AN EMAIL FROM THE FRONT

andrew sullivan ^ | Wednesday, April 14, 2004 | in iraq

[dennisw]

AN EMAIL FROM THE FRONT:
Here's an email from a soldier I first corresponded with when he was a cadet at West Point. He's legit - and his email is worth printing in full, I think. I'm not endorsing everything he says, but it's worth hearing what a very bright and committed young soldier is going through right now:

Troop strength - I think we have consistently underestimated the number of troops it would take to pacify Iraq. Gen Shinseki's original estimates were much closer to the mark. The fact that the 1st Armored Division (my unit) has now been extended for at least 4 months shows there aren't enough troops - in order to deal with a fairly minor uprising we had to break the one-year-boots-on-ground pledge. If we had had a strategic reserve, this would not be necessary. However, the dirty secret is that there aren't any more troops to be had - at least not the active-duty armor/infantry brigades and divisions requried to fight a tough enemy. Furthermore, the frenetic destruction that occured after the fall of Baghdad set us way back in terms of reconstruction - more troops could have limited if not prevented the extensive looting.

Sadir et al. - Although his uprising is seen as a ominious sign for the coalition, it does have an upside. His poorly trained and poorly equiped rag-bad militia is being chewed up by our army. His defeat and eventual marginalization will serve the coalition well. After one year of occupation, I think many Iraqis have come to see the army as rather toothless - we get blown up by roadside bombs or mortars and yet we continue to rebuild schools, enforce the laws, train police etc. Now because of Fallujah and what has been going on in Baghdad, our potency and resolve are on full display. My task force alone has killed many insurgents in the last two weeks - something that was not happening before. By confronting us in a conventional way, Sadir et al. are playing to our military strengths - and it isn't going well for them.

Long term prospects - I have to admit that after one year here I am largely pessimistic. Iraqi society is sick in many ways. Sometimes it's hard to tell if Saddam was the problem or the symptom. I just don't know how a society so divided along ethnic and tribal lines, with no democratic or liberal traditions and almost zero respect for the rule of law can build any kind of society accept and autocratic one. I'm not ashamed that the US came here with good intentions and noble sentiments about the universality of our values - democracy, liberty, the rule of law etc., but I think all our efforts might be eventually futile. In essence, we have given the Iraqis an enormous gift, but they don't seem to be seizing the opportunity. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink...

The Army - Most soldiers in my unit were pretty demoralized by the extension. We were promised a one year tour and now that promise has been broken. Retention will certainly suffer. However, we are facing a difficult time in Iraq and our continued presence is necessary. What I would like to hear and I think most soldiers feel the same way - is for someone high up to say "Look, we didn't plan for this. Things have gotten screwed up and we need your continued sacrifice. This is why it is so important you stay." Instead we have gotten vague comments about "managing the troop redeployment" - as if it were some little snafu or inconvenience. The truth is, our division is now getting ready for another bloody and hellishly hot summer that none of us expected to ever go through again.

Good and bad. But it's only one year.

- 1:42:52 AM

[Puddleglum]

We're all grateful for their sacrifice.

Maybe we need to act like a country at war - have a draft, raise troop pay and reenlistment incentives through bond rallies, have George Bush take the lead on fund-raising for the troops and their families, etc.

So far, politically, this is a 'don't-step-on-any-toes-at-home police action', not a war like in the past. It seems like the moral equivalent of a too-good to be true credit card offer in the mail for all Americans except the military and their families.

[verity]

The American people will not tolerate incompetence.

If true, Bush will be reelected!

[Broadside Joe]

"But Bush and his advisor were pretty adamant about them, weren't they?"

So was the UN and every intel agency in the free world. So was slick willy. So that argument doesn't hold water.

"And that this war is pointless and harmful to America."

Not so. WMD's were only one of the reasons. Saddam had to go one way or the other for a number of reasons.

[APFel]

"Bush was ill served by advisors who lied about WMD. Soldiers are paying the price. He has a lot to answer for."

Any incorrect statement is a lie? This is the kind of foolish statement I would expect from the tinfoil hatters over at the DU.

Hm... The weater forecaster predicted rain last night, but I didn't see a drop. I need to call the radio station and accuse them of being liars. "You lied about the rain, and now I have to water my lawn! My grass is paying the price for your deception! You have a lot to answer for!!"

APf

[Coop]

Bush was ill served by his advisors who estimated the necessary troops to get the job done. It will likely cost him the election in November. The American people will not tolerate incompetence.

Not at all. Taking Baghdad in three weeks with minimal casualties? I'd say the troop strength was estimated well. As far as securing the country, who in their right mind thought it would be easy? Umm, nobody?

