It is impossible for the vast majority of troops to have a clear picture of what is happening beyond their little patch of desert. . . . Most know that capturing Baghdad is crucial, but when it comes to detail, they are in the dark. The lack of clarity can sap morale. . . . "They can be very damaging for morale, particularly if you're telling someone they're going home next week, and next week comes around and they don't go home," he said, his convoy of heavily-armed trucks parked by the roadside. . . . Not a single copy of the forces newspaper Stars and Stripes is in sight. There are certainly no televisions -- few U.S. troops in Iraq have seen images of dead civilians. . . . Radios are few and far between, although at sunrise Marines can be seen clustered around radios perched on their "Humvee" all-terrain vehicles, listening to crackling headlines. . . . For troops who are told one week that they will be racing to Baghdad, the next that they are in for a longer haul, a little more information from their superiors would be very welcome.

posted by LoZo 10:20 AM