WP,pg1: U.S. Unit Patrolling Baghdad Sees Flaws in Bush Strategy

[DeepModem Mom]

U.S. Unit Patrolling Baghdad Sees Flaws in Bush Strategy
By Sudarsan Raghavan
Washington Post Foreign Service
Friday, January 12, 2007; Page A01

BAGHDAD, Jan. 11 -- A few hours before another mission into the cauldron of Baghdad, Spec. Daniel Caldwell's wife instant-messaged him Thursday morning. President Bush, Kelly wrote, wanted to send more than 20,000 U.S. troops and extend deployments in Iraq. Eight weeks pregnant, she was worried.

Caldwell, a tall, lean 20-year-old from Montesano, Wash., wondered whether he would miss the birth of his child. He walked outside and joined his comrades of Apache Company, 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, Stryker Brigade. They, too, had heard the news.

Moments before he stepped into his squad's Stryker -- a large, bathtub-shaped vehicle encased in a cage -- Caldwell echoed a sentiment shared by many in his squad: "They're kicking a dead horse here. The Iraqi army can't stand up on their own."...

***

"The general feeling among us is we're not really doing anything here," Caldwell said. "We clear one neighborhood, then another one fires up. It's an ongoing battle. It never ends."

"We're constantly being told that it's not our fight. It is their fight," said Sgt. Jose Reynoso, 24, of Yuma, Ariz., speaking of the Iraqi army. "But that's not the case. Whenever we go and ask them for guys, they almost always say no, and we have to do the job ourselves."...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/11/AR2007011102219.html?nav=most_emailed

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. Ok is it me or am I getting yet another deja vu moment to

Nam?

US troops complained in '67 and '68 that they got to go off on patrol while the Southern Vientamese army staid behind the wire

[qanda]

2. This must be so frustrating for them

God help them all.

[truthisfreedom]

3. This is nothing like Viet Nam.

This is the worst debacle in the history of the US. In fact, it's the worst debacle in the history of war.

[Porcupine]

4. Agreed. The situation is far more desperate.....

than it ever was in Vietnam. I have talked to Vietnam veterans who served multiple tours. They all agree that thru the Vietnam war US personell could visit towns and cities in the South when off duty with some precautions.

At the current stage of the Iraq war any american or european caught outside the green zone without an armed platoon for defence is a dead man. As far as I know this level of stay on base or die never was prevalent in Vietnam. You cannot govern from inside a tank.