Success in Iraq? Try Listening to the Troops

President Bush spent Labor Day weekend in Iraq trying to drum up support for his latest war funding effort -- a $50 billion demand to Congress, which would bring the total outlay on the war in Iraq to about $200 billion this year (or almost $4 billion a week).

Speaking in Iraq's volatile Anbar province, Bush said America is now seeing "success" in Iraq and that he will only "draw down" his surge "if the kind of success we're now seeing continues."

Success in Iraq?

I spent parts of three years reporting in Iraq and have been reporting on the stories of American veterans since my return. Most of the troops I speak to believe the war is already lost.

Take Specialist Patrick Resta. The South Carolina served a year in Baqouba, near the Iranian border. Two days before he left Iraq he asked one of his buddies to a take a photo of him with a group of Iraqi children.

"I wasn't looking at what the children were doing along side of me and he hands the camera back to me and I see that I'm surrounded by children who are between eight- and 10-years-old. One of them is holding up a Hitler salute and on the other side of me one of the children is holding up a local newspaper with the Abu Ghraib torture photos on the front cover," Resta told me.

"So that was the impression that I left Iraq with -- that we had radicalized a whole generation of Iraqis to hate this country and hate Americans."

Or consider the example of Specialist Joshua Casteel, who arrived as an interrogator at Abu Ghraib after the prisoner abuse scandal broke and found almost all the detainees were innocent.

"I was constantly being asked, tell me about freedom, about democracy, why am I being held here, I want answers," Casteel told me. "And the detainees were the ones wanting answers. But that was our job. We were supposed to be finding answers to our questions."

(Casteel's observations are backed up by the International Red Cross, which monitors prisoners in U.S. custody, estimates 70 to 90 percent of those arrested were plucked off the street by mistake).

With experiences like these it's no wonder that an overwhelming number of American soldiers and Marines want the war to end. In February 2006, pollster John Zogby conducted a survey of U.S. soldiers stationed in Iraq. Seventy-two percent said that U.S. troops should be pulled out within one year. Of those, 29 percent said they should withdraw "immediately."

After more than four years of war, most American soldiers know the same things about Iraq that the American people do: that the invasion of Iraq was based on lies, that there was no link between Saddam Hussein and the 9/11 attacks and that Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction.

"That was my first slap in the face and everybody already knew there were no weapons," Lance Corporal Jeff Key told me, explaining how he came to oppose the war after serving in Iraq. "That was not news that got in to us. By the time it was there -- they'll spill anything to these young people in the military. The last thing that Bush Co. and his crowd wants is for the truth to get out of Iraq or Iraq or into Iraq. That's why they're stopping military people from blogging and that's why they don't want soldiers in Iraq to know that there are Iraq war veterans here in this country that are speaking out against this war."

I'm sure these veterans would love to share their stories with President Bush -- to give him a piece of their mind. In the meantime, I've posted them, along with other true, first-person accounts of the war, on-line at warcomeshome.org. Perhaps members of Congress will take a listen, and decide that funding the war in Iraq isn't such a smart idea anymore.

Aaron Glantz is an award-winning journalist who reported from Iraq over the first three years of the war, and is the author of the best-selling book, How America Lost Iraq.

Comments

[Sundialsvc4]

"$4 billion a WEEK?"

Cool! Can we make it $8 billion by Christmas?

----

Obviously, thou art not thinking like a true capitalist.

---

ahem.

"Prithee, art thou sufficiently pissed-off NOW?"

[Herrington]

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall...all the kings horses and all the kings men, couldn't put Humpty together again.

[Rescisco]

Thanks for this post Aaron.

I have always felt that the decision to send any of our troops into harm's way requires of those who make it an extra burden. Such a decision should be a last (not a first) option. It should be based on necessity, not choice. It should be strategic and sound in its design and smart in its implementation. It should be entered into with sadness or regret not in blind eagerness or misplaced arrogance, it must be done in a way that gives our troops a clear mission, a clear plan for success, and a defined endpoint.

