Op-Ed: "The War As We Saw It"

A dissenting op-ed, written by several infantrymen and non-commissioned officers in the 82nd Airborne Division, appeared in the NYTimes yesterday (Sunday). It is extremely unusual for servicemen to write an opinion piece like this. The article takes dead aim at the increasingly rosy proclamations about Iraq emanating from the White House in recent weeks as we lead up to the September briefing by Petraus. In short, the authors argue, "To believe that Americans, with an occupying force that long ago outlived its reluctant welcome, can win over a recalcitrant local population and win this counterinsurgency is far-fetched."

Here is a more extensive excerpt:

As responsible infantrymen and noncommissioned officers with the 82nd Airborne Division soon heading back home, we are skeptical of recent press coverage portraying the conflict as increasingly manageable and feel it has neglected the mounting civil, political and social unrest we see every day. (Obviously, these are our personal views and should not be seen as official within our chain of command.)...

In short, we operate in a bewildering context of determined enemies and questionable allies, one where the balance of forces on the ground remains entirely unclear. (In the course of writing this article, this fact became all too clear: one of us, Staff Sergeant Murphy, an Army Ranger and reconnaissance team leader, was shot in the head during a "time-sensitive target acquisition mission" on Aug. 12; he is expected to survive and is being flown to a military hospital in the United States.) While we have the will and the resources to fight in this context, we are effectively hamstrung because realities on the ground require measures we will always refuse — namely, the widespread use of lethal and brutal force....

Political reconciliation in Iraq will occur, but not at our insistence or in ways that meet our benchmarks. It will happen on Iraqi terms when the reality on the battlefield is congruent with that in the political sphere. There will be no magnanimous solutions that please every party the way we expect, and there will be winners and losers. The choice we have left is to decide which side we will take. Trying to please every party in the conflict — as we do now — will only ensure we are hated by all in the long run....

In the end, we need to recognize that our presence may have released Iraqis from the grip of a tyrant, but that it has also robbed them of their self-respect. They will soon realize that the best way to regain dignity is to call us what we are — an army of occupation — and force our withdrawal.

Add these gentlemen's names to the now long list of military people, from generals on down the line to enlisted men and women, who have harshly criticized the Bush Administration's execution of the war in Iraq and who see a bleak future ahead if we do not significantly alter our course. Who do you believe, the military people who are actually fighting and dying, or the neo-cons pushing the same old line from their comfortable armchairs along the sidelines?

For the full essay, see:
"The War As We Saw It"