Deconstruction of "The State of The Union Speech"

2006 alone, 99 soldiers ended their lives, one third while serving in Iraq or Afghanistan.  Several thousand other soldiers are suffering from post traumatic stress disorder. In a report from the Washington Post, a reported 40% of all US troops who are or were stationed in either of these two war-torn countries now show symptoms of the disorder. One third of these cases are Marines while nearly half are from the National Guard.  Most of them suffer from, "depression, anxiety or other potentially disabling mental disorders."  More troubling is the fact that the mental health facilities designated to care for these soldiers have been described as, "woefully inadequate."  Now that US troops are experiencing a level of combat unseen since that of Vietnam, according to Vice-Admiral Donald Arthur, co-chairman of the Pentagon's mental health taskforce, the care provided is falling far short of the rapidly growing need.  As Mr. Arthur states, " The ongoing 'surge' of more than 30,000 additional U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan will exacerbate this gap, as will the rapid growth in the number of soldiers, Marines and other troops -- now about half a million -- who have served more than one combat tour, heightening the risk of mental illnesses", the report said.  As was the case in Vietnam war, it is safe to assume that because of a lack of health care providers, more than a few soldiers coming home will slip through the cracks and never receive the mental care that is sorely needed.  Read more about this on the Washington post link below.

Alarmingly George W. Bush used Anbar as a model of a military "success story".  Bush never mentioned that Anbar is actually little more than a ghost town. By the time the marines actually showed up for the invasion, letters had been placed on most of the houses saying that they left because they were afraid of US soldiers and now they (the residents) had gone to live with relatives in neighboring towns. 

In the video clip posted below, as reported by the Guardian of London, the marines appear baffled by what they found upon their arrival. The few remaining residents left behind in Anbar, however, describe a bloodbath in which US forces slaughtered many of the locals in their beds wearing their nightclothes.  In the report, one can clearly see the blood soaked gowns.

Shortly after the US attack on Fallujah, which came in response for the killing of three Blackwater contractors, Bush cheerled the assault on that city also. As has been the case with the war so far, the media backed the US aggression with uncritical eyes and no details on the attack itself. An article on counterpunch.com by Chris Floyd entitled, "The White Death of Fallujah" reveals a massacre reminiscent of Nazi Germany.  According to several witnesses, including that of several soldiers present during the attack, the US troops used a high volume of phosphorous shells which burns flesh to the bone. Also used was a new form of napalm which Mr. Floyd writes, "turned human beings into 'caramelized' fossils, with their skin dissolved and turned to leather on their bones."  Equally unconscionable was the targeting of ambulances by American snipers, shooting the vehicles as they entered the town to aid wounded.  Of the 20 national and international news outlets that showed up for  briefing by Health Ministry investigator Dr. Khalid Ash-Shaykhli, not one reported on the attack. This is why Bush can still flagrantly lie about the "success" of attacks of various cities and towns.

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