on the subject of good news from Iraq

[Gomer]

A seventh soldier didn't know about the letter until his father congratulated him for getting it published in the Beckley, W.Va., newspaper. "When I told him he wrote such a good letter, he said, 'What letter?' " Timothy Deaconson said of the phone conversation he had with his son, Pfc. Nick Deaconson.

WASHINGTON -- Letters from hometown soldiers describing their successes rebuilding Iraq have been appearing in newspapers across the country as U.S. public opinion on the mission sours.
And all the letters are the same.

A Gannett News Service search found identical letters from different soldiers with the 2nd Battalion of the 503rd Airborne Infantry Regiment, also known as "The Rock," in 11 newspapers, including Snohomish, Wash.

The Olympian received two identical letters signed by different hometown soldiers: Spc. Joshua Ackler and Spc. Alex Marois, who is now a sergeant.

nothing like a good form letter to build up some credibility.

http://www.theolympian.com/home/news...e/121390.shtml

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/i...ers-usat_x.htm

[osprey4]

Obviously a Howard Dean stunt. How transparent is that?

[Mike]

Oh, obviously.

[M_Six]

Here's another link I posted in the Iraqi currency thread, but it sort of got buried.

[crouse]

While I definatley don't agree with the way that it was distributed or handled, some of you are missing the more important part in your glee......

Sgt. Christopher Shelton, who signed a letter that ran in the Snohomish Herald, said Friday that his platoon sergeant had distributed the letter and asked soldiers for the names of their hometown newspapers. Soldiers were asked to sign the letter if they agreed with it, said Shelton, whose shoulder was wounded during an ambush earlier this year.

"Everything it said is dead accurate. We've done a really good job," he said by phone from Italy, where he was preparing to return to Iraq.

http://www.theolympian.com/home/new...ge/121390.shtml
from gomers link.

Bryan Whitman, a spokesman for the Defense Department, said he was not aware of any coordinated campaign among troops to send letters supportive of the war back home. But Whitman said he would not be surprised, because many U.S. troops are discouraged that not enough positive news is being reported.

from gomers usatoday link...............


And while the soldiers were also uncomfortable with the way it was showing up.....most agreed with the letter. Looks like someone besides me was tired of all the liberals bashing of the war...... someone like perhaps the guys fighting it..

[sao95]

of course their military though so they were probably told what to say...

[Omardeth]

and what are they supose to do not sign it ?

hmm i wonder how they would be treated if they said they disagreed ?

if they all agreed with it so much why a form letter ?

if you were there and were being shot at would you do or say anything that would make the people around you look at you different , you are depending on them watching your back .

[sao95]

yep

[osprey4]

The commander who wrote the letters pleads no contest.

By the way, the practice of sending form letters to newspapers is nothing new, but in the internet age, it's kind of stupid.

[Theophylact]

Here's an amusing quote from the Paula Zahn show (CNN) on Tuesday (Bill Hemmer sitting in as anchor)

HEMMER: Peter, I think there's two sides of that coin. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) just a second here. If you're saying it's actually worse than being reported, could it also be better than what's being reported also, if you consider that these reporters, many of them tell us they want to go cover the new school opening, but they can't because there's another bombing or shooting and that prevents them from sending that story?

O-kay; so if it weren't for the terrorists and the criminals, we'd be putting out a lot more good news. That explains it, then.