Reader Comments of the Week: Iraq II
Each week the Hot Zone team will select some of the more interesting reader comments to feature.
By Hot Zone Team, Fri Nov 18, 7:48 PM ET
2
I am a soldier serving in
Iraq and I admire the Iraqi people fighting for the ability to speak up. Americans in Iraq, myself included are here to curb the insurgency primarily against other Iraqis. Remember, the largest group of people killed are the Iraqis themselves and are actually targeted by foreign fighter from other Muslim countries. These foreign fighters / insurgents come here to target the Iraqis that want to allow everyone to have a voice, and who fight for that freedom. the insurgents want to quiet the voice of the individual by killing the worker who has something to say and they don't want to hear.
Posted by etherfile on Sun, Nov 13, 2005 11:36 PM ET
22
Guys, do your best to learn the language - to speak it. It is a difficult job I know. I go to Thailand every year with my wife and try to learn the Thai language. What little I do know seems to please them. It shows some respect. Carl (retired, USAF)
Posted by carlpangea on Mon, Nov 14, 2005 8:15 AM ET
43
Tactically, it seems that they might have had a more successful intelligence gathering mission if they had brought some Iraqi troops with them. At the very least they could have additional insight into how the Iraqi troops performed with their superior language skills. Tactically this frustrated me because it could be our gateway to success, and home for American troops. Or at the very least a smaller footprint in Iraq.
Posted by tomtom200187114 on Mon, Nov 14, 2005 12:21 PM ET
42
I am struck by the extreme responses of people here. I am personally strongly opposed to the decision to go to war in Iraq in the way we did - but that does not keep me from respecting our troops and praying for their safety. War is a terrible thing. Imagine having your home and body searched regularly by people who do not speak your language. It is such a difficult situation. I wish our government had thought out the difficulties more thoroughly before the invasion, and we would not be in this awful situation now.
Posted by psavitri2 on Mon, Nov 14, 2005 12:15 PM ET
90
Believe it or not, some Americans believe that we are in Iraq for the right reasons. You can hide in your house and play like the rest of the world doesn't exist and that it is none of our business how the rest of the world lives but some day it might effect you and you will go crying to our military to protect you. I just hope they are there when you need them. We are the most powerful country in the world and it is our duty to make it a better world. That means freedom for everyone, not just us.
Posted by damsam99 on Mon, Nov 14, 2005 1:27 PM ET
107
So why weren't we there in Rwanda? Why aren't we going into Sudan or China to secure human rights and bring freedom to those countries? Could it be that only countries that are small enough to invade without too much difficulty and have something that we want are the only ones we're willing to liberate? And make it a better world? Who say America has the formula for making it a better world? Does that mean installing a system whereby the majority of the people end up overweight and undereducated?
Posted by saukko9 on Mon, Nov 14, 2005 1:34 PM ET
80
The Marines map of insurgency: They are north, south, east, and west...
Posted by vim_tickery on Mon, Nov 14, 2005 1:21 PM ET
113
right or wrong...agree or disagree about the war in Iraq, our soldiers are as professional and courageous as ever existed. Just hope they come home safely.
Posted by skibummer600 on Mon, Nov 14, 2005 1:39 PM ET
8
And a new perspective again! This really is giving a different view to what I have seen/read elsewhere in the news. What a task - working with the Iraqi government to weed out corruption, to put them on their feet to rule their own country. Reminds me of the quote (not sure where from): Give a man a fish, he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish, he eats for a lifetime. Thank you & God bless, Veronica from Down Under
Posted by veilingon on Tue, Nov 15, 2005 8:08 AM ET
21
Kevin, Umm. How about some quotes from people other than the ones the Occupying / Coalition forces wants you to talk to? Your report, expecially this one, appears to convey only one side of the story. And as a reporter, I think you should be covering both sides. Give us some insight into why the insurgents are fighting. Tell us why most places outside select cities are no-go zones controlled by either the shia or the sunni insurgents.
