Five Down…
Posted by Sheila on March 20th, 2008 filed in ObservationsFrom: Scutro
So far none of the troops we’ve spoken to here care about the ‘five year anniversary’ of the 2003 invasion. Time is measured more by deployments made, marriages destroyed, babies born and friends lost. The notion of an ‘anniversary’ seems more like a media creation. Then to open a major news website this morning and read about a reporter who “revisits a hotel in Baghdad where five years ago he watched the start of the war” under a headline: Why Iraq Still Matters.
Powered by Gregarious (34)
March 21st, 2008 at 5:15 am
LET’S GET DONE RIGHT NOT LIKE VEITNAM I’M A MARINE CORPS VET OF THAT WAR.WE CAN
DO IT FOR THE ONES THAT WE LOST. THESER BAD GUYS AREN’T GOING AWAY.SO WE
ENGAGE THEM AND KILL THEM AND ANYMORE THAT ARE AROUND. SO THIS IS HOW THEY WANT IT. THEY DON’T LIKE HOW WE LIVE SO LET THEM LIVE IN THE COUNTRY AND WE WILL LIVE IN OURS. BUT WHEN YOU .BUT THEY BLEW UP TWO BUILDING IMN NEW YORK AND SAID THEY
THEY WOULD DO MORE THEN WE ARE COMING AT THEM AND WE WILL FINISH THEM OFF.
NO MATTER WHERE THEY LIVE. SEMPER FI
March 21st, 2008 at 7:11 am
It’s a media hype(The Annivesary), we as soldiers don’t care about the 5 year time span. I served with the 4th Infantry Division Artillery from 2001 till 2004 and recieved the Purple Heart wounds recieved in combat. Most soldiers have done at least two tours in iraq and some more than 4.
But what sticks out more than anything is that we are still there. The insurgency is not going anywhere and we have become the police force for the Iraqi nation. As you read this wewill have lost over 4000 soldiers.Whatwere our goverments plans for this war? We know now that there were no weapons of mass destruction. Forget 5 and down let’s bring our men and women home.
March 21st, 2008 at 8:27 am
This war has no end and soldiers and marines are dying everyday. Putting an end to terrorism is a falicy. The longer we stay in Iraq, the thinner our armed forces will become regardless of the weak incentives the gov comes up with each year to lure new recruits. What good will it do to replace your senior leaders who are leaving with 18-19 yr olds?
March 21st, 2008 at 1:46 pm
5 years is just a number, and yet its speaks volumes. It shows that Marines don’t quit, we can’t and we won’t. Our brothers, and sisters, have made that ultimate sacrifice to rid the evil that harbors intself in Iraq. And make no mistake, this is pure evil, plain and simple. They shall not and will not die in vain. We fight on for them, for America, for our children and theirs. Retreat? Run away? It’s an insult to what they stood for and they died for. The thought is unbearable, and the situation is unacceptable.
March 22nd, 2008 at 3:29 am
I am the father of a marine sgt who is preparting for his 3rd tour in iraq. I support him and all his marines. I understand what the marines, sailors and soldiers are going thru. I spent 13 months of hell in 1981 in Nam. we need to finish what we started or will be for nothing. I live in san antonio texas I am a retired sailor I have to go to Brooks army medical center all the time. I see the mamed and messed up soldiers., and marines. I ask them how they are doing and they always have a positive attitude. many want to be with there units again. to me the 5 years mean nothing, my son says the same thing. but one day we need to leave there with honor and start letting the iraqi’s take care of there own problems. if this country elects a demo liberal we better get ready to fight over here. cause those demo liberals will make a peace with the insurgents and then they will be over here blowing things up!
SEMP FI!
March 23rd, 2008 at 1:20 am
the war isnt over and it will never be. we will continue to loose troops and to others faily members and friends. the bush administration gives a damn about a soldier lost. they do not understand the everyday life of a soldier, they are just about number thats it. if the war was legit and properly tasked out we wouldnt have protesters, deserters, etc. this war has torn the U.S. military strength a great amount, so bad that if we had to go into another conflict that may be way more important than iraq we would fail tremendously. we are at 20 percent but at all times our military strength should be at 110 percent thats standard. but fuck it. how rich did the bush administration and thier buddies get? yeah thier children would never have to worry.
March 23rd, 2008 at 5:55 pm
5 years, I agree, it is merely a number…I’ve just begun reading the book, ‘The Final Move Beyond Iraq,’ by Mike Evans. I’m so proud of each and every Service Member that is courageously sacrificing their life for the freedom we call home here in America. It’s not about being a republican or democrat, not about the right or the left wing, not about pro or anti-war…but what it is about is taking the enemy down with a unified Army. However, it is maddening and saddening about all the families that have been split up, loves ones lost, and the health affects the war is having on so many troops…one thing to keep in mind is that war has been a part of history before any of us were a mere thought…
March 23rd, 2008 at 9:19 pm
5 years, wow. still killng and insurgency? 5 years, wow
March 24th, 2008 at 12:04 am
5 Years, no progression at all, yes we have a green zone… what good will it do once we leave? IF we leave… it doesnt make sense… They have police, let them handle their own country. We are military, when I swore in it was under the idea that I would be protecting US citizens, and Ideals, not foreigners. Every year we spend overseas is another year full of families destroyed. No father should ever have to bury their son, or live long enough to burry them. It should be the other way around.
