Wednesday, September 12, 2007

My respect and thanks go out…

I get freaked out about the war and all, I know it. I am sorry. But we forget sometimes that real people are fighting this. Two young men – husbands and fathers – were killed this week.
Staff Sergeant Yance Gray of Ismay, Montana and Sergeant Omar Mora of Texas City were both killed in Iraq, just weeks short of going home. They had served multiple tours of duty in Iraq willingly. They both leave behind wives and very young daughters.

They also were two of seven co-authors of a New York Times Opinion piece. Their bravery in serving and in speaking out – but continuing to serve our country is not something I take lightly.

That their lives are over is heart breaking. I hope they knew how much people like me honor their service.

The opening of the editorial.

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.