The US government continues its fine tradition of attracting the finest individuals to kill for noble endeavours:
Teens looking to hook up with a friend on the popular Web site MySpace may bump into an unexpected buddy: the U.S. Marine Corps. So far, more than 12,000 Web surfers have signed on as friends of the Corps in response to the latest military recruiting tactic.
MySpace.com, the Internet’s most popular social networking site with over 94 million registered users, has helped redefine the way a generation communicates. Users, many in their teens and 20s, post personal profiles and accumulate lists of friends and contacts with common interests.
The Marine Corps set up its own MySpace profile in February to reach a new generation of potential recruits. The Army, which originally balked at advertising on MySpace because of well-publicized incidents of child predators using the site to meet kids, plans to soon set up its own profile page.
“That’s definitely the new wave,” said Gunnery Sgt. Brian Lancioni at a Hawaii recruiting event. “Everything’s technical with these kids, and the Internet is a great way to show what the Marine Corps has to offer.”…
Recruitment is clearly way below expectations. When US Generals start talking about civil war in Iraq – clearly men of a leftist bent who pray for “Coalition” defeat – American youngsters aren’t going to be rushing to fight the advertised enemy.