US Sargeant: "95% of my platoon want OUT of this war in Iraq"

[The Enigma]

Doubts Grow as G.I.’s in Iraq Find Allies in Enemy Ranks
 
By MICHAEL KAMBER
Published: May 27, 2007
BAGHDAD — Staff Sgt. David Safstrom does not regret his previous tours in Iraq, not even a difficult second stint when two comrades were killed while trying to capture insurgents.


But now on his third deployment in Iraq, he is no longer a believer in the mission. The pivotal moment came, he says, this past February when soldiers killed a man setting a roadside bomb. When they searched the bomber’s body, they found identification showing him to be a sergeant in the Iraqi Army.

“I thought, ‘What are we doing here? Why are we still here?’ ” said Sergeant Safstrom, a member of Delta Company of the First Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry, 82nd Airborne Division.

His views are echoed by most of his fellow soldiers in Delta Company, renowned for its aggressiveness.


“In 2003, 2004, 100 percent of the soldiers wanted to be here, to fight this war,” said Sgt. First Class David Moore, a self-described "conservative Texas Republican" and platoon sergeant who strongly advocates an American withdrawal. “Now, 95 percent of my platoon agrees with me.”

In Sergeant Safstrom’s view, the American presence is futile. That’s how it feels, like we’re putting a Band-Aid on this country until we leave here.”







Looks like Bush & Co are now losing their own military.


Discuss................. ...............

 

[headhuntersix]

Thats not exactly what he said but most don't believe in the mission...he's lost afith because the usless Iraqi army and the worthless people we're supposed to be protecting. I think this is the releative view of most of the guys over there.

[youandme]

How do they keep going when the morale gets to that low of levels? Gotta be dangerous to have your senses duled that fashion

[OzmO]

It only a matter of time.

In less than 2 years the majority of representatives and the public will call for the withdrawal of troops unless something significantly good happens...........  Like maybe the first go cart track opens up with a pretzel vendor!   

[The Enigma]

Thats not exactly what he said but most don't believe in the mission...he's lost afith because the usless Iraqi army and the worthless people we're supposed to be protecting. I think this is the releative view of most of the guys over there.

95% of his platoon do not believe in the mission. That's morethan 1/5th

The people who startedthis war should have understood the complex, fraigle society that is Iraq. Also, the US made a HUGE mistake disbanding the Iraqi military. From that point forward we were screwed. All the powerless intelligent men on the ground understood the long term ramifications of that fatal error. Those men would later become the "IED laying insurgents"..........not anyone associated with Bin Laden.

Bush was completely clueless as to what he was getting himself into........and it shows.



   

[240 is Back]

I don't want to think about this war anymore.

I finally see it as a quagmire.

I finally see it as we are going to completely fck those 23 million people when we leave.

Their oil will be piped out, their natino will be worthless.  Nothing but sand and poor angry people.  Killing each other like savages 1000 years ago. 

I know it's survival of teh fittest in this world, but we just drove in on a lie, dispatched of their leader, ended their police / utilities / education, allowed a civil war to start, tapped that oil ass, and will leave.

It's unstoppable - both parties will let it finish.  it's evil.

I don't even want to think about it anymore.  Pointless.

[militarymuscle69]

Doubts Grow as G.I.’s in Iraq Find Allies in Enemy Ranks
 
By MICHAEL KAMBER
Published: May 27, 2007
BAGHDAD — Staff Sgt. David Safstrom does not regret his previous tours in Iraq, not even a difficult second stint when two comrades were killed while trying to capture insurgents.


But now on his third deployment in Iraq, he is no longer a believer in the mission. The pivotal moment came, he says, this past February when soldiers killed a man setting a roadside bomb. When they searched the bomber’s body, they found identification showing him to be a sergeant in the Iraqi Army.

“I thought, ‘What are we doing here? Why are we still here?’ ” said Sergeant Safstrom, a member of Delta Company of the First Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry, 82nd Airborne Division.

His views are echoed by most of his fellow soldiers in Delta Company, renowned for its aggressiveness.


“In 2003, 2004, 100 percent of the soldiers wanted to be here, to fight this war,” said Sgt. First Class David Moore, a self-described "conservative Texas Republican" and platoon sergeant who strongly advocates an American withdrawal. “Now, 95 percent of my platoon agrees with me.”

