2/25    Ever wondered what it's like to be a soldier in Iraq? What it's like
        to roam around the Iraqi street, to interact with the Iraqi people,
        and to be ambushed by enemies that you can't even see? Ever wondered
        how our soldiers retaliate? And ever wondered if the Iraqi people are
        really pro-USA or secretly pro-insurgents? I recommend "PSB Frontline-
        A Company of Soldiers." Watch it on PBS. If you can't then get it on
        torrent:   http://www.mininova.org/get/10752/frontline022205.torrent
        This is neither pro-war or anti-war, it just shows you the way it is.
        \_ Some of us don't have to wonder.  Some of us keep in touch with
           people in Iraq and Afghanistan. -- ilyas
           \_ Note you can know exactly what's going on in Iraq and Afghanistan
              and be either pro- or anti-Dubya.
              Bush is a moron, but he's a good guy.  This tends to lead
              to mostly defendable intentions in foreign policy, but
              incredible mis-steps in execution occasionally.
              \_ Occasionally?  name a non-misstep. intention is shit when one
                 is so royally imcompetent.
              \_ He's not a "good guy". Who's not a good guy anyway? Who has
                 mostly indefensible intentions in foreign policy? Idiotic.
        \_ I have an acquaintance coming back from Iraq this weekend for
           leave (US Army). He has told me before that the Iraqis are
           overwhemingly pro-USA. It only takes a few dufuses (Saddam's
           ex-dufuses) to create trouble. I'm sure he'll have more to say
           than fits in his usual letters.
           \_ I think it entirely depends on where you are stationed. The
              Kurds love us, the Sunnis hate us, in Baghdad it depends on
              the neighborhood.
           \_ Please tell him thanks and that he's appreciated.
                \_ poor guy, he's a victim of Bush's incompetence
                   \_ 1. He is career military and it beats paperwork.
                      2. He find values in doing things like handing out
                         books to kids who never had them.
              \_ Seconded. There are lots of us back home who really
                 value his service.
        \_ Thanks for sharing this info. In the video an Iraqi civilian
           gets killed and one of the soldier said "Shit, I got a ...
           collateral damage. God damnit, someone call civilian
           ambulence." Then they quickly run away as to not get ambushed.
           Later on there was some intelligence that indicate that the
           family of the killed civilian is pretty mad at US soldiers
           and is planning to do something for revenge. So let me ask
           you this, is there really a fine line between the good guys
           and the bad guys? I mean, couldn't it be possible that
           regular civilians get mad and join the insurgents, or the
           other way around?
           \_ You're a few wars behind..  Welcome to the reality based
              community.
                \_ No. In the Crusades you had the good guys and the
                   bad guys and it's easy to distinguish between the two.
                   In WW1 WW2 you had the Axis vs. the Allies, and it's
                   easy to distinguish between the two.
                   \_ Were the Crusaders the good guys or the bad guys?
                      \_ The answer is in Indiana Jones.
           \_ Uh, oh, you're going to overload ilyas' binary reasoning circuit.
                \_ what reasoning is that? That he's right and you're wrong
                   that I'm hollier than thou Bush-like reasoning?
           \_ Sure, it happens but not in large numbers. Most of the people
              there are like people here. They just want to be left alone
              to live their lives. They don't want to be a part of anyone's
              revolution, but they certainly hated Saddam.
              \_ 100,000 is not a large number???
                 \_ Try >200k.
                 \_ 25 million people live in Iraq, and I doubt the number
                    of peaceful civilians who suddenly took up arms is
                    100,000. They are ex-military, foreigners, and others
                    with an agenda.
                    \_ Hint: the insurgency has grown steadily.  The longer we
                       are there, the more we're seen as occupiers, the more
                       people will take up arms.  Yes, there are outsiders, but
                       the majority are iraqis.  They gave us a year of
                       relative calm.  When the electricty and water didn't
                       come back on, they came at us harder.
                       \_ What makes you think it has grown in numbers? Links?