Of course, you have heard a lot about the _resident's
Thanksgiving Day stunt at the Baghdad airport -- and
much of what you heard was probably irrelevant or not
true. But you probably were not told that the
_resident spent approximately 20 minutes in that
dining room with those soldiers (who as I mentioned
were probably all officers and HQ staff, as opposed to
combat soldiers from oh let's say patrol in
Falusia)...Nor did much ink get spent on the fact that
for some reason the radio and Internet sleazoid Matt
Drudge was considered worthy of a seat on a Top Secret
Air Force One mission...BUT you CERTAINLY have not
heard the following story from Tom Brokaw on the
NotBeSeen Evening News or Tim Russert on Meat The
Press...
One thousand and seven hundred U.S. soldiers have deserted their posts in Iraq, with many of them failing to return to military duty after getting permission to go back to the United States, according to the French weekly magazine Le Canard Enchaine.
Support our Troops, Show Up for Democracy in 2004:
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http://highmarkfunds.stockpoint.com/highmarkfunds/newspaper.asp?Mode=kyo&Story=20031204/338x6796.xml
1,700 U.S. soldiers quit Iraq: French magazine
PARIS, Dec 04, 2003 (Kyodo via COMTEX) -- One thousand
and seven hundred U.S. soldiers have deserted their
posts in Iraq, with many of them failing to return to
military duty after getting permission to go back to
the United States, according to the French weekly
magazine Le Canard Enchaine.
The magazine, known for its satires and exposes, said
the French intelligence agency obtained the
information from what it described an "American
colleague."
Citing a senior French official posted in Washington,
the magazine also said that 7,000 U.S. soldiers have
left Iraq allegedly due to psychological troubles and
other illnesses.
Some 2,200 others sustained serious injuries including
the loss of limbs, it said.
2003 Kyodo News (c) Established 1945