Any chance of “embedding” the White House and Congress in the front lines of Bush’s War?
“If you don’t come out here, then you
really have no clue.”
Army Staff Sgt. Antonio Gonzales points his weapon
across the Tigris River, keeping a close eye on a bridge that was cracked in
half by an insurgent attack a few months
ago.
He’s 31 and on his second tour in Iraq. His survival and that of the men he serves with rely on an instinctive ability to spot hidden threats. A pile of trash, an odd formation of wires, a cart seemingly left innocently by the side of the road — all could mean death.
“If you don’t come out here, then you really have no clue,” says Gonzales, a member of Task Force Justice, which is operating in northern Baghdad. “They don’t understand what it is [like] driving down the road and to wonder if you are going to get blown up or not.”
Staff Sgt. Harry Thomas Morgan, on his third tour of duty, says, “It is my personal belief that if you are in a leadership position from senator to president, you should have to come here and live with the soldiers on the ground, not necessarily in the ‘Green Zone’ where we have the most luxuries.
“America needs to see what we see through the eyes of the soldier.”
Virtually everyone who opposes the Iraq War has no beef with the grunts on the ground. Given that this war was decided and mis-guided by chickenhawks, I think the Sargent’s suggestion is especially appropriate.
He’s 31 and on his second tour in Iraq. His survival and that of the men he serves with rely on an instinctive ability to spot hidden threats. A pile of trash, an odd formation of wires, a cart seemingly left innocently by the side of the road — all could mean death.
“If you don’t come out here, then you really have no clue,” says Gonzales, a member of Task Force Justice, which is operating in northern Baghdad. “They don’t understand what it is [like] driving down the road and to wonder if you are going to get blown up or not.”
Staff Sgt. Harry Thomas Morgan, on his third tour of duty, says, “It is my personal belief that if you are in a leadership position from senator to president, you should have to come here and live with the soldiers on the ground, not necessarily in the ‘Green Zone’ where we have the most luxuries.
“America needs to see what we see through the eyes of the soldier.”
Virtually everyone who opposes the Iraq War has no beef with the grunts on the ground. Given that this war was decided and mis-guided by chickenhawks, I think the Sargent’s suggestion is especially appropriate.
Posted: Tue - September 11, 2007 at 10:26 AM