There are those True Believers who will claim that the support for the war against Iraq enjoys unanimous support from the military. That anyone in uniform agrees that war is the best thing to happen to the US since the last Native American was driven from his ancestral land.

That idea is undoubtedly perpetuated by the reality that individuals in the US military are prohibited by law from speaking their minds. These folks found a way out of that. In spite of Rumsfeld's unceasing propaganda and 24/7 access to these people, some of them who have been there are starting to question. (And I'm sure some people who haven't been there think these people should be shot for treason.)

"In a conference call with reporters, a sailor, a Marine and a soldier who had served in the Iraq operation said American troops there have increasingly had difficulty seeing the purpose of lengthy and repeated tours of duty since the fall of Saddam Hussein.

"Their misgivings have intensified this year as the country has edged toward civil war, they said.

"The real grievances are: Why are we in Iraq if the weapons of mass destruction are not found, if the links to al Qaeda are not substantiated," said Marine Sgt. Liam Madden of Rockingham, Vermont, who was in Iraq from September 2004 to February 2005 and is based at Quantico, Virginia.

"The occupation is perpetuating more violence," he said. "It's costing way too many Iraqi civilian and American service member lives while it brings us no benefit."

Arf