DoD official calls extended tours a "death watch" for soldiers

At one time Iraq was laughingly billed as a trap, like "flypaper", that all the terrorists in the world would be unable to resist. They would all flock, zombie-like, to the theatre of our war of choice and be picked off, one by one -before they could ever purchase maps that might tip them to the location of the USA, one supposes.

Rumfilled just released a new version: The Flypaper Theory 2.0

That picture of the widow by her husband gets me every time. :(

that got us in this mess

That it hasn't shows there is something seriously wrong with this country.

But there is a high number of kids that join the service simply because they don't have an education and have a family and no other way to support that family. I fully applaud those that do this, because they are making an attempt to take care of what is theirs.
However, the sad truth is that most likely they have a wife or husband at home that is at the same socioeconomic/education level.
With that being said, these soldiers that are gone for extended periods of time have spouses that are lonely for extended periods of time.
We are literally allowing our government to fray the threads of the American dream for many, many families.
My guess is that the divorce and spousal abuse rates will increase a hundredfold when ALL of these men and women come home.

And it exploits those that live on its fringe.

...are at risk of coming down with Iraq War syndrome, I believe that the top military decision and the Bush Administration have conspired in a secret and sinister plot to have as many soldiers never return so they will not have to bear the financial and moral burden of caring for these veterans and their families in the future. I say bring our troops home starting today.

we have decent men in power.
But with this band of crazed lunatics...they have no more affection for these soldiers than a toddler has for his bucket of plastic armymen.
They don't give a flying flip if ANY of these soldiers come back or in what condition they do return.
And you are correct...to a cabal where the bottom line means EVERYTHING...they would do the unspeakable to preserve that line.

..., who many are needed and how quickly must this be done? Let us begin at the top in just public offices, then go through all the levels of responsibility and power and authority, the task becomes mind boggling. It is not just George Bush, Dick Cheney, the presidential cabinet, the senate and the house. All state and local government positions, the judicial system, our military at the highest levels, industrial complex which supports that military, public institutions and private corporations, all seem to be infected by this corruption, greed, lies and deception to their very core. This is not a shift of one group of power brokers for another, but a complete systemological revolution that is necessary.