Iraq through the eyes of a solider

The soldiers families send candy and gifts over in care packages usually by request of the soldier. The soldiers are human, they aren't being asked by the government to hand out gifts as it's not their job. But they go on the same patrol routes every day and see alot of the locals often.

Come on, same soldiers were killing them and torturing them, I wont count candy and gifts much.

By the way, noone is saying soldiers are unhuman. But what they did in iraq has not much relation with idea of humanity.

Alot of the soldiers over there went because they wanted to fight terrorist after 9/11,

Well I think they were looking wrong place, Saddam was a brutal dictator, but there is not a love between saddam and binladen.

others went to bring democracy to Iraq,

No comment

some went for the benefit of getting a free college schalorship,

At least this guys have some reason, not a good reason but some reason.

 to have a sense of honor in serving there country at a young age,

Yeah we have same honor in Turkey too, but I dont believe it.

some went because they feel if they go they can help releave soldiers that have been there longer then their tour of duty allowing them to come home.

Uh, sacrifice?

I think you just missed main reason, oil.

There are many photos showing disgusting acts too, why not show images from Abu Ghraib or of those shipped of on holiday to Guantanamo.  In one of your pictures it depicts a Kurdistan flag, thus indicating its in a Kurdish area. These areas are peacefull. For example a major city in that area of Suleymania is carrying on as if there is no war. It clear why, America is aiming at dividing the communities. WHy else are they aiming for three federated areas.

Do the Sunni's think they are getting a better deal than the time of Saddam? but wait a minute even the Shia's are revolvting.

Democracy-Not mentioning whether its good or bad, but every state has their own right (even a democratic right) to choose the type of government they want. I do not like Saddams reign either, however in his period the was a whole lot more stability.

I do agree with those of you in saying that the soldiers are people too, which goes then to my earlier point about why dont they be conscientious objectors for a war which is clearly for:

• Oil
• Gaining a base in a strategic point in the ME
• Destroying any threat to Israel (Why Iran next?)
• Dividing and creating even more divisions between Muslims (federated states, playing with the Sunni, Shia divisions and creating friction, Nationalism: Helping Kurdish separatists not only in Iraq but also in Turkey)
• Implementation of globalisation, Western world style

Saddam was a filthy scum for sure.

However, I don't see a difference between US responses to oppositions and Saddam. It is almost identical. Saddam killed civilians in collective punishments and to test his weapons, and US has done so in Fallujah, Samara, Ramadhi and other cities that shows a form of resistance. Isnt the white phosophorus case something to note too? Cluster bombs, depleted uranium missles, that all effect civlians more than insurgents.

Saddam tortured in his security chambers. Guess what? the US did in Abu Gharib and the Iraqi elected government decided to take the exact steps and methods of Saddam in torturing in the secrets tunnels discovered two weeks ago and the Iraqi government promised to investigate them. Investigate secret torture chambers under your Interior Ministry building !?!

Saddam used propogandas for his war on Iran and the Gulf and in all his policies. Guess what again? Just last week BBC published an article and the white housed called it "shocking" to know that the US army in Iraq was paying for pro-American and pro-governmental articles to appear on newspaper written by writers and journalist as "independant".

Nothing is different between US and Saddam in Iraq except the magnitude of their atrocities only.

I'm also surprised that a lot of Iraqi Shiite and Kurds will idolize the US forgetting that after 1991 liberation of Kuwait, Bush the father called for the Iraqi people to raise against Saddam and the US will pack them up. They did in Southern Iraq and in Kurdistan part of Iraq and the US just watched them being massacred and butchered by Saddam without intervention.

Cok gec, that soldier you posted is sickening. I can't believe someone would do that, but thats human nature at it's worst. Anything to find a laugh. A real classless guy, he should be ashamed to wear the uniform.  

That man is very insulting to me as a American, it's people like him that give us a bad name... I'm really sorry to see that.

 Search&destroy, turly the image does not represent at all (and in any form) the American people, but the rates of such images are spread enough to explain the wasted effort of the US army in reparing its image.

