Monday, May 28, 2007

Hung Out To Dry

Trying not to die. It's goddamn Vietnam, all over again. Clusterfucked, pointless futility. NYTimes (05.28.07):
"[N]ow on his third deployment in Iraq, [Staff Sgt. David Safstrom] is no longer a believer in the mission. The pivotal moment came, he says, this February when soldiers killed a man setting a roadside bomb.

When they searched the bomber’s body, they found identification showing him to be a sergeant in the Iraqi Army."

As Allies Turn Foe, Disillusion Rises in Some G.I.’s

"'I thought: 'What are we doing here? Why are we still here?' 'said Sergeant Safstrom, a member of Delta Company of the First Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry, 82nd Airborne Division. 'We’re helping guys that are trying to kill us. We help them in the day. They turn around at night and try to kill us.'"

"'In 2003, 2004, 100 percent of the soldiers wanted to be here, to fight this war,' said Sgt. First Class David Moore, a self-described 'conservative Texas Republican” and platoon sergeant who strongly advocates an American withdrawal. 'Now, 95 percent of my platoon agrees with me.'"

"To [squad leader Sergeant Kevin O’Flarity], the Iraqi security forces are militias beholden to local leaders, not the Iraqi government. 'Half of the Iraqi security forces are insurgents,' he said.

"As for his views on the war, Sergeant O’Flarity said, “I don’t believe we should be here in the middle of a civil war.”

"'We’ve all lost friends over here,' he said. 'Most of us don’t know what we’re fighting for anymore. We’re serving our country and friends, but the only reason we go out every day is for each other.'"

"'I don’t want any more of my guys to get hurt or die,' he continued. 'If it was something I felt righteous about, maybe. But for this country and this conflict, no, it’s not worth it.'"

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