by James Glaser
May 22, 2005

The story out of Washington has been that our troops will come home, when there are enough trained Iraqi troops to protect their own country. We are supposed to be training more of them right now and many from the Bush administration have testified to Congress that there are tens of thousands already trained.

So, are we making a big push to get more Iraqis ready to take over their country so that our young men and women can come home to their loved ones as soon as possible? No, we are not doing that. Right now we have started a new offensive and many Marines are being killed and maimed. Four killed and over twenty wounded on Monday alone.

CBS News reports, Marines fought house-to-house Monday against dozens of well-armed insurgents firing at them from balconies, rooftops, and sandbagged bunkers in nearby Obeidi and surrounding Villages," north of the Euphrates River near the Syrian border.

After hearing testimony from both Donald Rumsfeld and Condi Rice on the progress already made with Iraqi self-defense forces, one would think this new offensive would be the perfect place to really show the American public and the Iraqi people what they can do.

Someday, before we start sending our troops home, the Iraqis will have to take the lead against the insurgents and with tens of thousands already trained, it seems to be a real waste to send American Marines into combat again.

According to CBS News, "The Military also said three Marines were killed in central Iraq on Monday, one by a homemade bomb in Nassar Wa Salaam, 25 miles west of Baghdad, and two others by indirect fire in Karman, 50 miles west of the capitol."

US Marine Captain Jeffery Pool said insurgents had tried to launch a counterattack against the Marines Monday night, 4.5 miles from US Camp Gannon in Qaim. "They attacked a Marine Convoy with small arms fire, rocket propelled grenades, roadside bombs, and suicide car bombs,"

Once again United States Marines are in the thick of things in Iraq and some are getting killed and many are getting wounded. This is happening while the American people are waiting for the day that all of our troops will come home.

All we are waiting for, is the word that the Iraqis are ready to defend themselves. Today we are using Marines in battle, who should be teaching the Iraqis how to fight. It is their country and their fight. We have already lost over 1,600 young American men and women trying to bring "freedom and democracy" to the Iraqi people. We have had thousands and thousands of our troops maimed for life, but that still isn't enough blood for George Bush and his crew, so we will send more and more Marines to their death and have more and more of them lose limbs and sight, for no reason at all.

Iraq belongs to the Iraqi people and it is now time for them to stand up and fight for their country.