March 24th, 2008 at 12:58 am
I know that none of us actually care about the five years. Who really wants to be reminded how long this has been going on? My husband is deployed right now. Although there has been progress, it’s tiring. It’s as if we’re expected to stay there and babysit Iraq. Personally I say let them have thier country back so we can have ours back. Due to constant deployments, we cannot have the family we dreamed of. I have one son, and although we wanted more, I don’t feel like bringing more kids in this world to miss Daddy. I am proud of the job our soldiers have done. You just can’t help someone who can’t help themselves. My husband has been away more then home. It’s not fair. I’ve seen families torn apart, children with mental issues because they don’t understand. One could say, if you can’t handle it, leave. I didn’t marry my husband to leave him. I stand side by side with him. He’s missing us just as much as we miss him. I don’t see much more of an improvement though. Let’s be done and tell them to grow up and take care of themselves.
March 24th, 2008 at 11:56 am
After 5 years, what have we accomplished? How many times have the mission goals been changed to extend the war? How many politians have filled their pockets with loot as Americans die in Iraq. I see pictures passed around the internet of smiling Iraqi children and U.S. soldiers. Where are the pictures of U.S. families torn apart by the loss or injury of a family member. The press talks about safer Iraqi neighborhoods, yet there are neighborhoods in America I’m afraid to drive through. When will we put our country and its citizens first, so that we can better help the world. Lots of questions, and no answers from our leaders.
March 24th, 2008 at 11:58 am
It doesn’t matter why we went anymore, all that matters is that we are there. Is it horrible to lose brothers and sisters in this on going fight against terror, yes. But, thats what it is no matter what the right or left says. To me, and thats the only person I can speak for, its a fight to make sure my family, friends, and loved ones don’t have to be afraid. They can live in peace and the freedom to express their opinions whatever they might be and boy this war has seen a lot. I know what I signed up for, to defend this country against all enemies foreign and domestic and thats what I am going to keep doing. You can’t rebuild a government overnight, the U.S. is over 200 years old and we still haven’t got it all figured out, hell we had a civil war at the ripe old age of 86. Am I saying stay that long, no, but I am saying at least let us finish what we started. I know this comment is kind of all over the place but that’s what this subject does to me, its impossible to say exactly what I want to.
March 24th, 2008 at 3:51 pm
please people, re-read your postings before you click to submit. Look what you are saying…
(I am the father of a marine sgt who is preparting for his 3rd tour in iraq. I support him and all his marines. I understand what the marines, sailors and soldiers are going thru. I spent 13 months of hell in 1981 in Nam.)
Nam in 1981? Wow, didnt know we fought that war for that long?
…………..
March 25th, 2008 at 9:05 am
5 Years later…why we came out here no longer should matter, what shoudl matter is all the lives we have lost, and will continue to lose. Should we make the great mistake of pulling out now, we have invested too much to pull out. Billions of dollars spent every month, making the living conditons more liveable and more permanent. The US Governement shells out twice/thrice as much paying one US Contractor to come out here, rather than paying the soldiers who have made multiple tours out here that severance. I myself am on my 2nd tour out here in less than 3 years…my home life that used to matter so much, is now in shambles. Sure I knew of the dangers that existed when I swore to uphold and defend our nation….So did the rest of my brothers and sisters that joined such an elite fighting force. I have lost my marriage in this war as well. What of the other soldiers? The soldiers that get up every day, lace up their boots for the miles theyll walk that day, strap on that ballistic vest that they will carry through the miles of road convoys, the kevlar used to protect their minds. So many new rules on combat, they can bomb from afar, we cannot do nothing in defense since we dont have “visual confirmation” soldiers we lose every day leave the service in righteous helplessness. We have been in the war long enough to know that we cant change our profession, but how we go about this war, should change. Like the enemy we cannot see, or fight …we are ever changing and ever adapting. Ill miss my brothers and sisters dearly, those that have passed. Mourn with their families and take the time to honor a profession which they have chosen to defend with their honor and complete commitment. Let us, finish this war. To abandon this….would only be a mistake.
March 25th, 2008 at 2:41 pm
To many of us, the start of the war doesn’t even matter. All we care about is if I’m going back, when am I going back, and what is going to happen this time if and when I go back. Not one of us as Soldiers are too concerned with how many years we have been at this. I know for one that I don’t care. I knew what I signed up for, I just didn’t know that that much of what I had would suffer. I had a ton of issues while I was gone, only to come home and they build and get worse. So, to remind us of the fact that it has been 5 years, lets not forget that Afghanistan has been going since 2001 if you even care to remember, we as Soldiers, Airmen, Marines, and so forth don’t really think about how long it has been going on we think of what has happened to us while we have been over there fighting this war.
March 26th, 2008 at 7:24 am
5 Years doesnt mean anything. Once again we fight , defend, and die for another country. But for our leaders intrest and wallet. While at the same time we can’t control our own border at home. When will we fight for ourselves. Last time i looked at a map we didnt have a border with afghanastan or iraq. if 911 was as they say a terror attack the fault is on the agencys screening and letting people in. But everyday they walk right over from the north and south of us. Who am I and you really fighting for ?? Dont believe the hype we soldiers arnt blind to the political BS Democratic or Republican it is all the same in the end. Puppets behind the machine.
March 26th, 2008 at 11:35 am
5 Years, all down the drain for nothing. Being a former service member, it was hard being away from my family. now my husband is currently deployed and i have to tell my kids daddy will be back soon, i am tired of telling them that. i think it time for ALL OUR TROOPS to come home. and stop fighting this war. Why don’t we send MR. BUSH and his Organization over there to fight. and see how long they will last there. i know we signed up to defend our country but if the Iraq’s want to kill themselves let them. We should be focused on other issues like the survivors of Hurricane Katrina and homeless veterans. we need to focus on US first and everyone last. i am tired of being a single mother. i have lost toooo many comrades over this nonsense. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH MR. PRESIDENT.