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January 9th, 2009, 05:59 PM #1
US troops in Iraq get to drink beer for Super Bowl
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/...R3BygD95JLC1G0
BAGHDAD (AP) — American troops in Iraq will be allowed to drink beer while watching this year's Super Bowl without fear of court-martial.
In what is sure to be a major morale boost, Gen. Raymond Odierno, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, issued a waiver Wednesday to a strict military ban on drinking alcohol in combat zones.
Troops will gather in dining halls on military bases around the country to watch the game, which is scheduled to kick off at 6 p.m. EST on Feb. 1 in Tampa, Fla. It will be 2 a.m. in Baghdad when the live broadcast starts in Iraq.
A copy of the waiver said the consumption of alcoholic beverages will be limited to Feb. 1-2 and service members can only have two, 12-ounce beers each.
Odierno also appeared to acknowledge the sensitivity of drinking alcohol in an Islamic country, particularly considering the game falls during a holy period for Iraq's majority Shiite Muslims.
The waiver orders commanders to "keep in mind all host nation laws and customs regarding alcohol consumption" and "to exercise discretion and good judgment in enforcing these guidelines and restrictions."
U.S. troops have been banned from drinking, possessing or selling alcoholic beverages under a general order that also bans them from possessing pornography and other activities. They can face a reduction in pay or rank or even a court-martial if they violate the rule.
Drinking alcohol isn't illegal in Iraq, but is banned under Islam, and extremists have frequently targeted liquor stores.
The exemption comes as the U.S. military faces stricter Iraqi oversight under a new security agreement that took effect on Jan. 1.If guns kill people, then pencils misspell words.
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January 9th, 2009, 06:34 PM #2
Re: US troops in Iraq get to drink beer for Super Bowl
I hate to say it but this is another case of PC-gone-wild. The no alcohol, no pornography rule was imposed because of our leaders were worried about upsetting muslim sensibilities.
"Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities".
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January 9th, 2009, 06:52 PM #3
Re: US troops in Iraq get to drink beer for Super Bowl
F the beer, NO PORN?! That's just crazy.
Bazinga
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January 9th, 2009, 07:21 PM #4
Re: US troops in Iraq get to drink beer for Super Bowl
Hopefully those fighting our troops won't take this announcement as an invitation to attack.
Safety is a good tool for tyrants; no one can be against safety.
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January 9th, 2009, 08:15 PM #5
Re: US troops in Iraq get to drink beer for Super Bowl
Given the nature of the mission I'd say that's a more than valid concern. I wouldn't call it PC, I'd call it a sensible directive given the fact the troops are assisting in a "nation building" exercise in a country with a very different culture, where most people don't want them.
"When law becomes despotic, morals are relaxed, and vice versa."-- Honore de Balzac, The Wild Ass's Skin...huh, huh..Balzac...Wild Ass...huh, huh
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January 9th, 2009, 08:18 PM #6Super Member
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Re: US troops in Iraq get to drink beer for Super Bowl
No alcohol is a very widely used rule.
I've been in plenty of situations where there is simply no alcohol. And hell, I go months without drinking even if I'm home.
Like was said in Band of Brothers after the war in Europe ended: Too much free time, too much alcohol and too many weapons leads to problems.
No alcohol isn't a theater issue, it is a military thing.
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January 10th, 2009, 10:56 AM #7
Re: US troops in Iraq get to drink beer for Super Bowl
Sorry but that is exactly what PC is! See, alcohol is actually illegal in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. But, it was not illegal under Saddam in Iraq. And BTW Reef Blue at the time depicted in "Band of Brothers" enlisted guys received a ration of 2 cans of beer per day and officers 1 bottle of scotch per week. The beer ration stayed with us until about half-past the Korean War when Congress ended it.
And btw you might be surprised to know that among some arabs, a photo of your girl friend in her cheerleading outfit would be considered pornography as is a woman appearing in public with bare arms or her hair uncovered. In fact during Gulf War 1 they went so far as to forbid FEMALE soldiers from DRIVING off post. In fact our Arab "hosts" were so "senitive" that we received orders from our higher that we should/could not fly the Stars & Stripes at our bivouac areas in the desert. To counter that many, Reserve and Guard units (including mine) flew their State flags.
"Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities".
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January 10th, 2009, 11:23 AM #8
Re: US troops in Iraq get to drink beer for Super Bowl
Well, then, maybe we shouldn't have our troops stationed in or occupying countries with cultures that much different than ours, especially those where the majority of people don't want us there in the first place.
There are only two ways of doing it-- either respect the local customs and culture or do what the old colonial powers did prior to the mid-twentieth century and try to smash the local customs and culture through brute force and replace them with Western ones, killing a whole lot of people in the process (and history shows this was not an indefinitely sustainable situation). Even if you're a cultural imperialist, the latter isn't even a good practical option, as the resistance in Iraq and Afghanistan would increase and we'd lose our local allies and bases. Even NATO would probably refuse to let us operate from their countries if our soldiers were engaged in "old style" colonialism and cultural imperialism. Good luck with force projection halfway around the world with no local allies and no nearby bases to operate from.
It's not PC. It's realpolitick.
I agree we shouldn't be forced to discriminate against our female soldiers or have our soldiers supress their customs and culture, but then again I don't think we should have a large and permanent standing army, much less long-term foreign deployments, in the first place. I think we need to return to America's pre-1946 foreign policy, or even better, our pre-1846 foreign policy."When law becomes despotic, morals are relaxed, and vice versa."-- Honore de Balzac, The Wild Ass's Skin...huh, huh..Balzac...Wild Ass...huh, huh
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January 10th, 2009, 08:03 PM #9
Re: US troops in Iraq get to drink beer for Super Bowl
Other Navy's can't believe that we don't get to drink.
But we get a "beer day" if we don't pull in for over 45 days.
So we enjoyed our warm beer with a rare on the fight deck cigar call after 56 days.
(I'm 3rd from left)Owner Trigger Time LLc 01 FFL/NFA Saylorsburg, PA. Sales/Service/Transfers/Training
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January 10th, 2009, 10:14 PM #10
Re: US troops in Iraq get to drink beer for Super Bowl
Wow, times have changed and I aint that old. I think by "combat zones" they must mean "moslem countries." Probably keeps them good and mean, though.
As for porn, I think that was against UCMJ even in the 80s-90s. At least I was told it was. But it was never enforced back then.
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