January 4, 2004 6:24 AM

Why are they there?

Letters From the Troops

Dear Mike: I'm writing from the trenches of a war, not knowing why I'm here or when I'm leaving. I've toppled statues and vandalized portraits, while wearing an American flag on my sleeve, and struggling to learn how to understand... I joined the army as soon as I was eligible – turned down a writing scholarship to a state university, eager to serve my country, ready to die for the ideals I fell in love with. Two years later I found myself moments away from a landing onto a pitch black airstrip, ready to charge into a country I didn't believe I belonged in. My time in Iraq has always involved finding things to convince myself that I can be proud of my actions; that I was a part of something just. But no matter what pro-war argument I came up with, I pictured my smirking commander-in-chief, thinking he was fooling a nation...

- SPEC Mike Prysner, US Army

In any war, there is the official, sanitized version, and there is the unofficial, but significantly more real, front-line version of reality. War is easy to spin and propagandize, but soldiers on the front lines have a bird's-eye view devoid of the spin management and marketing efforts.

American soldiers will serve as ordered, and they will carry themselves in a professional and proficient manner. Obeying orders doesn't mean these people are devoids of opinions on their jobs and their roles. Michael Moore has corresponded with several soldiers, some of whom are not afraid to voice their questions and concerns.

It sounds as if the Administration and senior commanders in Iraq might want to begin paying attention to what the everyday soldiers are saying and feeling. These are, after all, the folks we depend on to protect our safety and security, but is that what they are really doing in Iraq? When soldiers begin asking that question, you have to wonder.

Yes, I realize that these are the views of a small sample, and every way has has it's detractors on the front lines. Pay attention to the points these soldiers are making, though. These are not soldiers complaining about the food or the weather. These are soldiers complaining about being lied to and deceived by their Commander-in-Chief. If that doesn't concern you, I don't know what will.

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This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on January 4, 2004 6:24 AM.

Of course, I'm not at all certain that this would even qualify as a "terrorist act" was the previous entry in this blog.

What?? And give up the pretext of being "Fair & Balanced"?? is the next entry in this blog.

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