Bloody Bloody Surge
For the last several weeks, there have been thousands of new troops deployed to Iraq. Americans have heard about this "surge" of 30,000 or more soldiers who are here to improve the security situation down in Baghdad, but we actually get to see them. I am in Balad (Camp Anaconda) and almost all of these new soldiers are stopping here before they get to their final destination (Baghdad). They arrive by C130 and then are bussed over to our side of base where their transportation will be helo's for the short flight to Baghdad. I work near the airfield, so for the last several weeks when I would be leaving the office I would walk past the terminal where the formations of soldiers, with all there gear, would be waiting for their flights south. They are young. Very young. Mostly men, but a few woman as well. They are doing what we all did when we first got into the country. We were anxious...excited....and a little awkward. We didn't know what to expect. As I looked out at the formation, I saw their bags and gear lined up and I watched them as they interacted with each other and did the whole hurry up and wait game. Some read books...some listed to their MP3s. A few smoked and shot the shit. They didn't look scared this bunch. Not at all. Just the opposite. They looked content. Excited that they were finally going to be "in the fight." They...were going to war. But we members of the "Fobbets" club, (named for those of us who rarely leave the FOB) we feel a little envious of them. I mean, we know that we all have our jobs to do, but still, we all feel a little guilty about knowing that these guys are going into some horrible shit while we live in our safe little "gated community" and have many of the comforts of home like movies, swimming pools, and fast food. Today I read that a young paralegal (which is what I am) was killed two days ago in combat related action. He was young...not infantry....a paper pusher. Yet he was killed. Like hundreds who have died since the surge began, he was most likely blown up by an IED or a suicide bomber. He didn't join to knock down doors. To root out insurgents. He joined to be a paralegal. I bet for the college money. This is not a unique story I am sure. I wonder how many of the soldiers I passed on their way to Baghdad have met with a similar fate? I shudder to think. It is painful to think of any of those young kids losing their lives before they have had a real chance to live at all. God. I won't tell you what I wish for. It will upset many of you. I don't want to do that to you. I am safe....but inside...I feel torn. And yes...I feel a little guilty. I don't know why I guess. Well yes...actually I do. Think of them. Pray for them.
posted by An Army of One at May 19, 2007
1 Comments:
I know. You were gonna say that you'd take their place in a minute. All those poor people, those poor soldiers who've had Bush's wool pulled over their eyes, thinking that this is a war worth fighting...a war that is worth the thousands and thousands of US casualties...well it's not worth fighting, it's not worth us being there. Finally it seems like the rest of the country is picking up that mind set, realizing that Bush is nothing more than a big kid playing Stratego. And badly. Yes, we went in there to remove Saddam from power...mission accomplished. Now we're still there, supposedly trying to "bring peace" to the middle east...and all we're doing is killing our own. Who came to help us fight out our civil war? No one. Certainly not the middle east. I understand the difficulty of pulling out of a situation we had no small part in creating, but another 30,000 troops sent to their deaths? For what? Because Bush is a big asshole who can't admit that he was wrong, can't admit to lying and warping the truth to begin this war? Well now we've sent another pile of young men and women to their possible deaths. All the while, weakening our own defenses here in the US. What happens if someone decides to attack our home soil because we're still standing in Baghdad with our pants down? We're screwed, basically. And to think, this all started with a group of terrorists fronted by Osama Bin-Laden who took down the twin towers...yes, we've killed some of the Taliban, gotten some of our revenge or retribution, but why the hell are we still in Iraq? Why is Osama still living? And the worst thing is that everyone should know that for every 1 terrorist leader we take down, there are 3 more waiting to take their place...this so-called war against terror shouldn't be fought mainly in the Middle East, we should be focusing on our own country, securing our borders, keeping these bastards out of the US, and taking down terror cells here. I shudder to think of the amount of military that is no longer here to protect us...I shudder to think of the next major terror attack on US soil...the clock is ticking down on that one, it's inevitable, and the way this administration has been run over the last 7 years, I really can't blame them for hating us...especially when the majority of the country is against Bush and just about everything he stands for.
I do, however commend the men and women who go over there, to support their fellow soldiers...like you, my love...I hold the highest respect for all of the troops who go over there risking their lives for "the war against terror"...I like to refer to it as T.W.A.T. hehehe...Anyways, I have so much respect for all the troops, and especially their families who are left behind here like me...Godspeed all of you, and I pray for everyone's safe return, and the end of this administrations reign of stupidity. It's time to make our country great again, to make us worthy of the power we weild, to have us respected in the eyes of the world again.
Anyways, enough ranting...bottom line...this whole war has gone totally wrong, and I think it's time to re-focus on our own Homeland Security, not Iraq's.
I love you honey, and I pray every day for yours and all the soldier's safe return home.
-T
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