CAIRO — Growing increasingly disillusioned about the war, many US troops are getting more doubts about the reason for fighting and their ability to succeed against an elusive enemy, a leading American daily reported on Thursday, July 27.
"No one wants to be here, you know, no one is truly enthused about what we do," Sgt. Christopher Dugger, leader of the 2nd Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, 1st Armored Division, told the Washington Post.
"We were excited, but then it just wears on you -- there's only so much you can take," he said.
"I want to fight in a war like World War II. I want to fight an enemy.
"There is no enemy, it's a faceless enemy. He's out there, but he's hiding," said Dugger.
There are 130,000 US troops currently deployed in Iraq.
A recent poll has showed that the vast majority of US troops want to withdraw from Iraq within a year.
The Bush administration has invaded Iraq on claims of possessing weapons of mass destruction; the claim never proved true.
A recent US presidential report revealed that the administration was "dead wrong" on Iraq’s alleged WMD and its officials made the case for invading the oil-rich country despite intelligence doubts and strong voices of dissent.
What For?
"The first time somebody you know dies, the first thing you ask yourself is, 'Well, what did he die for'?" said Spec. Steffey.
Army Staff Sgt. Jose Sixtos was not less irritated about the mission.
"Think of what you hate most about your job. Then think of doing what you hate most for five straight hours, every single day, sometimes twice a day, in 120-degree heat," he told the American daily.
"Then ask how morale is." Frustrated? "You have no idea," Sixtos added.
A US study has revealed that US troops returning from Iraq have the highest rate of mental health consultation and psychological problems compared to other troops returning from Afghanistan and other trouble spots.
Many US soldiers have doubts about the cause they have been fighting for in Iraq, said the Washington Post.
"The first time somebody you know dies, the first thing you ask yourself is, 'Well, what did he die for'?" said Spec. Joshua Steffey, 24.
The company's commanding officer, Capt. Douglas A. DiCenzo, and his gunner, Spec. Robert E. Blair, were killed by a roadside bomb in May.
"The commanders in Baghdad and the Pentagon are looking at the big picture all the time, but for us, we don't see no big picture, it's just always another bomb out here," said Steffey.
Other soldiers echoed similar doubts.
"You lose a couple friends and it gets hard," said Spec. Tim Ivey, 28, a muscular former backup fullback for Baylor University.
"Honestly, it just feels like we're driving around waiting to get blown up. That's the most honest answer I could give you."
Some 2,565 US soldiers have been killed in the three-year US occupation of Iraq, according to an AFP tally based on Pentagon figures.
"I mean, if you compare the casualty count from this war to, say, World War II, you know obviously it doesn't even compare," noted Spec. David Fulcher, 22, a medic.
"But World War II, the big picture was clear -- you know you're fighting because somebody was trying to take over the world, basically. This is like, what did we invade here for?"
An "insatiable appetite for knowledge" and reading about the war and the infamous Abu Ghraib sex abuse scandal has led an "exemplary" US officer to refuse service in Iraq, becoming the first Army officer to be court-martialed for so doing.
What Freedom
Spec. Steffey said he wished "somebody would explain to us" what we're working for.
He said he could not care less "if Iraq's free" or "if they're a democracy."
The Bush administration claims it has sought to topple the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein to bring "freedom and democracy" to the people of Iraq.
But many US soldiers are increasingly doubtful of the claim.
"They say we're here and we've given them freedom, but really what is that," Fulcher asked.
"You know, what is freedom? You've got kids here who can't go to school. You've got people here who don't have jobs anymore. You've got people here who don't have power," he said.
"You know, so yeah, they've got freedom now, but when they didn't have freedom, everybody had a job."
Look this or threads like this have been put up multiple times and each time I show that these people have never even been to Iraq. This is getting boring.
Look this or threads like this have been put up multiple times and each time I show that these people have never even been to Iraq. This is getting boring.
Biased information is it? I guess the source is questionable. I'll have to remove it from my favorites list. Thanks!
Fear makes strangers of people who would be friends.
lol... this is all coming from the same person whose post was removed yesterday not only for defiance of forum rules but for posting a questionable source which has been refuted many times here on the forums... Strange form of projection
Text without context is pretext If your opponent is of choleric temperament, seek to irritate him
lol... this is all coming from the same person whose post was removed yesterday not only for defiance of forum rules but for posting a questionable source which has been refuted many times here on the forums... Strange form of projection
yea, sad isnt it, hehaw is what i hear from their mouths
Why dont u do urself a favor and find that out THANKS!
If a source posts materials which are untrue, I don't wish to use them a source of information. I fail to see how this reasoning is pathetic. It seems logical to me.
Fear makes strangers of people who would be friends.
If a source posts materials which are untrue, I don't wish to use them a source of information. I fail to see how this reasoning is pathetic. It seems logical to me.
that is great... I guess that will go for all the posts here b/c on either ends of the spectrum people are getting their articles from somewhere which someone else deems propaganda(ish) or rubbish or untruthful ... as was well demonstrated yesterday by Mr. Geronimo himself.......
