Words from the front-lines
“In the beginning I was into this; we all were. [But] we haven't found
anything, no weapons of mass destruction, no Saddam, no nothing. And
the people there hate us. If we were rolling through a town and they
were cheering, hell yeah, it would make us feel better. But when
they're not cooperating and throwing rocks and giving us evil looks,
we don't want to be there. We're conquerors to them. It wasn't
supposed to be like that. ... I hate it over there, I hate it." –
Specialist Castillo, while on leave from Iraq.
“We do not fire on anybody unless we feel that our life is
threatened. We don't just kill for the fun of it. Have you ever killed
anybody? It sucks! … I have lost two very good friends of mine in an
RPG attack a few months ago. Having to help put them in body bags is
an image I will never forget." – Joshua Matthews, 101st Airborne
Division, northern Iraq.
“I don't need friends like this. They smile in your face during the
daytime and they try to kill you at night." – Sgt. Derek White, 299th
Engineer Battalion.
"[The Iraqis] seem to have gotten pretty aggravated with us being
around. I asked my interpreter if the Iraqi people are mad at us. He
said that 90 percent of Iraqis hate us, and the other 10 percent have
left Iraq.” – Private T.J. Knight, the driver of White's humvee.
“We shouldn't be here and we should never have been sent here. And
maybe you can tell me: why were we sent here?” – Military policeman,
near Abu Ghurayb.
“Before I came over, watching the news I was rah-rah and here we go.
Now I am just thinking, this needs to stop and go away. When talking
to my wife at home, you know, people just hear about a few casualties
a day and it doesn't sound like a big deal. But when you see a
19-year-old kid with his leg barely hanging on, that one alone is a
big deal.” – Major Gordon Olsen, orthopedic specialist, Heber City,
Utah where the most seriously injured from Iraq go for treatment.
“I don't give a damn about Rumsfeld. All I give a damn about is going
home. The only thing his visit meant for us was we had to clean up a
lot of mess to make the place look pretty. And he didn't even look at
it anyway.” – Specialist Rue Gretton, on Rumsfeld’s visit to Tikrit.
"If I got to talk to Rumsfeld I'd tell him to give us a return date.
We've been here six months and the rumor is we'll be here until at
least March. This is totally, totally uncalled for.” – Sgt. Green,
Tikrit, Iraq
"I'm definitely getting out. To heck with the Army.” – Corporal José
Alvarez, Iraq.
“When will the worldwide fight against terrorism be over? I mean,
should I get my 3-year-old ready for air assault school?” – Question
from solider from the 101st Airborne Division to Rumsfeld during his
visit to Iraq.
“I missed Vietnam. I thought about retiring after Desert Storm. I
should have. [Iraq is] classic FUBAR. … A mission without a goal. An
engagement without rules. The intel was pure FUBAR. No exit strategy.
We’re going to be there for a long, long time. Maybe people are right.
Maybe it is another Vietnam. We were in Vietnam for 10 years. … I’ve
been a professional soldier most of my adult life. I’ve been proud to
serve my country even when I thought we might be wrong. But I’m not
proud now. And that makes me want to puke.” – Anonymous reservist
after returning home from Iraq.
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| User: "R. Foreman" |
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| Title: Re: Words from the front lines |
21 Dec 2003 06:55:59 AM |
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You're starting to sound like Tokyo Rose here daarksyde. What
country did you say you're from?
DaarkSyde@everywhere.com Spat the Words
Words from the front-lines
“In the beginning I was into this; we all were. [But] we haven't
found anything, no weapons of mass destruction, no Saddam, no nothing.
And the people there hate us. If we were rolling through a town and
they were cheering, hell yeah, it would make us feel better. But when
they're not cooperating and throwing rocks and giving us evil looks,
we don't want to be there. We're conquerors to them. It wasn't
supposed to be like that. ... I hate it over there, I hate it." –
Specialist Castillo, while on leave from Iraq.
“We do not fire on anybody unless we feel that our life is
threatened. We don't just kill for the fun of it. Have you ever killed
anybody? It sucks! … I have lost two very good friends of mine in an
RPG attack a few months ago. Having to help put them in body bags is
an image I will never forget." – Joshua Matthews, 101st Airborne
Division, northern Iraq.
“I don't need friends like this. They smile in your face during the
daytime and they try to kill you at night." – Sgt. Derek White,
299th Engineer Battalion.
