Americans support the troops with food, soap, DVDs

Four years into the war in Iraq, private support for US soldiers looks as strong as ever.

from the March 23, 2007 edition

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Some try to profit from aid efforts

An unfortunate side effect of the apparent continued goodwill toward US soldiers has been unethical entrepreneurs seeking to profit from people's desire to support the troops.

AnySoldier.com is taking legal action against four organizations that took the address of soldiers for free from their website and then sold them to other people trying to donate items to soldiers.

Other companies selling premade care packages reportedly use only a small percentage of donations for soldiers and make a healthy profit from the business.

To avoid scams, soldier aid organizations recommend going through established channels. Aside from dodging groups with dubious intents, Marian Watt, public relations chairperson for Operation Quiet Comfort, warns, "If you try to go out on your own to do something, you're not going to get very far. There's a lot of red tape."

Charles Moskos, noted military sociologist at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., questions whether genuine, widespread support for troops exists.

"What I think characterizes America today is what I term 'patriotism light'," he explains. "It's more symbolic, rather than true support."

Not all care packages come from Americans who support the war, but many soldiers don't seem to mind.

"I would still accept it," says Pvt. David Bounds from the 610 Brigade Support Battalion in Baghdad. "They may not support the reasons why we are here, but it's good that they still care in some aspect."

• Correspondent Sam Dagher contributed reporting from Baghdad.

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