Our soldiers in Iraq aren't heroes (But Andy Rooney is! (not))

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[Peter J. Huss]

Our soldiers in Iraq aren't heroes



4/12/2004

By ANDY ROONEY

Most of the reporting from Iraq is about death and destruction. We don't learn much about what our soldiers in Iraq are thinking or doing. There's no Ernie Pyle to tell us, and, if there were, the military would make it difficult or impossible for him to let us know. It would be interesting to have a reporter ask a group of our soldiers in Iraq to answer five questions and see the results:

1. Do you think your country did the right thing sending you into Iraq?

2. Are you doing what America set out to do to make Iraq a democracy, or have we failed so badly that we should pack up and get out before more of you are killed?

3. Do the orders you get handed down from one headquarters to another, all far removed from the fighting, seem sensible, or do you think our highest command is out of touch with the reality of your situation?

4. If you could have a medal or a trip home, which would you take?

5. Are you encouraged by all the talk back home about how brave you are and how everyone supports you?

Treating soldiers fighting their war as brave heroes is an old civilian trick designed to keep the soldiers at it. But you can be sure our soldiers in Iraq are not all brave heroes gladly risking their lives for us sitting comfortably back here at home.

Our soldiers in Iraq are people, young men and women, and they behave like people - sometimes good and sometimes bad, sometimes brave, sometimes fearful. It's disingenuous of the rest of us to encourage them to fight this war by idolizing them.

We pin medals on their chests to keep them going. We speak of them as if they volunteered to risk their lives to save ours, but there isn't much voluntary about what most of them have done. A relatively small number are professional soldiers. During the last few years, when millions of jobs disappeared, many young people, desperate for some income, enlisted in the Army. About 40 percent of our soldiers in Iraq enlisted in the National Guard or the Army Reserve to pick up some extra money and never thought they'd be called on to fight. They want to come home.

One indication that not all soldiers in Iraq are happy warriors is the report recently released by the Army showing that 23 of them committed suicide there last year. This is a dismaying figure. If 22 young men and one woman killed themselves because they couldn't take it, think how many more are desperately unhappy but unwilling to die.

We must support our soldiers in Iraq because it's our fault they're risking their lives there. However, we should not bestow the mantle of heroism on all of them for simply being where we sent them. Most are victims, not heroes.

America's intentions are honorable. I believe that, and we must find a way of making the rest of the world believe it. We want to do the right thing. We care about the rest of the world. President Bush's intentions were honorable when he took us into Iraq. They were not well thought out but honorable.

Bush's determination to make the evidence fit the action he took, which it does not, has made things look worse. We pay lip service to the virtues of openness and honesty, but for some reason, we too often act as though there was a better way of handling a bad situation than by being absolutely open and honest.

[snippy_about_it]

Wonderful letter Brian.

These people aren't worth the breath but we still need to let them know what we think of them. You said it well!

I've been waiting for the day CBS goes of the air. It is just a leftist propaganda machine. It's even more sad that we have people who turn to them for news. The spew their trash to the sheeple who don't use their own brain to think.

Thanks for the ping and for writing the letter. You know you are a hero to me, you and all our troops though I'm naturally partial to the Tarawa LHA-1 sailors who went into harms way during OIF. America grows them great that serve us all. Thank you for your service to our country.

[wingster]

Rooney's gotta be 90 years old. He's clearly senile and isn't worth the air space.

Time to give it a rest you cranky fart!

Rooney, Blather, Moore-on, Baldwin, Franken, and on, and on, and on, and on....

They're all mental clones of one another collectively having an intellectual arsenal coming off a single sheet of paper.

[proud American in Canada]

"The media elite is open warfare against everything American. They don't even try to hide it any more."

I think you're right. I can't believe this article.

[Coop]

Bump for a disgraceful excuse for a journalist and human being.

[yvetteagee]

I am so mad that what that freakin Rooney said I can't even think. I have a sister in the marines and my grandfather was also he fought in WWII. I think that anyone that can make it through the training should be considered a hero. They are over there risking life and limb and should be commended for it. And as for the suicides well we don't know the details about those and all the other soilders should not be judged because of that. I am very proud of our troops for going over there, leaving family and friends to fight for someone else's freedom......I didn't say I agreed with this war but the troops should be supported by all means and people like Rooney should be put on the front lines and just see what he would do.......I'm sure he would turn tail and run. As others have said I think the man is going senile........Kiss an ass Rooney.......