How the UN kills American Soldiers.

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38splfan

New member
I think this is the right place for this, but Mods please correct me if not.
This is a story about how the UN is killing American troops, and how the American government is helping.
I refer directly to the humanitarian aid recently sent to Israel. To the tune of multiple millions of dollars. In addition to clothing, blankets, medical supplies, etc.

I am deployed currently to the eastern side of Baghdad City. I am currently living in a tent. Why, because there is no money in the budget to build/repair buildings on this FOB. We have had multiple casualties due to mortars hitting tents, which offer no protection.

We operate at night. Most of us have outdated night vision equipment, some even Gen 1 gear. We can't see the enemy, period. Also, while some units are issued Tac Lights or lasers, old SPC 38splfan has a Dorcy push button LED flashlight ziptied to his weapon.
Also, many people are still stuck with old body armor. Some even have the old flak vest without the SAPI plates.

Doing a rough cost estimate, $30 million dollars could relocate about 200 soldiers from tents to buildings, equip them with current generation body armor, better night ops equipment, better sighting systems, and probably have a bit left over.

I use the 200 number because that's approximately how many of us are living in soft tents (not even sandbags) with crap gear. I happen to be one of the lucky ones with good body armor, but not everyone. I improvised a light, but I shouldn't have to. And let's not even get into tents and mortars.

What does this have to do with the UN? Simple. The humanitarian aid efforts are being managed by the UN. We sent them the equivilent of 200 troops worth of updated, effective equipment with the stroke of a pen, from the same people who pontificate about the horrible losses in Iraq everyday, the misson failures, and the ineffective security.

We are pushing massive amounts of troops into Baghdad to quell sectarian violence without the equipment or facilities to do it.

The UN is taking our budget, taking my equipment, and taking lives.
 
That's should be a crime..........

Same old same old, from our friends at the GOV. :barf: Keep your head down partner. We love you guys.

Rangers lead the way!
 
Thanks.

Thanks, Smooks:)
It's unfortunate that, looking back over some news "e-clippings" and even some posts here, we see that BILLIONS in foreign aid have been dispersed since the 2003 Iraq invasion.
I'm not at all saying that humanitarian missions aren't a noble cause, nor am I saying that all budget funds should go to the Military. I'm just saying that we should be taking care of our own first, instead of funneling money to the UN to be abused, embezzled, and "misplaced".
Thanks again, Smooks, for the kind words. Guys like you keep guys like us goin'.
 
I refer directly to the humanitarian aid recently sent to Israel. To the tune of multiple millions of dollars. In addition to clothing, blankets, medical supplies, etc.
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You dont want to support our allies (considering they are doing our dirty work)

WildcuriousAlaska
 
Isn't that the fault of the government, specifically the US government? I thought the republican government is pro-military? Guess not...

I don't think the UN can force the US to donate money. There are dues, but the US hasn't been paying that for a while.
 
You dont want to support our allies (considering they are doing our dirty work)
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Charity begins at home.....

In addition to the millions of dollars spent on the Israelis the Iraqis have been lavished with money for thier army. I am suprised that folks are still wearing flak vests tho. That should not be happening.

Also not to mention the millions that have been lavished upon KBR in non competitive contracts.
 
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I disagree with your line of reasoning. My son, currently home on leave, is stationed with his unit in Tal Afar. He has no complaints about his equipment and in fact, they have plenty of a lot of things. They all received new body armor and kevlars before being deployed.

So, how about this line of reasoning: rich people are killing American soldiers?

If you study the information that comes with your tax return, you will notice that the federal government happens to be borrowing a lot of money to make ends meet at the moment. Why? Because the current administration believes in tax cuts. How much was your tax cut? Remember, the more you make, the more your taxes are cut. If cutting taxes was such a good idea, there should be no taxes at all! If imports make it cheaper for Americans to buy things, then everything should be imported--but wait! Different subject?

Perhaps you should write your congressman.
 
Not at all.

Not saying that at all.
I have absolutely no problem with supporting allies, especially Israel who, like you said, does a lot of things in the Middle East the US can't/won't do.

The problem arises when those funds could be protecting American citizens. To me, an American citizen/soldier will always be a more important asset to America than a foreign ally.

My other gripe is that what we are sending, particularly the money, is being channeled through the UN as opposed to going directly where it needs to. The UN has a long history of poor financial management (to put it politely).

If we are going to support an American Ally, America should do the supporting, not the UN. That way we can ensure that 100% of what is sent makes it to the intended destination.

Not a gripe with Israel at all. They are a fine nation of butt kicking soldiers and some of the best people in the middle east (opinion). Just a gripe with the UN and our sending them money more appropriately applied elsewhere in this particular instance.
 
The problem arises when those funds could be protecting American citizens. To me, an American citizen/soldier will always be a more important asset to America than a foreign ally.
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Israel is doing a job that would, ultimately, be left up to us to do at a later date and higher cost. The Iraqi army is being set up to take over, so you can come home.

