TURNINGTABLES was a blog written by a US soldier located somewhere in Iraq after the 2003
invasion. The posts were signed "Moja".
Given
the growing intensity of the conflicts
in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Libya, Nigeria, and Chad, and the way Netanyahu
is goading the US to maintain a hostile posture towards Iran, I suspect things
are going to go downhill and we are about to see US soldiers going to fight in those bullshit
places in the near future. I don´t think any of it is worth it, but that´s the
way things rock and roll when those who make the decisions don´t put their
hides on the line.
So
I decided to re-read some of Moja´s posts, and I want to show you one of the
last ones:
September
5, 2003:
“i
was listening to an ex-marine turned army staff sergeant...and an ex-abrahms
tanker turned signal puke...they described the scene as a long stretch of road
running through the middle of a small foreign town...fox holes and machine gun
nests littering the road way...snipers plugged up in windows...the enemy dug in
deep...an assault by ground forces would prove catastrophic...there were very
few options that would lead to victory over these circumstances...
US Abrams tanks in Baghdad, 2003 (from Wikipedia)
the
good guys brought in the tanks...lined them up side by side facing down the
fortified roadway...simultaneously the tanks fired two rounds down range...the
rounds created enough of a vacuum that the enemy soldiers were sucked from
their fortifications and into the middle of the street...where they were gunned
down from a top the turret...or rolled over by tank tread...
they
laughed at this story...they made sound effects...squashing and womping...and
they thought it was great...i found no humor in this tale...and i'm not sure
what i think about it...
US Soldier in Baghdad, 2003 (BBC Photo)
and
there are many dead men...the enemy...holed up...protecting their
encampments...doing their jobs...war is so crazy...it boggles me...it horrifies
me...human life wasted...but there is always that greater good that i hear
about...the greater good...
the
u.s. military is the largest volunteer military in the world...we serve no
mandatory term...and service does not "guarantee citizenship"...it
was already ours in the first place...we all made a choice...some made it
eagerly...while others just made it...there are those soldiers who join and
spend the next few years of their lives fighting all personal change and growth
that the military would force upon them...and there are those that welcome
it...and need it...and yearn for it...
US Soldier, Market in Iraq, 2003 (from the BBC)
i
listen to people talk...educated soldiers...there are others who pay
attention...who have view points and it always excites me to listen to a well
read soldier with differing views approach a discussion with a level
head...that is how others will learn something...debate with an open mind forces
others to grow as people...
i
listened to the ex-marine turned staff sergeant...and he made good points...he
understands that what we do isn't fair...but he makes the point that it doesn't
have to be...
he
has a tattoo on his forearm that says 'all gave some...some gave all'...
Dead US soldiers returning home (from The Examiner)
the
world is volatile...and unpredictable...the 'liberation' of a country looks as
though it may cause a civil war...i remember when we first arrived in
baghdad...it seems like a life time ago...the people were still so happy to see
us...they did line the streets...they waved...iraqis like to wave...i remember
the taped programs my girlfriend sent me...the statues being torn down...iraqis
waving american flags...pictures of saddam being beaten mercilessly with
shoes...cheering...and that time is gone...it may as well of never happened...
i'm
leaving...i think about it constantly...and i feel guilty...i get to go
home...and start my life...it's been on pause...but then i think about my
troops...fresh out of school...4 more years to go for them...and i wonder what
they will see...where will they go...how many wars will they encounter that
pause their lives...and force them to grow in unexpected and glorious
ways...what will they learn...and see...what images will stick with them for
the rest of their lives...will they think about me...
i
think about riverbend*...and the fact that she is home...there is no waiting
loved one on the other side of the earth...or a little apartment and a truck
with 20 inch rims...there isn't an escape back into a missed life for her...she
is here and she will continue to be here...this is her life...in iraq...i
wonder what she has already witnessed...and just how much more she will see...”
*riverbend
was the name used by an Iraqi girl who wrote a blog from Baghdad around the
same time.
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