Texas troops want payback for comrades slain in Iraq

[rainbow4321]

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/043006dnintwarriors.7ce91b2.html

They were on a routine mission, down a road they had traveled only hours before, only two miles from the gate. Then a bomb turned their Humvee into a roaring fireball and instantly killed all four U.S. Army infantrymen inside.That meant six men dead in only 11 days at this outpost of the Texas-based 4th Infantry Division. Soldiers here wanted to strike back hard at the enemy who picks them off with impunity.

"We did all this training, and we can't use it," said Staff Sgt. Michael Kelly of Kentucky. "We're fighting an enemy we can't see." The roadside bombs keep exploding, while almost none of the bombers can be caught. "They get better and better at it," Sgt. Kelly said. "Say what you will. We are not winning against these guys."

<snip>

Capt. Trumbo sees a cognitive disconnect: "I had a sergeant tell me the other day, 'Sometimes I'm confused whether we're making war or making friends.' "

"This is my third trip over here," said Staff Sgt. Anthony Watson, 44, of Killeen, Texas. "It's still messed up. What's the problem?" Sgt. Watson said a tougher approach would mean a quicker war. "We've already been here for almost 20 years," he said, dating the American presence to the 1991 Gulf War. "Before it's over, we'll be here for a hundred."

[leveymg]

1. This is like reading Heinlein or Haldeman. Forever Wars

at the edge of the galactic empire.

[ProgressivePatriot]

2. The reality is, though...

our troops are suffering payback for all the dead Iraqis and lies that put them there in the first place.

[leveymg]

3. I wouldn't call it payback.

Payback would go to those who knowingly set them up to be dehumanized killers with no way out. Most of the grunts joined for personal reasons that had nothing to do with the fatal futility that is the Iraq occupation. They are guilty of denial and a lack of imagination, perhaps, but few of them went in wanting to do this. Now that they're trapped, their homicidal urges are driven by revenge and despair.

Hubris is coming, but it isn't theirs. Perhaps, when they finally turn on those who deceived them into committing murder, torture, and sin. That will be payback.

[NNN0LHI]

4. 'Sometimes I'm confused whether we're making war or making friends.' "

Capt. Trumbo needs to stay away from the crack.

You are not making us any friends Capt. Trumbo. You are making more people want to kill us.

Please stop doing it.

Don

[rainbow4321]

5. "Enforcing peace"

Translation: US says be nice to each other or we'll kill all of you and label you insurgents who hate freedom.

Same article:
In the fractious territory outside the gate, the Army attempts to enforce peace between the Sunnis, who are the dispossessed minority, and the Shiites, the emergent majority. The military does this with a steel fist in a velvet glove – plenty of force available, but with an emphasis on community development.