That Old Lie "Dulce et Decorum Est ..."

This story from the Jefferson City News Tribune, about a possible impending pay cut for National Guard serving in the Middle East, is just one of many of the stories in the US media, on the web and in weblogs about all the petty, mean ways the current US administration is jerking around (there's no nicer way to say it) the men and women serving in the war(s) on terrorism/Iraq. (The British government could not last a week in office if they pulled these kinds of shenanigans.)

Another and more serious story is this, from the El Paso Times, about an apparent Army cover-up around the deaths in an ambush near Nasiriyeh of several soldiers from Fort Bliss. A quote: "Ruben Estrella, father of 18-year-old Pvt. Ruben Estrella-Soto, from El Paso, said he no longer believes anything the Army tells him." To really appreciate what an extraordinary story this is, you have to understand that El Paso is an Army town, through and through, and the El Paso Times a paragon of military orthodoxy and patriotism.

Yet another tale, very touching in its slightly hysterical edge, is this letter from a Reservist serving in Kuwait, blogged on Buzzflash.