Greg MacDonald was a complex man. He had a degree in philosophy, studied Arabic, volunteered for the anti-war group Peace Action in Washington, DC. Greg was also a four-year veteran of the Marine Corps Reserves. Although he’d volunteered at Peace Action and attended anti-war rallies, he was a lance corporal in Bravo Company, 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion. When his unit was called up earlier this year, Greg MacDonald went with them.
Two weeks ago, in the central Iraq city of Hilla, Greg and six other Marines in their light-armor vehicle were rushing to the aid of fellow Marines who had been ambushed. The soft shoulder of the road collapsed; Greg died in the crash.
On May first, George Bush put on a military uniform and declared the major fighting in Iraq to be over. Between then and Monday, another 70 troops have died, half as many as died in what was called “major fighting.” Most of them, like Greg, died in accidents, rather than directly from bullets and bombs. Pentagon spokespeople may try to split hairs on that point, but Greg MacDonald and his comrades all died battle deaths.
The war we are fighting in Iraq is complex. One hundred days after the American invasion began, much of the country is still a war zone, or rather, zones. The “Sunni Belt” around Baghdad bristles with Baath Party members and resistance fighters. It also bristles with ordinary Iraqis increasingly angry that basic services like power and water do not work. American forces come under attack a dozen times a day, although most attacks go unreported in the U.S. press.
Southern Iraq is heavily Shi’ite, people there have links to Iran and would like to see an Islamic state in Iraq. Southern Iraq was thought to be pacified until a crowd turned on British soldiers, accusing them of heavy-handed police tactics. Six British troops were killed in the fight that followed. Northern Iraq, occupied by pro-Western Kurds was also thought to be pacified until last week when U.S. forces arrested two dozen people, half of them Turkish soldiers. The State Department says the group was planning to assassinate a U.S.-backed Kurdish leader. In Western Iraq, there was a situation that might have involved Saddam Hussein and his sons. It certainly did involve the Syrian border and a confrontation with Syrian forces, if not an actual exchange of gunfire.
All in all, it’s a complex situation. The U.S. has 150,000 troops on the ground in Iraq and they’re dog-tired. At the Pentagon and in the halls of Congress, generals and policy makers admit a substantial military force will be needed in Iraq for three to five years at a minimum. The U.S. military cannot meet that commitment with its current active-duty personnel. That means more reserves will need to be called up; after that, keep your ears peeled for talk of a new draft.
No president wants to go that route between now and November ’04, so the State Department is looking for troop commitments from other nations. The Washington Post says the U.S. is looking to recruit 30,000 troops from Germany, France, Egypt and India. I’d love to be a fly on the wall in Berlin and Paris to hear those conversations. The U.S. expects any foreign troops sent to Iraq will be under American command. Other nations, understandably, will reject that arrangement and look to have their troops under the sanction of the UN. Most of the planet would welcome that development, the warheads in Washington would not.
Gregory MacDonald hoped for a career in Middle East peacemaking. Part of that was learning Arabic, part of that was volunteering for Peace Action, part of that was joining the Marine Corps Reserves. He told his colleagues at Peace Action that the Iraq war was not about security for America. He knew the road to peace is a diplomatic, not a military, one.
This week, George Bush retracted part of his State of the Union speech, part that justified his war on Iraq, adding insult to injury for the families of dead American soldiers and the families of soldiers still to die.
Support Our Troops?
Greg MacDonald was a complex man. He had a degree in philosophy, studied Arabic, volunteered for the anti-war group Peace Action in Washington, DC. Greg was also a four-year veteran of the Marine Corps Reserves. Although he’d volunteered at Peace Action and attended anti-war rallies, he was a lance corporal in Bravo Company, 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion. When his unit was called up earlier this year, Greg MacDonald went with them.
Two weeks ago, in the central Iraq city of Hilla, Greg and six other Marines in their light-armor vehicle were rushing to the aid of fellow Marines who had been ambushed. The soft shoulder of the road collapsed; Greg died in the crash.
On May first, George Bush put on a military uniform and declared the major fighting in Iraq to be over. Between then and Monday, another 70 troops have died, half as many as died in what was called “major fighting.” Most of them, like Greg, died in accidents, rather than directly from bullets and bombs. Pentagon spokespeople may try to split hairs on that point, but Greg MacDonald and his comrades all died battle deaths.
The war we are fighting in Iraq is complex. One hundred days after the American invasion began, much of the country is still a war zone, or rather, zones. The “Sunni Belt” around Baghdad bristles with Baath Party members and resistance fighters. It also bristles with ordinary Iraqis increasingly angry that basic services like power and water do not work. American forces come under attack a dozen times a day, although most attacks go unreported in the U.S. press.
Southern Iraq is heavily Shi’ite, people there have links to Iran and would like to see an Islamic state in Iraq. Southern Iraq was thought to be pacified until a crowd turned on British soldiers, accusing them of heavy-handed police tactics. Six British troops were killed in the fight that followed. Northern Iraq, occupied by pro-Western Kurds was also thought to be pacified until last week when U.S. forces arrested two dozen people, half of them Turkish soldiers. The State Department says the group was planning to assassinate a U.S.-backed Kurdish leader. In Western Iraq, there was a situation that might have involved Saddam Hussein and his sons. It certainly did involve the Syrian border and a confrontation with Syrian forces, if not an actual exchange of gunfire.
All in all, it’s a complex situation. The U.S. has 150,000 troops on the ground in Iraq and they’re dog-tired. At the Pentagon and in the halls of Congress, generals and policy makers admit a substantial military force will be needed in Iraq for three to five years at a minimum. The U.S. military cannot meet that commitment with its current active-duty personnel. That means more reserves will need to be called up; after that, keep your ears peeled for talk of a new draft.
No president wants to go that route between now and November ’04, so the State Department is looking for troop commitments from other nations. The Washington Post says the U.S. is looking to recruit 30,000 troops from Germany, France, Egypt and India. I’d love to be a fly on the wall in Berlin and Paris to hear those conversations. The U.S. expects any foreign troops sent to Iraq will be under American command. Other nations, understandably, will reject that arrangement and look to have their troops under the sanction of the UN. Most of the planet would welcome that development, the warheads in Washington would not.
Gregory MacDonald hoped for a career in Middle East peacemaking. Part of that was learning Arabic, part of that was volunteering for Peace Action, part of that was joining the Marine Corps Reserves. He told his colleagues at Peace Action that the Iraq war was not about security for America. He knew the road to peace is a diplomatic, not a military, one.
This week, George Bush retracted part of his State of the Union speech, part that justified his war on Iraq, adding insult to injury for the families of dead American soldiers and the families of soldiers still to die.