The manner in which the decision was made to invade Iraq, the manner in which each subsequent decision has been made, and the manner in which the success or failure of our efforts are evaluated today all amount to a brutal abuse of our troops and a criminal negligence by our political leaders.

All too frequently, as history instructs, leaders fall far short of the "extra burden" that is there duty. All too frequently they dream up wars for young men to die in and justify them without doing any of the prerequisite moral or mental "heavy lifting." All too frequently they stay the course rather than confront the truth of their error, and all too frequently the last one to die knows it is in fact for a mistake. Always the beginning is easy, the crowds cheer and the swelling of false patriotism encouraged by manufactured fear and outright deceit paves the way for an easy entry. Too frequently the ending is a predetermined failure rooted in sloppy thinking and poor design but unrecognized until the best hope of a generation has been needlessly spent.

Sorry to go on so long and so boringly serious, but this is the same old story and it will be repeated again and again. "Ain't that America?..­."

[chazaroo]

I'm a Viet Nam vet, and I know in Viet Nam and I'm sure in every war, if you want to know what's going on ask the privates, corporals and NCO's. Ask some officer who sees a star being dangled in front of his lyin eyes, a politician ideologue, or a puppet of Corporate Media, and you are guaranteed to get pure unadultarated bullshit.

[Robert59]

Well said Chazaroo. I wrote a letter to the editor of my local newspaper asking them why they publish Bush propoganda but won't get equal time to what the soldiers are saying. I even sent them a copy of the NYT piece written by the 6 or 7 soldiers (one of whom got shot in the head). I dared them to write it to show they weren't coopted.

Did they? NO!

[TankerRat]

Robert59 do you have any other newspapers in your area? If so(and I hope you do) then try writing to the editor there. I've had several such letters (opposing the war and rebutting Bush/Chene­y/Rumsfeld as well as those of others including some by soldiers) published here in St. Paul. The Minneapolis paper also does a pretty fair job. Keep writing them. Another option would be out of town (but close by) papers. Good Luck buddy.

[adzeman]

The only ones in Iraq that are going to support us being there are: ambitious Sr. officers, no-bid contractors, al qaeda, and Iran.
I doubt 15% of the troops think they're involved in a winning proposition.
We have no enemies in Iraq, they are all in Washington.

[thirteen13]

You forgot the Republicans and Democrats are nation wide not just in Washington. And "We The People" put them there.

Except when the Supreme Court "awarded" the job to Bush.

[Jonahson]

Success? More like suck in a cess pool. How do you define success in Iraq; a country divided; it's infrastructure in shreds; it's citizen living in fear and without basic amenities?
Success means the citzens and country now should be in better shape than before it was invaded.
Success is long gone.
Now you try to patch up the broken fragments of chinaware but even if you do, it will never be the same for a lot of people in Iraq. It will still be a broken chinaware.

[Lestina]

How America Lost Iraq? Was it ours to lose?

[dotmafia]

Just like "You break it, you own it"... Iraq was NEVER America's to purchase because it was NEVER for sale! It was stolen by thieves.
_

[thirteen13]

We don't even own the USA!

If we did, Bush would not be president.

[PADDYWHACK]

I'm watching a rerun of the debate and wish s.omeone would medicate mccain with some reality serum.I salute him for his service in another illegal war but are we condemned to be listen to his ranting militarism­.America's era as bully of the world should be terminated

[ikkytito]

McCain is pathetic.

[andvoodootoo]

I seriously think McCain is crazy. Correct me if I'm wrong, but as I recall McCain was a POW in Vietnam for 5 years when he was told he was going to be released. Instead of getting the hell out of the clutches of the enemy, McCain refused to leave unless all of his fellow prisoners were released. He ended up staying another 2 years. Many people think this was a noble gesture on his part. Not me. He chose to remain in the hands of the enemy and continued to be a pawn rather than return to his country and his family. Please God don't let this man run my country.

[TankerRat]

Ditto to that ikkytito.