Posted by thaths on Tue, Nov 15, 2005 11:47 AM ET
18
From the sound of this story it sounds like the United States needs to put diplomatic pressure on the Iraqis to clean up their Ministry of Defense. Someone here needs to get a better handle of understanding on what is going on in the Iraqi Ministry of Defense. We need to get a better handle on what motivates the Iraqis. For a United States of America military person to say he has to teach all over again when/if they return from leave tells me they don't have a handle on what motivates them. It certainly isn't fear as they had a full dose of that under Saddam. They need to find out so we can get out. It is not length of time that should reward a soldier with a pay raise and rank. Faster pay raises for initiative will get them past the Soviet Block thinking. Get a military psycologist in there to find ways other than fear to motivate the Iraqis.... We should build our patience but build it by doing some smart things with the Iraqis that will get American boys out of harm's way.
Posted by tomtom200187114 on Tue, Nov 15, 2005 10:37 AM ET
20
Sometimes fear is a powerful motivator. The officials in the ministries, whether corrupt or not, have picked their side in this struggle. Given that corrupt politicians and ministers will continue to act in their own self-interest, let's make it in their best interest to building a truly strong force capable of defending Iraq. Let's announce a timetable for withdrawal, all troops out in 18 months. As long as the Iraqi government leans on the US for support, they will never have the sense of urgency required to stabilize the country.
Posted by jkinnard on Tue, Nov 15, 2005 11:24 AM ET
57
I am a high school student who enlisted in the marines in august. I leave for boot camp june 26th. Anyhow, i signed up for an Infantry MOS, which almost gaurantee's i will go to iraq or afghanistan. That being said, i would and will be pround to serve with the Iraqi Army in the future. They seem like brave and devoted men, and i am willing to help them build their country, and give it the freedom its people have long deserved. Semper Fi.
Posted by captain_america06 on Tue, Nov 15, 2005 11:17 PM ET
22
Five more years is totally unacceptable as a timetable for removing our troops from Iraq. The American people won't put up with it, even the staunchest supporters of the war on terror. If the Iraqi Army can't be independent by then we may as well pull out now and cut our losses. I was for the war initially but it does not appear to be winnable at this point. The best thing to do is forget about trying to establish democaracy with a people who cannot or will not accept it and buy off whatever corrupt regime will fill the vacumn of our pull out.
Posted by timothyhardeman on Tue, Nov 15, 2005 12:19 PM ET
14
Again, it is nice for once to get a real look at our soldiers' lives in far away and dangerous places. It is also nice to get a journalistic report without the journalist slanting the story and editing it for his/her own glory. This beats the mainstream media any day.
Posted by ernewill on Wed, Nov 16, 2005 8:30 AM ET
111
As much as I love to hear the Left and Right go at each other, Kevin Sites and the rest of the Yahoo team made this comments box so people can talk about possible SOLUTIONS to these conflicts... immature answers like (just leave, kill 'em all, or have Charles-in-Charge handle it) are just silly... a few posts back I saw someone post great statistics of what damage has been done, and Kevin reports on the tactics that are being used, others commented about social orders and how Iraqis react to things... Most of these posts remind me of the book "The Ugly American".... So enough flag waving and burning... lets get to the real issues and start meaningful discussion. There must be people out there that have some great idea's on how to resolve this conflict.
Posted by goney3 on Wed, Nov 16, 2005 2:05 PM ET
175
My hats off to Mr. Gaskin and the others. I feel sad and angry that you are so hamstrung by politics and the world situation in general. Keep up the good work, you'll be home soon. -a Vietnam vet
Posted by mw_tech on Wed, Nov 16, 2005 6:03 PM ET
818
I speak of first hand knowledge for I am here, in the middle of a desert that has little change from that which was once Babylon. The days are hot and long. The missions seem to come one right after the other. I still wake up every day with the same drive and determination to do my part. We fight our battles on foreign soils so that freedom has a meaning. I am proud of who I am and of the selfless service I feel compelled to give. I left a beautiful wife and 3 boys at home to come here and fight on this ground so that my children and their children will not have to come here and do this. Democracy will prevail. Once it is in place you will see that it will spread. With democracy comes freedom. Before I step off this post I promise to you that both
Afghanistan and Iraq will have a democracy in place. We can not sit on our haunches and protect our borders from terrorism. We have to be here doing what we are doing. Support your troops and they will do great things by you.
