OpEdNews - Page 2 of Article: Terrorists or Resistance Fighters:

The average Army soldier or Marine in Iraq probably has a pretty decent life at home. Most likely he is close to his mother and father and is probably married with children, and has a good job in the U.S. He found the military to be both an adventure and an opportunity for growth and a chance to honor his country in military service, just as those who fought in WWII in the Pacific islands of Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Saipan. He might recall the bloody beaches of Normandy, where the 2nd U.S. Ranger battalion had the unenviable job of scaling up the cliffs of Pointe du Hoc, with German troops firing down on them. Casualties were heavy. At the end of the 2-days action, the landing force of 225+ was reduced to about 90 men who could still fight.

But there was purpose to their mission. They fought to destroy Nazism and Japanese Imperialism. But today our troops in Iraq fight for no honorable cause, and it is not their fault. They are soldiers. They take their orders. But one has to wonder about the big guns, General Abizaid and General Casey. They have shown no courage or commitment to their troops. They have proven be stooges of Donald Rumsfeld. When the history of this war is written, the U.S. military command will be seen as weak and compliant, unwilling and unable to defend America against a rogue president -- nothing more than toy soldiers kissing ass to get ahead. The lesson is that courage is not to be found in the military.

But now after three years, and the recognition that the war was a fraud, theses brave soldiers in Iraq know the difference: 70- 75% of them want the war to end and want to come home to their families rather than fight George Bush 's personal war. This is not what they signed up for. They signed an oath to defend and protect the United States. After three years it has become clear to them that this is not the goal in Iraq. Good, decent American soldiers have become the oppressors, destroying much of Iraq 's infra- structure, where water, food and medicine are hard to come by, and electric power in Baghdad is available only 20% of the day.

It is time to admit defeat in Iraq as has concluded ultra- conservative William F. Buckley recently in an article in the National Review. Writes Buckley:

"One can't doubt that the American objective in Iraq has failed ... Our mission has failed because Iraqi animosities have proved uncontainable by an invading army of 130,000 Americans. The great human reserves that call for civil life haven't proved strong enough. No doubt they are latently there, but they have not been able to contend against the ice men who move about in the shadows with bombs and grenades and pistols."

Buckley concludes, " ...different plans have to be made. And the kernel here is the acknowledgment of defeat. "

Gerald S. Rellick, Ph.D., worked in aerospace industry for 22 years. He now teaches in the California Community College system. He can be reached at grellick@hotmail.com

1 | 2