***SCROLL FOR UPDATE***
Reporter Lara Logan was the one to interview the group of military men and women who are asking for “Redress.” She also spent some time with others who are in Iraq and got their take on some issues.
I’m going to leave the commentary up to those who are in the military. I know how I feel, but I’m going to hold my opinions for right now. Blackfive has some great stuff about this group and their requests.
I will say two things, however: 1) There are many more military men and women who don’t feel like this; and 2) I don’t recall ever in our history when soldiers got to pick which battles they wanted to fight and those they did not.
Watch the 60 Minutes segment here.
***UPDATE***
You can read the entire transcript here, but here’s a portion:
“As a patriotic citizen who served two combat tours in Iraq, I just feel like this war, it’s simply just not working out anymore, and soldiers are dying there everyday,” says Specialist Kevin Torres.
Torres didn’t always feel that way—he enlisted in the Army right out of high school, after 9/11. He has twice served in Iraq, patrolling the mainly Kurdish north of the country, and carrying out combat patrols and goodwill missions.
“I joined because I just wanted to make a difference. I wanted to be a part of our generation’s war,” Torres says.
“You’ve been on two deployments and you didn’t always feel this way. Was there a point at which, you know, something you experienced that made you think,” Logan asks.
“Yeah. In January, we were doing routine presence patrol through the city of Hawija, and one of our trucks was hit by a roadside bomb, an IED, and it killed four of the soldiers out of the five that were in the truck. And during the recovery of the fallen soldiers all the debris outside of the truck. And we just had the truck was loaded with school supplies and soccer balls and crayons and notebooks and coloring books. We just wanna help. And it was just a really eye-opening and frustrating experience. Because we’re still getting killed out there,” he says.
It’s a sentiment echoed by all of the service members who are part of this protest.
…and a bit more:
They’ve all sent a petition, called “Appeal For Redress,” to their individual members of Congress, letting them know that “Staying in Iraq will not work” and it’s “time for U.S. troops to come home.”
“It’s not about speaking out against the military or speaking out against the war. It’s just, we’re here four years down the line and there’s not an end to it,” Sgt. Evans, one of the dissenters, tells Logan.
“What are we trying to accomplish over there? I mean, what is what are we trying to do in Iraq?” another soldier, Sgt. Ronn Cantu asks.
What does he think?
“I don’t even know anymore,” he tells Logan.
“Well, what would you say to the people that say, ‘Alright, it’s clear that the war in Iraq is incredibly difficult and life is really tough both for Americans and for Iraqis, but pulling out’s not the answer. It’s only gonna get worse. There’s gonna be all-out civil war,’” Logan asks.
“How does that become the default? Either someday, we have to leave. We can’t stay in Iraq for the next thousand years,” one soldier remarks.
Asked if there’s a possibility that Iraq might be better off if American troops stay and finish the job, Cantu says, “But then our lives are hanging in the balance of a flip of a coin.”
“That doesn’t seem worth it to you? Those are not good odds?” Logan asks.
“Yes. I mean, we volunteered to make a difference, not just be part of an experiment,” he replies.
… and just a bit more…
“There are going to be a lot of people listening to this who say that, ‘You’re a traitor. You’re betraying your uniform. You don’t deserve to wear it,’” says Logan.
“I hope there aren’t people that think that,” says Lt. Commander Mark Dearden.
For him, going public has been one of the hardest decisions of his life. He’s a combat surgeon who served during Operation Iraqi Freedom, returned for a second tour and now treats soldiers at a Naval hospital in California.
“The decision to come here for me personally was not an easy one. And I don’t expect it was for anyone. Last night I was with my family in the park in our town and it hit me that ‘At this very moment, while I’m standing here, people are fighting and people are dying.’ I’ve seen it with my own eyes. And I can feel it in my chest,” Dearden says.
Dearden acknowledges this is very hard for him and he also admits that it isn’t so much a protest as a plea.
According to a recent Military Times survey, many in uniform feel the same way. The poll found that for the first time ever more US soldiers oppose the president’s handling of the war in Iraq than support it.
Okay, my opinions are coming out now. Patriotic my ASS! You do NOT have the right to speak out against the Commander in Chief in a time of war, much less pick the battles you do and do not want to fight! How fucking hypocritical of the above-quoted soldier who thinks it’s not noble to try to get school supplies to children who have never had them before, unless they were of the Madrassa-kind. All I can say to these fricking wussies is STFU! There’s no crying in war! It’s okay when you lose buddies, but not when you feel bad about what you’re doing and you’re on national freakin’ TV BASHING the war, your CinC, and the mission! YOU’RE A FRICKIN’ SOLDIER OR MARINE, damnit! SUCK IT THE FUCK UP! What? You just wanted the free GI bill for school and housing allowances? You don’t get a free ride for everything else. You voluntarily signed up for service, so what the freak did you expect? If you don’t like what you’re doing, then why the hell did you sign up in the first damn place?
You DON’T get to pick your missions; that’s what your leadership is for. And don’t EVER…EVER… EVER degrade our Commander In Chief during a time of war!
60 Minutes just wanted to chronicle the wussification of a fraction of our armed forces. These people by far are the exception and not the rule. Just ask people like Sergeant Michael Burkhardt. I’m sure he’d agree with me.
