How should we support our troops in Iraq?

Question

Soldiers in Iraq view troop surge as a lost cause. "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; they get it sugar-coated." While senior military officials and the Bush administration say the president's decision to send more American troops to pacify Baghdad will succeed, many of the soldiers who're already there say it's a lost cause. Soldiers interviewed across east Baghdad, said the violence is so out of control that while a surge of 21,500 more American troops may momentarily suppress it, the notion that U.S. forces can bring lasting security to Iraq is misguided. Almost every foot soldier interviewed during a week of patrols on the streets and alleys of east Baghdad said that Bush's plan would halt the bloodshed only temporarily. The soldiers cited a variety of reasons

Answer 1

To support our troops, we should bring them home. If not, they should at least be moved away from the civil war fighting and let make the Iraqis step up to decide want they want for their country.

Answer 2

I was an Army Infantryman from '92-'96. I never did like the way people "support" our troops by putting stupid magnetic yellow ribbons on their cars.

You want to support a soldier? Why not directly do it? If you own a company, give soldiers a discount on your products. If you know a soldier is coming home for leave, try to keep the soldier entertained, so they can have some good memories to take back when they get redeployed. Heck, pay for their meals. Anything! It doesn't help them to give money to magnetic sticker companies.

Answer 3

I find the quote you included suprising ....

'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; they get it sugar-coated."

I thought people on here (the conservatives who live on here which seems like 90% of the Yahoo Answers population) keep banging on about the good the soldiers are doing and how all we hear from the media is all the bad stuff like the deaths .......

So which is it????

Answer 4

As an American, I will always support the troops even if I don't agree completely with their leaders. I fully support them by helping any way I can through the Blue Star Mothers organization. They send personal supplies and care packages to the soldiers fighting overseas.

I also help organize "penny drives" through our middle school students where I am their counselor. Just before Christmas we raised $624.93 to help with Christmas Care boxes sent out by Blue Star Moms in our area. The kids also made lots of Christmas cards to send in the boxes. We've sent homemade Valentines and plan another penny drive before Easter!

Answer 5

There are two main ways we can support our troops.

The first is to extend them all the gratitude and other courtesies they have earned by volunteering to serve their country. We can do this as simply as expressing thanks directly to anyone we happen to meet in uniform. With a bit more effort, you can find addresses for shipping care packages to any member of the military in Iraq or Afghanistan, send donations to the USO or other charities working for/with the guys & girls in uniform, etc.

The second way to show support is to be good, engaged American citizens. Our armed forces have been constituted to support an active democracy that encourages participation, debate, and dissent. Especially if you believe the war in Iraq has been mismanaged past the point of fiasco (as I do), you need to express these thoughts--respectfully and intelligently. Mindless kowtowing to the "commander in chief" as some Republican/Administration loyalists advocate is un-American and undermines the courage, devotion to duty, and selfless patriotism that our soldiers, Marines, sailors, and airmen demonstrate around the world every day.

The US is extraordinarily lucky in the quality of the young men and women serving in its military.

Answer 6

People mix up supporting troops and supporting war (or not) the same thing when they are not. Supporting the troops would be writing them letters, wishing them well and saying they are doing a good job.

Supporting the war would be saying you think we should be there.

Also realize that when "supporting our troops" remmber they are not all shooting people, you're also supporting people who are helping your fellow countryman. I don't support the war but I support the troops as they have taken on responsibility I would never want.

Answer 7

I purely revealed this in answer to a unique question it truly is really a similar as yours, so i will replica and paste it the following. >>> i will inform you from own journey that the situations at Walter Reed have not something to do with the Bush administration. I worked at Walter Reed contained in the previous due Nineties at the same time as Clinton grow to be in place of work and we were combating "Clinton's Wars" (all the peacekeeping missions US troops were being despatched on in the course of the globe). We had the exact same issues then, and they were a proper away results of funding cuts, cuts in protection rigidity spending, etc. i grow to be those days again at Walter Reed and at the same time as the employees now sees better sufferers than they did before and also ought to grant housing for relatives of wounded infantrymen, a number of the former issues were fastened. The crappy previous med carry barracks that grow to be there at the same time as i grow to be has been thoroughly renovated. The previous "gym in a trailer" they'd has been replaced via a clean gym. quite a number of wards were redone, repainted, and refurbished. a clean pc gadget is in position to make it a lot less stressful to percentage information between wards and between hospitals. All of those improvements were made less than the present administration, even regardless of the reality that there is a conflict on. yet the information that are so dependent in about how badly the veterans are dealt with and how terrible and in a shambles the protection rigidity clinical gadget is carefully overlook to inform you about that. in addition they overlook to inform you about the run-down barracks on different posts that are run down because of the funding cuts and downsizing of the protection rigidity less than Clinton. when I deployed for OIF on the proper of 2003, we spent months refurbishing previous barracks that had mould, mold, water contained in the basements, etc. They were really locked up and left at the same time as Clinton downsized the military. Now that they are needed, they weren't waiting. If each body is going to point palms they decide on to point them contained in the right route.

Answer 8

Fire there boss and send them home and redeploy some to Afghanistan that place is salvageable. Iraq is a waste of people and money. We can then take the time to rebuild our forces and take stock of lessons learned. hopefully the executive powers will be brought back into balance with the other branches of govt to prevent this stupidity from happening again.

Answer 9

You support them by thanking them for the service they have provided to our country. They are only doing their job and they try to do it without getting killed or wounded. Whether or not you are for or against the war, the people that signed up for the military are doing their job to the best of their ability.

Answer 10

We can best support our troops by getting them home. Even the generals are saying that they don't have the armor/vehicles to support the surge. We should continue supporting them by making sure that veteran's hospitals and outpatient services are fully funded.