In Sergeant Safstrom’s view, the American presence is futile. That’s how it feels, like we’re putting a Band-Aid on this country until we leave here.”







Looks like Bush & Co are now losing their own military.


Discuss................. ...............

 

You were military...did you ever WANT to go to war? I doubt many of us do, just most of us don't whine to the media about it.

[240 is Back]

You were military...did you ever WANT to go to war? I doubt many of us do, just most of us don't whine to the media about it.

Actually, you talk about how great it would be to invade Iran.  You rubbed it in our faces as "bitches" when the war just got extended another year with the Bush $.

Sounds like you DO want to be there, homie.

[militarymuscle69]

Actually, you talk about how great it would be to invade Iran.  You rubbed it in our faces as "bitches" when the war just got extended another year with the Bush $.

Sounds like you DO want to be there, homie.

I'm not your homie for one, and as I have stated before, I don't want to be there but I'm not dumb enough to think we can leave

[Decker]

Our presence in Iraq is creating more violence. 

We are not controlling the situation there.  We are contributing to Iraq devolving into civil war and chaos.

We fight Iraqi citizens who object to our occupation of their country.

There are a small number of foreign jihadists, including some members of al-Qaida, who have come into Iraq since the U.S. invasion. But they are a very small presence, only 1,000 to 2,000 strong according to the Iraq Study Group. A February report of the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency noted that ``attacks by terrorist groups account for only a fraction of insurgent violence.''

According to most experts on the Middle East, this small group of foreign terrorists has no ability to come to the U.S., no ability to take over the Iraqi government and will be driven from Iraq as soon as the U.S. leaves. As University of Michigan Middle Eastern history professor Juan Cole points out, ``Turkey, Jordan and Iran are not going to put up with an al-Qaida stronghold on their borders; nor would Shiite and Kurdish Iraqis.'' http://www.mlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/columns-3/118023986792040.xml?kzgazette?COLE&coll=7

The US's presence destabalizes Iraq and creates more terrorists.

Staff Sgt. David Safstrom now knows this.

[OzmO]

Our presence in Iraq is creating more violence. 

We are not controlling the situation there.  We are contributing to Iraq devolving into civil war and chaos.

We fight Iraqi citizens who object to our occupation of their country.

There are a small number of foreign jihadists, including some members of al-Qaida, who have come into Iraq since the U.S. invasion. But they are a very small presence, only 1,000 to 2,000 strong according to the Iraq Study Group. A February report of the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency noted that ``attacks by terrorist groups account for only a fraction of insurgent violence.''

According to most experts on the Middle East, this small group of foreign terrorists has no ability to come to the U.S., no ability to take over the Iraqi government and will be driven from Iraq as soon as the U.S. leaves. As University of Michigan Middle Eastern history professor Juan Cole points out, ``Turkey, Jordan and Iran are not going to put up with an al-Qaida stronghold on their borders; nor would Shiite and Kurdish Iraqis.'' http://www.mlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/columns-3/118023986792040.xml?kzgazette?COLE&coll=7

The US's presence destabalizes Iraq and creates more terrorists.

Staff Sgt. David Safstrom now knows this.

I completely agree that our presence in Iraq destabilizes the country and increases terrorism.

But, if we can't drive out Al Queda while we are there how can the Iraq who run the government drive them out?

Also, what will losing control of the oil to Iran and maybe China do to our economy as a result?

[Decker]

I completely agree that our presence in Iraq destabilizes the country and increases terrorism.

But, if we can't drive out Al Queda while we are there how can the Iraq who run the government drive them out?

Also, what will losing control of the oil to Iran and maybe China do to our economy as a result?

I don't care who runs Iraq and apparently neither does the Bush administration. 

Bush et al. knew that removing Hussein from power would likely result in the shia majority taking over Iraq...a shia majority w/ sympathies for Iran.

We'll do what we've always done with Iraqi oil:  They'll sell and we'll buy it. 

China trails only the US for importing oil globally.  China will get its oil.  The US economy is sliding down a slippery slope b/c the oil reserves are becoming more scarce.

An economic problem will arise in our lifetimes b/c of oil scarcity.  Our invasion of Iraq does not and will not change that upcoming disaster.