American soldiers stationed in Iraq, two of seven brave enough
to compose an op-ed for the
New York Times speaking the terrible truth about the war. All seven were at the end of their 15 month deployment.
Two won't be coming back. Yance Gray and Omar Mora were killed in Iraq on Monday. About a month ago, these were their words:
To believe that Americans, with an occupying force that long ago outlived its reluctant welcome, can win over a recalcitrant local population and win this counterinsurgency is far-fetched. As responsible infantrymen and noncommissioned officers with the 82nd Airborne Division soon heading back home, we are skeptical of recent press coverage portraying the conflict as increasingly manageable and feel it has neglected the mounting civil, political and social unrest we see every day ...
The claim that we are increasingly in control of the battlefields in Iraq is an assessment arrived at through a flawed, American-centered framework. Yes, we are militarily superior, but our successes are offset by failures elsewhere ... In a lawless environment where men with guns rule the streets, engaging in the banalities of life has become a death-defying act ...
As committed soldiers, we will see this mission through.There aren't words sufficient to describe the travesty of this war.
Labels: heartache, iraq war, senseless deaths
