LAT/AP: Many Soldiers Say Troop Surge a Bad Idea

Many Soldiers Say Troop Surge a Bad Idea
By WILL WEISSERT, Associated Press Writer
December 28, 2006

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Many of the American soldiers trying to quell sectarian killings in Baghdad don't appear to be looking for reinforcements. They say the temporary surge in troop levels some people are calling for is a bad idea.

President Bush is considering increasing the number of troops in Iraq and embedding more U.S. advisers in Iraqi units. White House advisers have indicated Bush will announce his new plan for the war before his State of the Union address Jan. 23.

In dozens of interviews with soldiers of the Army's 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment as they patrolled the streets of eastern Baghdad, many said the Iraqi capital is embroiled in civil warfare between majority Shiite Muslims and Sunni Arabs that no number of American troops can stop.

Others insisted current troop levels are sufficient and said any increase in U.S. presence should focus on training Iraqi forces, not combat.

But their more troubling worry was that dispatching a new wave of soldiers would result in more U.S. casualties, and some questioned whether an increasingly muddled American mission in Baghdad is worth putting more lives on the line....

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wire/ats-ap_top11dec28,0,841932.story?coll=la-ap-topnews-headlines

feed us when Gates was in Iraq. And imagine, soldiers concerned about other soldiers; too bad their leaders don't share the same priorities. :-(

They said exactly what they were told to say. Those interviewed by the AP, on the other hand, had no such constraints on their words.

Staff Sgt. Anthony Handly disagreed, saying Baghdad has made improvements many Americans aren't aware of.

"People think everything is so bad and so violent, but it's really not," said Handly, 30, of Bellingham, Wash. "A lot of people are getting jobs they didn't have before and they're doing it on their own. We just provide a stabilizing effect."

Wow. Delusion among the sergeants. Bad news.

ONCE AGAIN, call it what it is: an ESCALATION! Sorry for yelling, folks, but it is what it is. For the last six years, we have seen an administration that doesn't believe in policy issues, only marketing issues. It's been nothing but photo-ops, smoke-and-mirrors, and three-syllable catch-phrases such as, "cut and run", "stay the course" and "tax and spend", that, repeated often enough, can be grasped by any idiot. (And unfortunately, we've seen more than enough of that, too.) WE need to frame the debate. Yes, us. DO not let them use their Orwellian doublespeak on us once again. Tell your friends. Tell your neighbors. Tell your family. IT'S AN ESCALATION.

Iraq must be worse than even we think it is.