geist81

still nothing new to report, but i thought i'd share part of an email conversation between James and myself.

hmmm...the context of what's going on....that sounds like it could be a very loaded phrase (no offense).
let's see if i can answer this in a way that's comprehensible for a civilian, without coming off as either a war whore or a sob story.
do i think the reasons given for invading iraq (and make no mistake, we are an invading and occupying force, whatever else anyone chooses to call us) were bullshit, and known to be bullshit? aboslutely.
it's well know and verifiable fact that since he took office junior was looking for a reason to kick down iraq's door, and absent any proof of involvement with al queda, wmd would work just fine.
do i see the current plan and past plans as workable, as far as "winning" this war? to a point. one thing every soldier knows is that no plan survives the initial contact with the enemy. ied/vbieds (improvised explosive devices/vehicle borne inprovised explosive devices) were even terms before this war, and now we've seen more in the last few years than in the history of the IRA.
do i think that the current plan is sustainable, in the face of word that troop reduction is in the works? no. plans don't win wars. the sad fact is, in this sort of warfare, in which a larger, regular armed force is working against smaller, independant and guerrilla forces, killing the entirety of one side of the conflict is what wins the war. this is a war of attrition. the side most willing to sacrifice always defines the terms. if they're willing to spend every life to the last man standing, we won't win unless we kill him, and have enough forces left to stabilize the region against the inevitable power vaccum. that's the just the way it is.
do i like being here? not particularly. none of us do, except the terminally stupid. no one likes getting shot at, blown up, tortured, beheaded or going home absent pieces and freinds. i buried one of my best freinds in my unit last year because of this war. and if no soldier ever has to hear "dropped from the rolls" again, it will be far to soon. it's an old and cliched phrase that no one wishes for peace more than a soldier, but also a very true thing. no one who has not seen what war and true fighting is will ever be able to comprehend what it is like. there are no words for it, not that some one who wasn't there would understand. the joy of realizing you've made it through alive, and the most abject feelings of failure and self hatred when you realize that you're not brining everybody back.
but that is the price we pay. for ourselves, for our families, and for those who wore the uniform before us. and in the end, we know that it will never leave us, that we will always bear those scars, and feel that joy and pain that set us apart from everyone around us.
hopefully this has been semi-coherant, and answered what i think your question was.

::message ends::


oh yeah, more than a month since i've had a smoke...yay me. whatever.