Scapegoats Everywhere

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Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later: “Army recruits shortfall blamed on Iraq war critics.” The scapegoat brigade, it seems, is spearheaded by Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) who notes that Senators who criticized the war “contributed to the propaganda of U.S. enemies.” Uh-huh. Hey, I’ve got a good one: Senators who rubber-stamped and cheered on an incompetent war plan are contributing to the actual success of U.S. enemies. But enough of that; dropped at the very, very bottom of the article is some actually disturbing news:

 

In his testimony, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Michael Hagee said readiness for battalion and squadron-sized Marine units had dropped by 40 percent because of the priority put on sustaining units in Iraq at the expense of the units that had rotated out of the war.

 

For more on this, see this old Phillip Carter post, who argues that “the U.S. military will preserve itself rather than let the war tear it apart.” That, it seems, is going to be the upper limit of our stay in Iraq.

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PLEASE—BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things it doesn’t like—which is most things that are true.

We’ll say it loud and clear: At Mother Jones, no one gets to tell us what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please do your part and help us reach our $150,000 membership goal by May 31.

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