[esquire07]

"With experiences like these it's no wonder that an overwhelming number of American soldiers and Marines want the war to end."

It does not matter about anyones experiances, it does not matter that an overwhelming number of Amercian soldiers and Marines want the war to end.

All that matters is that IRAQ has OIL and Bush/Cheney and the Criminals in the Oil and Arms industry want the OIL and the "War" profits.

Many, many, many more troops will die. Demcorats will fund the War.

No end in sight my friend.

All this Death, destruction, War, torment and suffering becuase of Bush lies.

[DLB]

"Most of the troops I speak to believe the war is already lost."

Then why is re-enlistment so high among the soldiers in Iraq? There may be a shortage of fresh recruits into the military, but re-enlistment among the existing troops is high. I certainly would not re-enlist in Iraq if I thought the war was lost. Can anyone explain this apparent contradiction?

[ikkytito]

What are the actual numbers? I don't trust this Admin. to put out any figures contrary to their goals. Too much history of lies. All I know is that several Generals have spoken of the strain on the military. I suspect recruiting is much below desired.

[DLB]

I guess that is a convenient way to disregard the facts. Re-enlistment figures are a matter of public record. And as I have already stated, recruitment is low. Don't confuse recruitment with re-enlistment.

[wsblake]

The tragedy is that these young soldiers, when they were in school, should have studied some American history- they would have learned that their country in the past century has been an imperialistic bully that has overthrown legitimate governments and slaughtered countless thousands for power and greed. And maybe they would have realized that their invasion of Iraq was the most blatant and arrogant of those obscene adventures . And if enough had learned their history, just maybe there wouldn't have been anyone left to go there and learn those lessons, far too late.

[BBackSoon]

You might at well tell a brick wall as tell The Decider. He has already decided and it ain't what most people want. But he is ok with that.

[Hoelder]

I am so tired of this administration, that my believe in a generation like mine promote freedom by practising it is shattered. It is truly amazing that the news media and conservatives can argue and fund "freedom centers" that. I was taught you need facts to sustain a story, but I see propagandists distributing gifts while they say things like "We need to fight them there, so they do not follow us home" How can you ever heal some of our soldier's spirits when they feel like doing the wrong thing?

[thirteen13]

We must never forget:

The Supreme Court awarded the presidency.

The Republicans own Bush.

The Republicans own the war in Iraq.

The Democrats support the war (troops).

"We The People" are driving this folly.

[TankerRat]

We The People? 13 What's this we sh*t. I've been opposed to this Fiasco since BEFORE it started and I can prove it. Lest we forget-The "Big" money flows to the Dem's coffers as well as the R's. Ever notice that a lot of Iraqi children also give the "Thumbs Up" to our boys and girls? Problem is that in Iraq that thumbs up doesn't mean "OK" as it does here. It means "F**k You. Just a little trivia I thought I'd pass along you know. Have a nice day.

[deminmo]

The way I look at it, the troups are there in Iraq because they enlisted and believed in what they were told. The troups are not to blame for how this war is turning out. I do not support this war. I do support the brave men and women that are trying to stay alive, to come home to their families and hope that all the promises that were made to them will be kept. The Democratic leadership has no guts for the real work that would be involved to change policy and proceedure in Washington. But I do believe in this country and Democracy. I just hope that there is no war with Iran, because the cost in lives could rise into millions.

[opines]

The Pentagon is considering an idea to enhance recruiting and support for the war among the troops in Iraq.

The plan calls for giving every new enlistee 10 shares of Exxon stock and 10 shares in Halliburton stock.

They would get an additional 5 shares in each for every year spent in Iraq.

The proponents of this plan point out that it worked for Congressional members (although in their case it was 1,000 shares of each).

[cheerleaderBush]

Among all the tragedies (and there are many) of that have resulted because of the Bush/Cheney invasion and occupation of Iraq, perhaps what is most alarming is how the majority of American public care little or nothing about the unimaginable death, destruction and chaos the US has caused in Iraq and the millions of lives (Iraqi women and CHILDREN, US military personal and their families and friends) that have been ruined because of the Bush/Cheney decision to invade and occupy Iraq.

