What Do They Know That We Don't?

Fact #1:

Schoomaker said recruiting problems are offset by high retention among active divisions, especially in units that have served or are serving in Iraq. He said the Army has exceeded its personnel retention goal by 9 percent, with soldiers in the Third Infantry Division -- now on its second tour in Iraq -- reenlisting at 112 percent of the goal. The First Cavalry Division has the highest reenlistment rate, at 138 percent of the goal, according to the Army. All 10 of the Army's divisions are surpassing retention estimates.

In other words, the military personnel actually fighting in Iraq are re-enlisting by the droves.

Fact #2 from the same source, and as headlined in numerous MSM sources here and here, for example:

The Army National Guard, a cornerstone of the U.S. force in Iraq, missed its recruiting goal for at least the ninth straight month in June and is nearly 19,000 soldiers below its authorized strength, military officials said Monday.

The Army Guard was seeking 5,032 new soldiers in June but signed up only 4,337, a 14 percent shortfall, according to statistics released Monday by the Pentagon. It is more than 10,000 soldiers behind its year-to-date goal of almost 45,000 recruits, and has missed its recruiting target during at least 17 of the last 18 months.

In other words, on the home front new recruitments have been down.

In my humble opinion, Fact #2 might have something to do with this kind of relentless distortion about the miliary in the media and this behavior by the anti-American antiwar forces. Of course, to the MSM it has to do with this:

Recruiting has become more difficult over the past year as public attitudes about the war in Iraq have shifted and as those the Army calls "influencers"-- such as parents and coaches -- are less frequently suggesting the military as an option for young Americans...

Gee, I wonder why public attitudes have shifted? Could it possibly be connected with the completely negative doom and gloom war coverage by the mainstream media?

Because, the question that arises from the two facts outlined above is this: what do the people who are actually fighting the war in Iraq know that the average citizen (who gets their information secondhand, as it were) does't know?

Hmmmmm.