With the release of the White House's version of General Petraeus' report just around the corner, the timely establishment of ground-truth in Iraq is more important than ever.
The August 19th New York Times op-ed piece (registration req'd) written by seven non-comms is as poignant as it is honest. Fred Kaplan's take on it in Slate was equally insightful.
More below the fold, and apologies beforehand if this topic has already been diaried.
Regarding the op-ed, Kaplan writes:
It is unusual enough to see officers—active or retired—publicly denouncing military superiors or civilian leaders for mistakes or deficiencies in wartime. But for NCOs—none higher in rank than staff sergeant—to air their contrary views on the war (and, implicitly, their sour views of high-ranking policy-makers) is, as far as I can tell, unprecedented: an act of, depending on your politics, great courage or outright insubordination—or, perhaps, both.
How incredible it would be to have these non-commissioned officers testify before Congress following the presentation of the reworked Petraeus report. These soldiers, by not hiding behind a cloak of anonymity, have effectively put their careers on the line to give us an honest view of the war as seen through the eyes of those who must carry out the orders, as opposed to the one provided by those who give them.
As an illustration the complex loyalties they had to live with on the ground every day (they are now ending a 15-month deployment), these brave men write:
A few nights ago, for example, we witnessed the death of one American soldier and the critical wounding of two others when a lethal armor-piercing explosive was detonated between an Iraqi Army checkpoint and a police one. Local Iraqis readily testified to American investigators that Iraqi police and Army officers escorted the triggermen and helped plant the bomb. These civilians highlighted their own predicament: had they informed the Americans of the bomb before the incident, the Iraqi Army, the police or the local Shiite militia would have killed their families.
This is simply not what American taxpayers signed up for. Thanks to the authors (Spec. Buddhika Jayamaha, Sgt. Wesley D. Smith, Sgt. Jeremy Roebuck, Sgt. Omar Mora, Sgt. Edward Sandmeier, SSgt. Yance T. Gray, and SSgt. Jeremy A. Murphy) and our other fine soldiers for their service and sacrifice. It's time to honor both by bringing them home.
Again, I apologize if this topic has been covered. I would rather be guilty of duplicating it then letting it pass unnoticed.