Using your criteria, do you think 200 troops could do to Hezbollah what Israel is doing? Could they do it without loss of life?

Helping out our allies preserves the valuable asset that an American citizen/soldier constitutes. Just as we supplied the Soviets so they could tie down the Germans and eat up the Wehrmacht, so too do we supply our allies now.
 
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The problem arises when those funds could be protecting American citizens. To me, an American citizen/soldier will always be a more important asset to America than a foreign ally.

Amen! We should be giving to our troops...in all units, not the ones only on camera...the first run on everything that there is to supply our troops with! We should also supply our friends but....
 
Tal Afar.

Tal Afar is an established FOB with a solid infrastructure, in a fairly large area. I spent the better part of 2004 there. I am talking about the hasty influx of troops into new/underdeveloped areas of Baghdad.
I'm also not talking about tax cuts or rich people. Where the money comes from is not the issue. While I have some issues with the current tax system, it will take quite a while (probably never) to make that acceptable to all levels incom. The immediate issue is where the money goes, which seems to be more easily controlled. If the American government is borrowing now to make ends meet, why send the money away?
My son, currently home on leave, is stationed with his unit in Tal Afar. He has no complaints about his equipment and in fact, they have plenty of a lot of things. They all received new body armor and kevlars before being deployed.
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I am happy that your son's chain of command made that happen. That is a great thing. Most of us got the new body armor/ACH combo, also. I'm again referring to the troops, especially National Guard/Reserve units, that are being hastily deployed into this area as part of our task force with old-school crap gear. And we are all living in tents. The few hard buildings we have are slowly being condensed to allow us to move in a few at a time, but that is still a long way off in the works, and will be overcrowded/unhealthy when it happens. The 2 man containers with A/C, which your son most likely lives in at Tal Afar, cost only a few thousand dollars each and can be moved with flatbed trucks and forklifts. They are infinitely safer than a tent with a plywood floor.

I am suspecting your son is in 3rd Bde, 2 ID, just like I am. It is a great unit and does reasonably well taking care of it's soldiers. It is not, however, the only unit in theater, and not all units work the same.

I appreciate your logic and understand your points, but the more immediate situation, to my mind, is if there is $30 million dollars laying around to give away, why not give to America instead?
 
Good points.

Israel is doing a job that would, ultimately, be left up to us to do at a later date and higher cost. The Iraqi army is being set up to take over, so you can come home.

Using your criteria, do you think 200 troops could do to Hezbollah what Israel is doing? Could they do it without loss of life?
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Good points. Here are some problems though.

We are being rerouted to Baghdad from other operations areas because the Iraqi Army and Police have lost control of the area. They will not take over any time soon, and we will not be coming home because they are here.

No 200 troops could not do to Hezbollah what Israel is doing to them. But since the money is not funding their military operations, that is not the point.
The point is that A) going through the UN much of the aid will not make it to Israel and B)nothing that Israel is doing is worth Americans dying over in another theater of operations.

The problem is not that aid was sent to Israel. That is not at all the point. The problem is that the money was sent to the UN, will be mismanaged or "lost" like it has been so much in the past, and could have been better spent here, helping troops.

If we sent it to Israel, fine. But the UN is most certainly going to "F" this all up at the cost of the American troop in the ground with crap gear, watching Kofi & Co's pockets swell.
 
I appreciate your logic and understand your points, but the more immediate situation, to my mind, is if there is $30 million dollars laying around to give away, why not give to America instead?
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With limited funds, someone is going to get shortchanged. Do you have better equipment that the Marines? Ask one of them what they think :)

WildthatsthewayofwarAlaska
 
The way of war.

I understand very thoroughly the way of war. And I realize that there are people whose equipment is worse than mine. That is, actually, not too dissimilar from the point I was making.

The question now is this. If you, and many other Americans know this, why is no one upset enough about it to say "hey, wait a minute, we could fix this with that money".

Limited funds make it all the more important that those funds remain in America. Even if not the military operations, there are plenty of civilian problems that could have used the dough, ya know?

Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, or otherwise, if we are already shortchanging some of our own, there is no reason to give away money and shortchange them further.
 
why is no one upset enough about it to say "hey, wait a minute, we could fix this with that money".
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Because throwing money at a problem does not necessarily lead to a solution. Not to mention the fact that many people believe every penny spent so far has been unjustly wasted.

edit: be safe
 
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It's horrible whats happening there

I agree with every word you said there partner. Get home soon and be safe brother!!!!.....I will pray for you and yours.
 
+1 38splfan
We should take care of our own first and foremost.
and
BlueTrain do honestly think that "tax cuts" are the problem!?
How about the the fact that we send our tax money all over the world with disregard for our own citizens.
 
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