We see conflicting reports about the situation in Iraq. The Kerry campaign and the network news programs would have us believe that the situation in Iraq is ugly. The war has become a quagmire, the people want us out, etc. Fox News and the like, meanwhile, paint a picture of an Iraq that is friendly towards U.S. and coalition troops, that welcomes them there, and a place where much progress is being made. Many of the letters I see from troops say things similar to what Fox News, etc., are reporting.
Some of our local troops are coming home after a year spent in Iraq. I've been sitting down and chatting with them and hearing what they have to say about the situation over there. Frankly, what I'm hearing is very surprising to me.
These guys were stationed just north of Fallujah in the Sunni Triangle. To a man, their story is very similar: When they first arrived in Fallujah just over a year ago, the people were friendly. Now, they're largely hostile.
Here's what one soldier in particular had to say:
"(The situation) seemed like it was just getting worse. We have a lot of terrorists coming in from Syria to Iraq. We were catching what guys we could. Now it seems like they're pushing further south to Baghdad. In the midst of all this fighting, we have civilians getting hurt and killed in the cross-fire. After a while, it seemed like we were just fighting the local people who had weapons because they were so mad at us.
"The kids used to come up and wave and shake our hand. After a while, they would come up and spit at us and throw rocks at us."
(Is this reaction by the locals something that repeats itself throughout the country, or is it restricted to that particular area of the Triangle?) "People are friendly in the south, near Kuwait. But the further north you get, the more hostile the people get......
"43 of the top 50 most wanted men have been caught, but the terrorists keep coming in. It just seemed like we were over there fighting and getting hurt for nothing. In my opinion, it's turning into another Vietnam. But we did our jobs, we did what we were told to do, and we did what we had to do. We can question, but we will still do our jobs......"
(So what is the solution? Stay the course? Pull out?) "While we were over there, we were also training local police forces. We were training them to counteract terrorism. That's what needs to be done. They need more security. We need to train more of them and have them retain their own country. If we pull out, it's just a lost cause. We got most of the guys we were after, but the terrorists will still be there."
So...... Who's right?
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As with most things the truth lies somewhere in the middle.
What gets me is why haven't the people of Iraq stood with us to fight these terroists in their own country. I realize many have joined the new army and Police but why haven't we seen militia's for Democracy spring up?
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Do these people really want a Democratic goverment? We fought for our own freedom now were trying to impose a Democracy on people that have no inclination what it means.
Their goverment and armed forces have been totally corrupt for so long will these people trust either one for very long? How long will it be before the Army takes control off the goverment if we decide to pull out?
Are we creating another monster we will have to deal with in the future. Look at how close we were to letting Ahmad Chalabi have the reins over there.
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As with most things the truth lies somewhere in the middle.
What gets me is why haven't the people of Iraq stood with us to fight these terroists in their own country. I realize many have joined the new army and Police but why haven't we seen militia's for Democracy spring up?
I think we've been putting the brakes on who can carry weapons in that country. We're discouraging militias and private armies for the very reason that they are too easy to manipulate or misuse and they do not reinforce a legitimate Iraqi government, they bring power to a warlord, etc.
I've been talking to a buddy who is over there training Iraqi police forces. He says it's taking a while because they have to vet the applicants (make sure they're not terrorists or hussein supporters, etc.) and then have to train them up to proficiency. It takes time and much additional education to ensure that the new police officers are going to be honest, effective and truly defend the rights and safety of Iraqi citizens.
Most Iraqi military forces didn't have any backbone and ran at the first sight of combat. Even Hussein's vaunted Republican Guard disappeared when it was being approached by our forces. It takes time to train these people and build up their confidence, conviction and competence.
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So what is going on really?
