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A Daily Chronicle of Bush Administration Distortion October 17, 2003
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Bush Administration PR Campaign Undermined by Reports of Low Morale Among Troops



The Bush administration's recently launched public relations campaign to promote success in Iraq is being undermined by recent reports of low morale among U. S. troops in Iraq.

Letters praising the Bush Administration's post-war operations are appearing in local and regional newspapers, but at least eleven letters, ostensibly written by troops from 2nd Battalion of the 503rd Infantry Regiment, were essentially identical.1 President Bush himself is actively trying to counter news of unhappiness among the troops left behind in Iraq, saying conditions are "a lot better than you probably think. Just ask people who've been there."2

When military journalists for Stars and Stripes interviewed soldiers on the ground, however, they reported that American dignitaries touring Iraq are given a false picture because of the tight controls placed on the visits. "The phrase 'Dog and Pony Show' is usually used," the military newspaper reported. "Some troops even go so far as to say they've been ordered not to talk to VIPs because [military] leaders are afraid of what they might say."3

Half the soldiers who spoke to Stars and Stripes described their unit's morale as low.4

The results of the Stars and Stripes survey are consistent with other anecdotal evidence. Several families of Iraq-based troops say the letters sent home by their sons and daughters plead for shipments of basic necessities, especially bottled water.5 As few as 20 percent of the soldiers have access to purified water, according to these reports, and entire units are coming down with dysentery.6

One soldier's mother says she has yet to receive a response after five months of trying to get the Defense Department to deliver 500 air-conditioning units donated for the relief of soldiers in Iraq, despite high-level intervention by U. S. Senator Joe Biden.7

Sources:
  1. "Bush Courts Regional Media: President Aims to Bypass Large News Outlets' 'Filter' on Iraq," Washington Post, 10/14/03.
  2. Presidential Speech, 10/9/03.
  3. Stars and Stripes Interview, 9/9/03.
  4. "Many Troops Dissatisfied, Iraq Poll Finds," Washington Post, 10/16/03.
  5. Operation: We Love Our Soldiers, 7/21/03.
  6. "US House set to approve President Bush's $87 billion package for reconstruction in Afghanistan and Iraq," NPR, 10/9/03.
  7. "Is the Pentagon Shortchanging Soldiers in Iraq?" CNN, 10/15/03.



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