Why should we listen to the USA troops in Iraq?

Question

Soldiers in Iraq view troop surge as a lost cause
By Tom Lasseter
McClatchy Newspapers

Staff Sgt. Robert Johnson, 29, of Montgomery, Alabama, questions two Iraqis digging a ditch on the side of the road.
"AND" Army 1st Lt. Antonio Hardy took a slow look around the east Baghdad neighborhood that he and his men were patrolling. He grimaced at the sound of gunshots in the distance. A machine gunner on top of a Humvee scanned the rooftops for snipers. Some of Hardy's men wondered aloud if they'd get hit by a roadside bomb on the way back to their base.


"To be honest, it's going to be like this for a long time to come, no matter what we do," said Hardy, 25, of Atlanta. "I think some people in America don't want to know about all this violence, about all the killings. The people back home are shielded from it; Many Americans don't want to see the violence. Out of sight and out of mind. "We are not going to win over here in Iraq" Johnson said. It's a lost cause.

Answer 1

Most of the US troops in Iraq view escalation as a step backwards and prevents the US from victory.

The bipartisan Iraq Study Group opposed such a move in no uncertain terms. "Sustained increases in U.S. troop levels would not solve the fundamental cause of violence in Iraq, which is the absence of national reconciliation," the report says. "Meanwhile, America's military capacity is stretched thin: we do not have the troops or equipment to make a substantial, sustained increase in our troop presence. Increased deployments to Iraq would also necessarily hamper our ability to provide adequate resources for our efforts in Afghanistan or respond to crises around the world." The ISG report emphasizes the need to engage more effectively in the battle of ideas in the Arab world. First, the report says, Bush "should state that the United States does not seek permanent military bases in Iraq." (Last June, the New York Times reported the administration was making plans for "maintaining a force of roughly 50,000 troops there for years to come.") Second, the U.S. must show a "renewed and sustained commitment" to a "comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace on all fronts." Gen. John P. Abizaid, until recently the senior commander in the Middle East, insists that the answer to our problems there is not military. "You have to internationalize the problem. You have to attack it diplomatically, geo-strategically," he said. His assessment is supported by Gen. George W. Casey Jr., the senior American commander in Iraq, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who only recommend releasing forces with a clear definition of the goals for the additional troops. A surge is not acceptable to the people in this country -- we have voted overwhelmingly against this war in polls (about 80 percent of the public is against escalation, and a recent Military Times poll shows only 38 percent of active military want more troops sent) and at the polls.

Answer 2

I think all Americans want to be out of Iraq. No one wants to send our sons and daughters to a fight overseas. There is a diference between wanting to do something and having to do it. And the present war is a case of the latter. I believe you are saying that you have a statistical number saying that most Americans want the US government to pull troops home now. If that is the case I question your sources. Maybe in liberal populations or because of the liberaL media it may seem that most Americans disapprove of the war but I am an American that believes that troops should come home when the military believes the job is done. I don't serve in the military and I don't know about those matters. I support the troops and don't presume to tell people how to do their jobs.

Answer 3

More FABRICATED additions to a copyrighted article by the habitual LIAR who calls himself erudite.....

He is a dispicable piece of semi-human trash that thinks he is the newest incarnation of Tokyo Rose. An untimate anti-american propagandist....

Let us list the numerous fabrications and lies in this article...

We'll start off with "Staff Sgt. Robert Johnson, 29, of Montgomery, Alabama, questions two Iraqis digging a ditch on the side of the road."..... which appears NOWHERE in the story....

And of cource the part with the completely FABRICATED LIE of a quote.... "Many Americans don't want to see the violence. Out of sight and out of mind. "We are not going to win over here in Iraq" Johnson said. It's a lost cause."

You are a dispicable liar erudite.... you have no honor... you have a special place in hell reserved for the likes of you.... I'm sure a few of today's soldiers, and quite a few veterans would like to help you get there earlier than planned, for your dispicable actions

Answer 4

I would listen to the soldiers and not the politicians. But you have to be careful, are we hearing what the soldiers are saying or is the media putting a spin on it. I was in the Army for nine years and I support the troops just not the morons who make the decisions.

Answer 5

First off beacause they are there witnessing everything we are NOT. second the goverment and the media dont always tell the truth. The goverment has told so many lies i have lost count and thanks to a lil somthing called the first amendment you cant always belive the meida. Third the US troops in irac are over there fighting and risking there lifes and your sitting here basicly asking if they are liars or not and that isnt cool you really should suport our troops. I also have family members in iraq so i know for a fact that alot of soldiers are telling the truth and we should belive them.

Answer 6

This is the ABSOLUTE TRUTH about iraq. Straight from the soldiers mouth. Shouldn't we believe them over some TV journalist forced to report only good by the government?

Answer 7

No one knows what really happens over there BUT them, why wouldn't you listen to them?? Taking a couple soldiers opinion isn't an option, before posting a question like this, do more research on different soldiers and their different locations in the country, it is different everywhere!!

Answer 8

Sure, let us listen to all the troops, collectively, and in a reasonable manner. Listening to the troops includes listening to the command structure, from the private, all the way to the President.

Answer 9

Erudite ... By the other similar questions I've seen you post, I'm beginning to think you're trying to fill Michael Moore's shoes. You have a lot of complaints, but no solutions. I have a word to describe people like that: "Useless."

ANYone can find problems and inadequacies. However, unless it's your intent to just complain, I suggest you listen and follow instead of merely trying to make waves.

In the military, we had an expression: "Lead, follow, or get out of the damned way." This applies to you and other chronic complainers. If you're so smart, let's hear your solutions, please.

Answer 10

I think we should listen to our common sense, and realise that the war in Iraq is one major crime against humanity.
Bring the troops home.
War is for terrorists, peace is for humans.