Navy Times...
Quite honestly I'm not at all surprised. The idea of "boots on the ground in Iraq" that's being pushed by many military leaders has confused the hell out of me. Common sense says that its a fools errand to attempt to give people what they don't want. In my opinion Western style democracy is not desired by the people in that region and we should stop trying to give it to them.
But this survey says something more.
The troops don't trust the President, Congress or military leadership. That lack of trust is going to become apparent to all soon AND will have consequences.
On the surface, troops appear to support President Obama’s repeated vows not to let the U.S. military get “dragged into another ground war” in Iraq. Yet at the same time, the views of many service members are shaped by a deep ambivalence about this commander in chief and questions about his ability to lead the nation through a major war, according to the survey and interviews.Read it all here.
The reader survey asked more than 2,200 active-duty troops this question: “In your opinion, do you think the U.S. military should send a substantial number of combat troops to Iraq to support the Iraqi security forces?” Slightly more than 70 percent responded: “No.”
“It’s their country, it’s their business. I don’t think major ‘boots on the ground’ is the right answer,” said one Army infantry officer and prior-enlisted soldier who deployed to Iraq three times. He responded to the survey and an interview request but, like several other service members in this story, asked not to be named because he is not authorized to discuss high-level military policy.
Quite honestly I'm not at all surprised. The idea of "boots on the ground in Iraq" that's being pushed by many military leaders has confused the hell out of me. Common sense says that its a fools errand to attempt to give people what they don't want. In my opinion Western style democracy is not desired by the people in that region and we should stop trying to give it to them.
But this survey says something more.
The troops don't trust the President, Congress or military leadership. That lack of trust is going to become apparent to all soon AND will have consequences.