"[The Iraqis] seem to have gotten pretty aggravated with us being
around. I asked my interpreter if the Iraqi people are mad at us. He
said that 90 percent of Iraqis hate us, and the other 10 percent have
left Iraq.” – Private T.J. Knight, the driver of White's humvee.
“We shouldn't be here and we should never have been sent here. And
maybe you can tell me: why were we sent here?” – Military
policeman, near Abu Ghurayb.
“Before I came over, watching the news I was rah-rah and here we go.
Now I am just thinking, this needs to stop and go away. When talking
to my wife at home, you know, people just hear about a few casualties
a day and it doesn't sound like a big deal. But when you see a
19-year-old kid with his leg barely hanging on, that one alone is a
big deal.” – Major Gordon Olsen, orthopedic specialist, Heber
City, Utah where the most seriously injured from Iraq go for
treatment.
“I don't give a damn about Rumsfeld. All I give a damn about is
going home. The only thing his visit meant for us was we had to clean
up a lot of mess to make the place look pretty. And he didn't even
look at it anyway.” – Specialist Rue Gretton, on Rumsfeld’s
visit to Tikrit.
"If I got to talk to Rumsfeld I'd tell him to give us a return date.
We've been here six months and the rumor is we'll be here until at
least March. This is totally, totally uncalled for.” – Sgt. Green,
Tikrit, Iraq
"I'm definitely getting out. To heck with the Army.” – Corporal
José Alvarez, Iraq.
“When will the worldwide fight against terrorism be over? I mean,
should I get my 3-year-old ready for air assault school?” –
Question from solider from the 101st Airborne Division to Rumsfeld
during his visit to Iraq.
“I missed Vietnam. I thought about retiring after Desert Storm. I
should have. [Iraq is] classic FUBAR. … A mission without a goal. An
engagement without rules. The intel was pure FUBAR. No exit strategy.
We’re going to be there for a long, long time. Maybe people are
right. Maybe it is another Vietnam. We were in Vietnam for 10 years.
… I’ve been a professional soldier most of my adult life. I’ve
been proud to serve my country even when I thought we might be wrong.
But I’m not proud now. And that makes me want to puke.” –
Anonymous reservist after returning home from Iraq.
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| User: "" |
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| Title: Re: Words from the front lines |
21 Dec 2003 07:46:36 AM |
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On Sun, 21 Dec 2003 12:55:59 GMT, "R. Foreman"
<eidpers@anti-spam.comcast.net> wrote:
You're starting to sound like Tokyo Rose here daarksyde. What
country did you say you're from?
Canada...and proud of it. What's the matter? Can't handle the
truth,even when coming from your own soldiers?
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| User: "R. Foreman" |
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| Title: Re: Words from the front lines |
22 Dec 2003 07:23:25 AM |
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Spat the Words
On Sun, 21 Dec 2003 12:55:59 GMT, "R. Foreman"
<eidpers@anti-spam.comcast.net> wrote:
You're starting to sound like Tokyo Rose here daarksyde. What
country did you say you're from?
Canada...and proud of it. What's the matter? Can't handle the
truth,even when coming from your own soldiers?
No, I can handle the truth. The notion of dozens of US Gi's sending
you their personal memoirs about their service in iraq I'm having
trouble with.
Secondly, the idea of our troops being demoralized does lack
some realism, and appears to be something you've conjured up.
I'm thinking you also sit around writing these 'letters' in
your spare time (hence my comment about you sounding like
Tokyo Rose who would make up stories trying to demoralize the
US troops in WWII).
Far from being demoralized, our soldiers are currently on the
move, they're conducting raids and arresting baathists and
terrorists across iraq. They're on the hunt for the bad guys
who like to kill indiscriminately. Our soldiers have a very
clear purpose there.
Our soldiers have a very clear mandate from their president
and their congress. They have full support from the American
public. They have jobs, families, and a stable economy and
society to come home to. Our troops are the best trained and
best equipped fighting forces in the world. They're well fed,
well rested, they sleep in air-conditioned tents.
Somehow your 'letters' about demoralized US troops just don't
ring true and I'm thinking you're making up stories to serve
your own agenda.
If you want demoralized individuals, look at the dead-enders
in iraq, the baathists, the foreign terrorists, the individuals
with nothing to look forward to except death, incarceration,
or a life on the run
Have a nice Christmas, and look into fiction writing because
people can tell when you're making things up.
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