To Be Announced...

Wow...fair and balanced from America's campuses:

Iowa Guard recruiting up

UI senior Andrew McElmeel said he felt a desire to take part in the war effort so much that he volunteered to be deployed overseas as soon as possible.

"I've always wanted to go into the military," he said. "It's also an awesome way to knock off some [college debt]."

Though the Bush administration's plan for Iraq - which calls for an additional 21,500 troops in the embattled country - has elicited vows from political opponents who say they won't support the commander-in-chief's proposal, recruitment numbers in Iowa show a steady increase in the number of people signing up for duty.

In 2004, 1,076 enlisted in the Iowa National Guard. The following year, 1,193 men and women did the same. Another 1,337 soldiers joined last year, which sent recruiting numbers back to pre-9/11 levels, according to the National Guard.

It hasn't made the "major" press yet, but this is good news so don't hold your breath.

But UI graduate Tiffany Jenkins...After finishing her deployment to the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, she said, she remains personally invested in the outcome of the war - especially because her brother and sister both enlisted.

"Nobody wants people to be over there, but the mission needs to be accomplished," she said.

But despite opposition to the war, Jenkins remains firm in her belief that the United States is doing the right thing by staying in Iraq.

"I think there are some decisions that could be made differently, but no war is perfect," she said.

If only our politicians had such wisdom and patience.

Labels: iraq, recruiting