U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Zachary Dyer
The caption for the above Pentagon photo says --
Marine Sgt Austin Hunt, a trumpet player with the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing Band and a member of the Tactical Air Control Center security force in Al Asad, Iraq, plays morning colors outside the center, April 10, 2007
But what's most interesting about the associated story is the subtext: that troop shortages in Iraq are sufficiently severe that the Marines are now putting troops who would normally be on band duty into frontline security jobs. As Sgt Hunt says, "All Marines are riflemen," but that doesn't change the fact that George W. Bush is still pursuing a war in Iraq without even enough troops to properly implement his very selective surge, let alone perform full-scale peacekeeping for the entire country.
[Note: this trend has been underway for a while]
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