It seems that the alleged War on Terror is getting much less popular with the troops. It’s still a big hit with the wingers, but among those who actually get to spend 15 months away from their families – again – and get to risk being blown up, or shot, or lose a limb, it’s getting to be less important.

WASHINGTON - Soldiers strained by six years at war are deserting their posts at the highest rate since 1980, with the number of Army deserters this year showing an 80 percent increase since the United States invaded Iraq in 2003.

While the totals are still far lower than they were during the Vietnam war, when the draft was in effect, they show a steady increase over the past four years and a 42 percent jump since last year. [emph added]

This story hasn’t been discussed very much. Obviously, not in our bought-and-paid-for corporate mass media, which is far too busy paying attention to the class president race, and obsessing over whether Hillary shows too much cleavage or packs a dildo in her power pants suits, or whether Barack Obama is a closet Islamist.

Oddly enough, the media and punditocracy also doesn’t seem too concerned about Rudy Giuliani’s serial adulteries, his delight in cross-dressing, or his apparent preference for entering into business deals with criminals. Nor do they seem much concerned with Mitt Romney’s inability to stick to one side of a position. But they also seem really excited about Fred Thompson’s after shave.

I haven’t seen much written about desertion around the internet tubes, either.

It’s generally agreed that the primary topic of the November 2008 general elections will be Iraq (if Messers Bu$h and Cheney decide to allow elections.) Current polls indicate more than 72% of Americans want our troops out of Iraq, and most want them out at once. The only groups that seem to want the Occupation to continue indefinitely are Big Oil, the winger noise machine, Mr Bu$h’s 24% and the Likud Party.

According to the Army, about nine in every 1,000 soldiers deserted in fiscal year 2007, which ended Sept. 30, compared to nearly seven per 1,000 a year earlier. Overall, 4,698 soldiers deserted this year, compared to 3,301 last year.

These are interesting figures, because they pretty much agree with a story from last year, when Army representatives told us that about 20,000 soldiers had deserted since 2000.

Statistically that’s a drop in the bucket. But if you’re in the green bag, you notice when some dude takes off and doesn’t come back. And I guarantee you notice when more dudes quit without giving notice this year than last year. If your brain hasn’t been rattled and rolled by IEDs you probably think.

That guy from over in the 3rd Battalion? Chickenshit MFer. But when someone from your own company does it, someone you know, someone you shared death with skies off, you think, because you know he’s got the balls. He went through it with you.
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Desertion used to be considered a pretty serious thing. Back during our last attempt at imperialism in Viet Nam, deserting, or going AWOL for more than 30 days was good for a Bad Conduct Discharge and three years in Barb Wire City. It seems that since the “Commander-in-Chief” has been proven to have deserted during that time, the Army is a little less willing to punish people for waking off the job.

Despite the continued increase in desertions, however, an Associated Press examination of Pentagon figures earlier this year showed that the military does little to find those who bolt, and rarely prosecutes the ones they get. Some are allowed to simply return to their units, while most are given less-than-honorable discharges.

The Army has changed. Even the Colonels and Generals are beginning to figure it out.