"I Don't Think This Place Is Worth Another Soldier's Life"

George Bush often claims that he relies on his,"commanders on the ground," for all decisions about Iraq, and that's easy to do when you replace commanders that disagree with you.  So after more than four years and 3,838 dead U.S. soldiers, isn't it time he listened to some of the "boots on the ground"?

Next month, the U.S. soldiers will complete their tour in Iraq. Their experience in Sadiyah has left many of them deeply discouraged, by both the unabated hatred between rival sectarian fighters and the questionable will of the Iraqi government to work toward peaceful solutions.

Asked if the American endeavor here was worth their sacrifice -- 20 soldiers from the battalion have been killed in Baghdad -- Alarcon said no: "I don't think this place is worth another soldier's life."

While the Bush Administration and its apologists continue to talk about progress and patience, these men are targets in a civil war and observers of:

...a slow, somewhat government-supported sectarian cleansing.  [...]

The American people don't fully realize what's going on, said Staff Sgt. Richard McClary, 27, a section leader from Buffalo.

"They just know back there what the higher-ups here tell them. But the higher-ups don't go anywhere, and actually they only go to the safe places, places with a little bit of gunfire," he said. "They don't ever [expletive] see what we see on the ground."