It is a bit subtle perhaps, but more and more can one hear U.S. soldiers speaking out against the war in Iraq. It is becoming fewer and far between that you hear the company line or the upbeat optimism from the grunt on the ground when interviewed by reporters. It’s little wonder when you have men and women less than 25 years old on their third tour of combat. And it isn’t just the grunts who want to go home. The captains and the colonels are expressing their doubts as to whether the Iraqis they have tried to train will ever come together for their own defense. Not to mention a slew of former generals who say this war thing just isn’t working out.
Perhaps a bit startling and perhaps not is this expression of bitterness and frustration from former Army Ranger Kevin Tillman, whose brother (former pro football star turned Ranger) Pat Tillman, was accidentally killed by fellow soldiers in Afghanistan. The Army decided to wait to reveal the facts of the latter Tillman’s death to his parents. But not before concocting a big story of heroism in which they posthumously awarded Pat Tillman with an upper-tier medal.