Army 1st Lt. Antonio Hardy took a slow look around the east Baghdad neighborhood that he and his men were patrolling. He grimaced at the sound of gunshots in the distance. A machine gunner on top of a Humvee scanned the rooftops for snipers. Some of Hardy's men wondered aloud if they'd get hit by a roadside bomb on the way back to their base. Full Story »
Posted by Lewyn Li
This is another in a series of excellent articles by McClatchy Newspapers' Tom Lasseter. In this piece he goes further than ever in getting candid troop quotes as well as direct quotes from officers in the field. He sights a recent Brookings Institution report that mirrors the cyncical outlook of the troops.
We've heard way too much from folks in D.C. and not enough from the guys on the ground. Kudos to McClatchy and Lasseter for giving a voice to those fighting and dying in this war.
A timely and revealing story which contrasts the pessimism of some US soldiers in Iraq against the optimism of US officers. What makes this piece rare is the bluntness and bitterness of the soldiers' comments, and that all the soldiers and officers are named. I hope such openness would not land the soldiers in trouble.
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