See, you may live in your critical little vacuum world, Richard, but the rest of us live in reality. You cannot simply send 300K troops into Iraq and ask the rest of the world to please be on their best behavior. These senior folks are making extremely tough, life-or-death decisions with resource constraints.

Your toughest decision each day, as best I can tell, is what to gripe about next.

[Little Ray]

Bush is ill served by tolerance and multiculturalism. If we were a little more severe (Fallujah should be leveled, mosques should be inspected and destroyed if used for military purposes, etc.), we would probably not have these problems. If knew where Sadr was, even if he was hiding in the most "holy" mosque in Iraq, we should hit it with daisy cutters and MOABs.
Instead we tiptoe around, worrying about offending these people. That looks weak and inspires the more psychopathic among them to try fighting.

[mrsmith]

If you'd like to know why we invaded Iraq you could look at the congressional authorization.

Apparently you've been away so long you've forgotten that we have a congress that says why we go to war- not a BBC.

[been_lurking]

It seems pretty clear that they lied.

To be a lie, they had to know in advance that there weren't any.

Your use of the term "lie" is not correct in this case. Everybody thought Saddam had them. It may turn out that they were all wrong, it may not.

Never the less, if you cannot prove prior knowledge of the absense of WMD's, then you cannot use the term "lie".

[PreviouslyA-Lurker]

Bush was ill served by his advisors who estimated the necessary troops to get the job done. It will likely cost him the election in November. The American people will not tolerate incompetence.

We won't tolerate incompetence? We have before. (-- refer, that's refer not reefer, to last president)

[Rokke]

This LT was just told he'd be spending an additional 4 months in theater after a one year tour. If he wasn't pessimistic and bitching, I'd question his sanity. Having been in similar (though not quite so harsh) situations in my military career, I can dig out my own stack of "everything sucks" letters. And then, when you finally make it home, take a deep breath, sleep in your own bed and reacquaint yourself with your wife and kids...you start looking back and realize that maybe not everything sucked. In fact, some of it didn't suck at all. In fact, maybe another tour wouldn't be so bad. Especially since the cause is just, and our troops are professional warriors.
My guess is this Lt will have a long career in the Army. He's obviously bright and a thinker. Contrary to Hollywood stereotypes, there is plenty of room in our military for those kinds of leaders.

[Dog Anchor]

It seems pretty clear that they lied. And that this war is pointless and harmful to America...

Iran is the preeminent state sponsor of terrorism. Syria is the state sponsor of palistinian terrorism. Saudi Arabia and Iraq have the largest oil reserves which support the world economy. And this war is pointless and harmful to America?

[ilgipper]

You sure you are on the right website?

[Rstutz]

I am not sure if you have served in the post WWII military or not, but since that war - the US has changed the way it deals with wars - Korea (a stalemate), Vietnam (a loss), Iraq 1 (a withdrawal), etc.... you see the liberation of the world is no longer the issue and that is why WWII and WWI can not be used as a benchmark to all other wars or engagements. I was in a "war" for over a year and the news only reported it for 18 days.... no one knew we drew fire, no one knew we lived in lousy conditions, it was forgotten about. That is because we engage in what is now called "conflicts".
This thought process is put into soldiers minds from the start. Read what reservists and soldiers say when interviewed. They say "I wanted the money for college". They are lured in by a free education. I told my son he could not join the military for college money alone, that he had to go into the service knowing that he would train and be prepared for war. That is what the military is.

When you offer someone a free education and down play the fact that you will be in battle, you get what you pay for - Soldiers that expect and are told a limited engagement time. It is a culture designed by our nation to avert a draft, and the price you pay in many cases is demoralized troops and upset parents, because they just wanted a free education, and never thought they would be in battle.

This letter is from a proud soldier doing his best to see what this war will yield for him and his troops. Support him and his comrades, don't trivialize this by comparing his situation to that of a World War.

[Alberta's Child]

These soldiers shouldn't have been told a time frame.

Why not? The entire country was fed a pile of crap by the members of this administration who have overseen the whole situation in Iraq -- why would we expect the troops be treated any differently?

[RichardW]

I'm referring to the gross undermanning of the occupation forces. This is truly outrageous. We should have had twice the force in there, secured the borders, disarmed the population and imposed our will immediately. It has been obvious that there was no sound planning to deal with the aftermath of the war to oust Saddam. This is needlessly costing American lives.

Now Rumsfeld is expressing remorse but it is a little late in the day. The opportunity to do it right has been squandered and this will very likely lead to a President Kerry. Bush has likely thrown away his reelection based on the horrible advice of his in-house "experts" whose hubris was palpable.