The War as They Saw It

An excellent and timely letter was written by seven army veterans recently returning from a 15 month deployment in Iraq. Their position leans on their experiences as well as the historical context of the situation in hopes to clarify the unreasonable and as they describe “surreal,” insistence that things are getting better in Iraq. The letter was published in The New York Times on August 20th.


http://www.alternet.org/asoldierspeaks/60290/

(original article published by The NY Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/19/opinion/19jayamaha.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

The opening paragraph frankly states:

“To believe that Americans, with an occupying force that long ago outlived its reluctant welcome, can win over a recalcitrant local population and win this counterinsurgency is far-fetched.”

One of the many reality check offered throughout the letter:

“The ability of, say, American observers to safely walk down the streets of formerly violent towns is not a resounding indicator of security. What matters is the experience of the local citizenry and the future of our counterinsurgency. When we take this view, we see that a vast majority of Iraqis feel increasingly insecure and view us as an occupation force that has failed to produce normalcy after four years and is increasingly unlikely to do so as we continue to arm each warring side.”

One of the concluding points to take away from the letter:

“In the end, we need to recognize that our presence may have released Iraqis from the grip of a tyrant, but that it has also robbed them of their self-respect. They will soon realize that the best way to regain dignity is to call us what we are - an army of occupation - and force our withdrawal.”

With so much blame being laid on the Iraqi government, this letter offers clues as to why there is so little “progress.” These active duty veterans have stepped outside the Washington talking point blaming the Iraqi government and have found that the US occupation force contributes to and guarantees this lack of progress. For some time now Senator Levin has charged that the Iraqi government is responsible for the lack of progress and he has now called for Prime Minister al Maliki’s resignation.


http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070821/POLITICS/708210356/1022

However, it seems clear that there are other more responsible individuals that deserve blame for the destruction and chaos which has become synonymous with Iraq. Yet blame offers no solutions and in the end our occupation of Iraq is just as disastrous no matter who is pinned with responsibility. The only true solution, the only way for Iraq to begin its recovery, is for our immediate and orderly withdrawal.

Posted at Friday, August 24, 2007
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