Text without context is pretext If your opponent is of choleric temperament, seek to irritate him
Many of these supposed "interviews" with the American military in Iraq have been debunked before. I don't know about this particular article, but by the wording in the article I have my doubts of its authenticity. Without knowing for sure I won't voice a definite opinion on it.
that is great... I guess that will go for all the posts here b/c on either ends of the spectrum people are getting their articles from somewhere which someone else deems propaganda(ish) or rubbish or untruthful ... as was well demonstrated yesterday by Mr. Geronimo himself.......
You are correct. We all have our own definition of propaganda and define "unbiased" differently. To each their own I guess!
Fear makes strangers of people who would be friends.
more "american newssources" that tell us about this
Soldiers struggle for purpose, morale on patrol in Baghdad
By Joshua Partlow, Washington Post | July 30, 2006
BAGHDAD -- Army Staff Sergeant Jose Sixtos considered the simple question about morale for more than an hour. But not until his convoy of armored Humvees had finally rumbled back into the Baghdad military base, and the soldiers emptied the ammunition from their machine guns and passed off the bomb-detecting robot to another patrol, did he turn around in his seat and give his answer.
``Think of what you hate most about your job. Then think of doing what you hate most for five straight hours, every single day, sometimes twice a day, in 120-degree heat," he said. ``Then ask how morale is."
Frustrated? ``You have no idea," he said.
As President Bush plans to deploy more troops to Baghdad, US soldiers who have been patrolling the capital for months describe a deadly and infuriating mission in which the enemy is elusive and success is hard to find. Each day, convoys of Humvees and Bradley Fighting Vehicles leave Forward Operating Base Falcon in southern Baghdad with the goal of stopping violence between warring Iraqi religious sects, training the Iraqi Army and police to take over the duty, and reporting back on the availability of basic services for Iraqi civilians.
But some soldiers in the Second Battalion, Sixth Infantry Regiment, First Armored Division -- interviewed over four days -- say they have grown increasingly disillusioned about their ability to quell the violence, and their reason for fighting. The battalion of more than 750 arrived in Baghdad from Kuwait in March, and since then, six soldiers have been killed and 21 wounded.
``Honestly, it just feels like we're driving around waiting to get blown up. That's the most honest answer I could give you," said Specialist Tim Ivey, 28, of San Antonio, a muscular former fullback for Baylor University's football team . ``You lose a couple friends and it gets hard."
``No one wants to be here, you know. No one is truly enthused about what we do," said Sergeant Christopher Dugger, the squad leader. ``We were excited, but then it just wears on you; there's only so much you can take. Like me, personally, I want to fight in a war like World War II. I want to fight an enemy. And this, out here," he said, motioning toward the scorched sand-and-gravel base, the rows of Humvees and barracks, and the trash-strewn streets of Baghdad , ``there is no enemy; it's a faceless enemy. He's out there, but he's hiding."
``We're trained as an Army to fight and destroy the enemy and then take over," added Dugger, 26, of Reno . ``But I don't think we're trained enough to push along a country, and that's what we're actually doing out here."
``It's frustrating, but we are definitely a help to these people," he said. ``I'm out here with the guys that I know so well, and I couldn't picture myself being anywhere else."
After a five-hour patrol yesterday through southern Baghdad neighborhoods, soldiers from the First Platoon sat on wooden benches in an enclosed porch outside their barracks. Faces flushed and dirty from the grit and a beating sun, they smoked cigarettes and tossed them at a rusted can with ``Butts " written on it.
The commanders in Baghdad and the Pentagon are ``looking at the big picture all the time, but for us, we don't see no big picture, it's just always another bomb out here," said Specialist Joshua Steffey, 24, of Asheville, N.C. The company's commanding officer, Captain Douglas A. DiCenzo of Plymouth, N.H., and his gunner, Specialist Robert E. Blair of Ocala, Fla., were killed by a roadside bomb in May.
Steffey said he wished ``somebody would explain to us, `Hey, this is what we're working for.' " With a stream of expletives, he said he could not care less ``if Iraq's free" or ``if they're a democracy."
``The first time somebody you know dies, the first thing you ask yourself is, `Well, what did he die for?' "
``At this point, it seems like the war on drugs in America," added Specialist David Fulcher, 22, a medic from Lynchburg, Va., who sat alongside Steffey. ``It's like this never-ending battle, like, we find one IED [improvised explosive device] , if we do find it before it hits us, so what? You know it's just like if the cops make a big bust, next week the next higher-up puts more back out there."
``I think civil war is going to happen regardless," Steffey responded. `` Be it Sunni, be it Shi'ite, one side has to win. It's apparent, these people have made it obvious they can't live in unity." http://www.boston.com/news/world/mid...ol_in_baghdad/
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It seems logical to me.
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