A soldier in Iraq writes:
"So - yeah - the war - I wish I could put down what I feel about it. I mean, I feel a lot of rage over how we have fucked this thing up as if we had a play book on just how to do it wrong, step by step. Too few men on the ground (in the military sense) going in and too few to hold the land once we claimed it. I feel simultaneous pride and pity in the guys over here who came to fight terrorism - thinking that there was some link between Hussein and Bin Laden. However, we are here now. The notion of putting down a foot-hold of democracy somewhere over here is definitely the right thing to do. There is no denying how the Iraqis have welcomed at least the elections we have brought to them. But I still can't get over how if we'd followed the advice of the senior generals and the war plans developed by years of experienced strategists - this counter-insurgency battle would not be looming over our heads as perilously as it is. But I am here now to support my fellow warriors. It's that simple."
All I can add to that is: I'm grateful, deeply grateful, for his service, and that of so many, forced to carry the burden of a war their superiors bungled beyond belief. May they be protected; and may their mission succeed.