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TSW|Abaddon · 10-17-2006, 11:23 PM

Hello all! New to the forum. I was actually suprised that there was a political section on here. But I figured that politics is always going to come up at some point so hey why not. Well here goes my $0.02

I think that the major crime here is that people over simplify the Iraq war. Doing this on either side is not the proper way to go about things. I served in the US Army for 4 years. I was a 13P stationed at Fort Sill, OK. In March of 2003 I deployed to Iraq as part of Enduring Freedom. After the main push into Baghdad my unit was part of something called Task Force Bullet. TFB mission was the capturing and removal of enemy ammunition. This was extremly important because if left unchecked the insurgency would have a huge supply of weapons (yes thats right we were aware that there would be an insurgency in Iraq) The mission also helped to save curious children that were blowing themselves up with 30 year old russian ammo. During my time in Iraq I had a chance to speak with many Iraqis. The overall opinion in Iraq is quite massive so I can't really sum it up into a single post. What most people assume though is that the average Iraqi is stupid, this is FAR from the truth. They understand why America came in and they understand our mission. The majority of the people I spoke to dearly wanted control of their nation but also realized that America has a role to play in Iraq. Not only do we need to rebuild the infastructure which was still heavily damaged from the Iraq/Iran war, The first Gulf war and the latest, we need to leave them with the tools to fully control their country. Yes it is a difficult and trying job over there but it is something that is happening right now. We don't have a time machine we can't go back and change our minds. The reality is that were there and we need to get the job done and leave. The only thing that anti-war rhetoric is going to do is piss off former soldiers like myself and interfere with the ongoing mission in Iraq. CptSternn I feel that your energy would better be spent on other matters. You have little understanding of the complexity of war. Also never EVER speak on my behalf. I knew what I was in for and my fellow soldiers know what they are doing as well. Don't talk to us about dead GI's like you care, I'm sure you do but your understanding will never come close to what we have to deal with. Ask almost every soldier and they will say that they WANT to go back. Were doing good over there, I just wish you could see it. Yes I am aware that things are screwed up but only looking at the nagative to any issue isn't the proper way to look at anything at all.

10-17-2006, 11:23 PM	#167
TSW\|Abaddon Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: New Jersey Posts: 54	Hello all! New to the forum. I was actually suprised that there was a political section on here. But I figured that politics is always going to come up at some point so hey why not. Well here goes my $0.02 I think that the major crime here is that people over simplify the Iraq war. Doing this on either side is not the proper way to go about things. I served in the US Army for 4 years. I was a 13P stationed at Fort Sill, OK. In March of 2003 I deployed to Iraq as part of Enduring Freedom. After the main push into Baghdad my unit was part of something called Task Force Bullet. TFB mission was the capturing and removal of enemy ammunition. This was extremly important because if left unchecked the insurgency would have a huge supply of weapons (yes thats right we were aware that there would be an insurgency in Iraq) The mission also helped to save curious children that were blowing themselves up with 30 year old russian ammo. During my time in Iraq I had a chance to speak with many Iraqis. The overall opinion in Iraq is quite massive so I can't really sum it up into a single post. What most people assume though is that the average Iraqi is stupid, this is FAR from the truth. They understand why America came in and they understand our mission. The majority of the people I spoke to dearly wanted control of their nation but also realized that America has a role to play in Iraq. Not only do we need to rebuild the infastructure which was still heavily damaged from the Iraq/Iran war, The first Gulf war and the latest, we need to leave them with the tools to fully control their country. Yes it is a difficult and trying job over there but it is something that is happening right now. We don't have a time machine we can't go back and change our minds. The reality is that were there and we need to get the job done and leave. The only thing that anti-war rhetoric is going to do is piss off former soldiers like myself and interfere with the ongoing mission in Iraq. CptSternn I feel that your energy would better be spent on other matters. You have little understanding of the complexity of war. Also never EVER speak on my behalf. I knew what I was in for and my fellow soldiers know what they are doing as well. Don't talk to us about dead GI's like you care, I'm sure you do but your understanding will never come close to what we have to deal with. Ask almost every soldier and they will say that they WANT to go back. Were doing good over there, I just wish you could see it. Yes I am aware that things are screwed up but only looking at the nagative to any issue isn't the proper way to look at anything at all.