And don't even get me started on the hundreds of BILLIONS this has cost the US tax payer thus far, and the TRILLIONS of dollars this disaster will continue to cost US taxpayers and US industry (not including the oil and military industrial complex of course... who have profited IMMENSELY).

[dadw5boys]

ccalee (See profile | I'm a fan of ccalee)
Why doesn't someone ask Mr. Bremer how much money he's made off his Private Iraqi Security Firm with over 150,000 employees?

The same kind of Iraqi Security operation, which has been the source of death squads killing intellectuals, government leaders, lawyers and journalists in Iraq.

[SensibleAmerican]

"Try listening to the troops"?! You listen to them when you actually care about them and/or what they have to say!

This war was not fought to "protect America" or to "get rid of WMDs" or "regime change" or to "spread freedom and democracy in the Middle East". This war was fought to cater to the neocon-rig­ht-wing-nu­t ideology of PanAmericanism in the World. This war was fought to feed the military-industrial complex and the war profiteers, this war was fought for middle-east control of OIL and this war was fought to keep this administration wrapped in the stars 'n' stripes so that they can keep winning elections at Home!

Troops? Just tools for and as collateral damage ...

[ikkytito]

and don't forget another neo-con motive-the defense of Israel. Maybe the prime factor. The Christian Right is also keen on supporting the Holy Land. Fits in well with their ideas of Armegeddon.

[malcolm37b]

Read Linda McQuaig "It's The Crude Dude" The oil companies had Iraq all divided into sectors they would each control. They call Hector Chavez "Anti American" when it's big oil being anti-Chavez, for daring to control his own country's natural resouce for the benefit of his people and not record oil company profits and obscene executive bonuses

[cynubie]

Unfortunately, there does exist a malevolent force that does threaten world peace using a program of terror and intimidation in an attempt to achieve it. Unfortunate as well is the fact that this group of dedicated killers was once quite contained and on the verge of annihilation--the cancer has been allowed to spread--and yet the very traitors who allowed the killers to escape now state the killers presence as reason to continue their policies. This is utter madness.
Had this country utilized the same degree of intensity in overwhelming Afghanistan, Osama bin Laden would have been killed or captured. The first incidence of treason occurred in November of '02 when forces were denied the commanders at Tora Bora so as to make sure the troops were staged for Iraq. And the malfeasance continues. Even taking the skeptics view, and accepting the cherry-picked intelligence for the invasion of Iraq, at what point does National Security demand that the troops be redeployed to Afghanistan and now Western Pakistan to pursue the CEO of said terrorist organization. How does repeatedly killing the VP of Operations in Iraq for Al Qaeda even begin to qualify as defending this nation from all enemies foreign and domestic? The conventional wisdom says if the US troops depart a blood bath will ensue in Iraq--FINE. The job of US Troops is to prevent a blood bath in the United States, standing up Iraqi's while not actively pursuing Osama is treason.
The only reason to continue in Iraq is if there were an even greater threat to US security still in Iraq--gee, do ya think Dick Cheney just can't sleep at night if Halliburton isn't getting no-bid contracts (whatever happened to Bunnatine Greenhouse?), and his oil friends aren't figuring out how to split up 10% of the world's oil? At what point did the strategic control of oil become more important that the tactical killing or capture of Osama bin Laden? And don't we grow gas out in Iowa?
Respectfully submitted,
Francis Jens Erickson

[rabun666]

Sensible, thanks for your comments. It's up to the troops to learn that Iraq is not in their best interest, just as the troops in Nam did. The only way they will get themselves out of Iraq is to start fragging.T­he military commanders rely on Iraq experience for their promotions and using their troops as cannon fodder is not an objection.­The politicians will not bail the troops out, the troops have to take the initiative for their own best interests. I think the officer corps tour of duty is 6 months in Iraq.