Posted by geer1472 on Thu, Nov 17, 2005 3:46 PM ET
817
To all of you that think were fighting terrorism in iraq are wrong. We are creating terrorists there...
Posted by natewaldon on Thu, Nov 17, 2005 3:43 PM ET
749
I don't know what is right or wrong about the war in Iraq. We get a lot of conflicting information from drum-beaters on both sides. When I read about the conditions our soldiers must endure for a country that seems to be torn between Islam and freedom, it makes me wonder if our gov't is doing enough to protect and provide for our troops. But, I am grateful for the courage, devotion to duty, and toughness of our troops, and I thank all of you who are sacrificing your time, safety, and in some cases your lives to protect our country. Just because I question whether our troops are being deployed properly doesn't change the fact that I am proud of our armed forces serving in Iraq, and want them all to come home safe. There is no one better in this world than our Marines, Army, Navy, and Air Force. They are the best fighting force the world has ever known.
Posted by dougrobb@sbcglobal.net on Thu, Nov 17, 2005 12:16 PM ET
Q&A: CHARTING FALLUJAH'S COURSE
1
If a Marine commander on the ground in Iraq is confident that Iraqi's can handle their own security in about six months in a place like Fallujah, which has seen some of the worst insurgency, then there's no reason why the Bush administration can't begin the planning for an exit strategy. I think Col. berger is right, the Iraqi's have to step-up and get control of their own country. We can't prop them up forever, and the sooner they control their own destiny, the less the insurgency can claim we are controlling Iraq.
Posted by dougrobb@sbcglobal.net on Fri, Nov 18, 2005 1:29 AM ET
2
As one who opposes the war, I agree with the President that a timetable would be unwise. We need to publicize more effectively the good news such as what is in this article, and let our actions speak for themselves, namely, just withdraw as soon as we can when and where we prudently can. To oppose the war does not mean to hope that it does not succeed---it can and might succeed in spite of Bush's poor planning.
Posted by brianjack_99 on Fri, Nov 18, 2005 1:42 AM ET
6
I think there should be an investigation ito where the required money is, or isn't. has it all gone into the hands of an already corrupt system? They should set up an independant financial oversight investigation team to find out where the blockage is and get the money out there to do the job it was intended. An employed and satified population would soon stop support for the insurgents. Get it done!!
Posted by richard_h_fy84jb on Fri, Nov 18, 2005 6:21 AM ET
31
War? What war? I thought that Bush declared victory some 2 and a half years ago. How can some people be so naive to continue to support a mission which does not even give us thier milestones for success. From what I understand about Murtha's stance is that he feels that this war has been so badly mis-managed that it is time to get out of the ring.
Posted by dayindaout on Fri, Nov 18, 2005 11:53 AM ET
8
What I like is when Talking heads like Congressman Murtha undercut smart, brave guys like Col. Berger, insisting that the war is unwinnable and that we should cut and run now like we did in Saigon. I'm sure this makes Col. Berger's men feel confident, and makes the insurgency, who killed several score of worhshipers in a Mosque today, eager to lay down their arms once the US is gone.
Posted by ej0c on Fri, Nov 18, 2005 7:49 AM ET
9
yeah, you're right. Congressman Murtha, two time purple heart winner and 30 year Marine veteran sure is a talking head...
Posted by erinparish on Fri, Nov 18, 2005 8:15 AM ET
RECOMMEND THIS STORY
Average (Not Rated)
Scheduled Conflict Coverage
Hot Zone Watch List
- Algeria
- Angola
- Burundi
- Chad
- Ivory Coast
- Korean Peninsula
- Liberia
- Nigeria
- Peru
- The Philippines
- Thailand
- Uzbekistan
- Zimbabwe
Add an Alert