Mila, it is not the worst image you have seen neither me. I've seen images of Chinese soldiers punishing a traitor in WWII by cutting his flesh piece by piece. Turkish army soldiers holding heads of PKK fighters next to their bodies, the infamous picture of Celebici prison of Bosnian soldiers executing Serb prisoners in a war crime act, and of couse Iraqi terrorist groups who slaughter hostages as sheeps.

Many war crimes on prisoners and soldiers, but when it comes to civlians its weight is higher for sure and those images are extremely damaging especially for an army that likes to label itself  as "the liberators" of Iraq.

Bush Admits 30,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed.  Independent estimates claim well over 100,000.  Iraq is now a warzone, if US leaves now, the country will fragment.  This is all Bush & Blairs fault. 

I feel sympathetic for these young soldiers who go and fight in a war they dont really understand just so they can get themselves out of the war they live in their own lives in the US, in their bad neighborhoods and families.  At the same time, the real losers of this war are not the US soldiers, there the Iraqi people.

Soldiers taking pictures is fine with me, especially when they want to show the public what they go through.   At the same time, US troops taking pictures of  dead and mutilated Iraqis to get access to Porn, and using it as propaganda, SHAME on them.  There is another side of this war after you cut open the soft underbelly of the media.  Its the war where detainees get sent to secret jails across the world to get tortured.  Nations and sites as far off as Uzbekistan, Balkans, Guantanamo, Bagram, Taiwan, Thailand, countries and areas known for their inhumane treatment of political prisoners.  Some of these detainees never are heard of again.  The other war is the war of words and propaganda.  Where multimedia conglomerates own public news in the United States.  News based on ratings and money and telling people what they WANT to hear. News that keeps people occupied about scandals and not about the real news.

War has many faces.

Cok  all iraqis are not idolize USA but what can we do in this hard situation.Iraqis still remember 1991 when USA gave the permission to saddam to fly over nofly zone he used helecopter to smash the rebels without mercy many innocents killed.

Now we must move on I must take the advantage to build my future with my people without differences.

as you said the Iraqi resistance tachniqe is unacceptable each time the civilian is the target.

 therefore there are no ways except political way and rebuild Iraqi army it's loyal to iraq not to a figurehead like the shameful,any military operation  in iraq will never solve the problems.

I think the next goverment will solve the crisis because it will represents all iraqi people.

You do understand the soldiers don't get a choice on where to go right? If the military tells them to goto Iraq, thats where they are going. I honestly hope you knew that though.

I think we have  a communication problem here. I know soldiers  are not bad, of course they(except a small minority) dont want to kill or harm other but what they did as a whole body is this. I am not accusing soldiers.

Us Americans are very proud of our nation.As I know alot of you Turkish are proud of your nation too. While I can't comment on Turkey as I really don't have a strong point for your history, the US was founded on a war for our own freedom, we faught in a civil war to keep what we believed in, and we stood up against Japan after they attacked us. America isn't perfect, only the blind would say that, but from the extreme right or the extreme left we all agree we are American and we are more proud of that.

Our flag represents those who faught with courage, and died for that flag, thats what the red and white stand for, and thats where the honor comes from.

Be sure my nation met  more war, we are fighting almost 1000 year for this land. our blood also gave our  flag clour(Red)

Some times our nation was called as an army nation.

but I dont believe that honor much, Specialy If you were warring others land. fighting your own land is different than occupying Iraq.

I think you might have the soldiers mixed up with the Bush adminstration, but even thats debatable and I don't even support Bush. I suggest doing alittle research if you think every soldier is gonna get anything with the oil. I doubt a couple of jars filled with unrefined oil will get the average soldier anywhere.

As I said, I dont believe average soldier is bad. I am not anti-american, (they helped world much, they stoped a  blood bath at balkain) I am not even against this war, I  am complately support stoping  saddam (even with wish of oil).  But way  of making war is complately unjust.

they should punish torturers, but It looks like this torturers are free, and It  was a policy of USA goverment.