Yesterday, exmeardon wrote a lyrical, heartbreaking diary about the turbulent history of Baghdad's Haifa Street and the people who live there , On the street where you live, Haifa Street.
Today's New York Times article by Damien Cave and James Glanz detailing the experiences of a joint Iraqi-American patrol yesterday on Haifa Street in Baghdad should be required reading for every citizen and Congresscritter of the United States. The article illuminates the stark truth of the "surge": every American who accepts Bush's pathetic SOTU plea to give his "new strategy in Iraq...a chance to work" sends brave soldiers to face a pointless death at the hands of anonymous enemies that cannot be defined, captured or defeated.
"Who the hell is shooting at us?" shouted Sgt. First Class Marc Biletski, whose platoon was jammed into a small room off an alley that was being swept by a sniper’s bullets. "Who’s shooting at us? Do we know who they are?"
Just before the platoon tossed smoke bombs and sprinted through the alley to a more secure position, Sergeant Biletski had a moment to reflect on this spot, which the United States has now fought to regain from a mysterious enemy at least three times in the past two years.
"This place is a failure," Sergeant Biletski said. "Every time we come here, we have to come back."
Year after year, we risk the lives of brave, dedicated young Americans to capture and recapture Haifa Street. From whom? The buildings are mostly abandoned after almost four years of regular violence. The Americans have no idea whom they are fighting.
Then the gunfire began. It would come from high rises across the street, from behind trash piles and sandbags in alleys and from so many other directions that the soldiers began to worry that the Iraqi soldiers were firing at them. Mortars started dropping from across the Tigris River, to the east, in the direction of a Shiite slum.
The only thing that was clear was that no one knew who the enemy was. "The thing is, we wear uniforms — they don’t," said Specialist Terry Wilson.
There's more in the article about the performance of the regular Iraqi units that were supposed to "lead" the operation, although our great leader told us years ago we would never let foreign armies direct ours in Iraq. But Bush's mendacity is old hat. What's new a nd relevant is how the soliers feel about their mission and their Iraqi "partners". Go read the article, it's a terrific piece of reporting.
Ironically, 13 pages later in todays print edition, Baghdad Brooks makes the brilliant and presceint pronouncement that Iraq is "in the beginnings of a civil war" (no link because Brooks is an asshole who gets under my skin). Is there a bigger idiot publishing anywhere in the reality-based community today than David Brooks? Your nominations are welcome.
My point is, how can anyone (Besides Brooks, Michelle Malkin and Rush Limbaugh) read this article and conclude that the answer is to send more troops into the maelstrom? It's beyond me. It's time we made sure the Congress reflects our will and stops the escalation. I will be in Washington D.C. and the United for Peace and Justice Rally against this stupid fucking war along with my 15-year old son, whose life the Escalator wants to put on the line in Baghdad in 2010. Will you be there? You should go, but if you won't, at least e-mail your Congresscritter this Times article along with your letter opposing escalation. And have a great day.
Now it's time to go clean up my office. Talk about a war...