Old Fogey's Quotes on Iraq

Much more important than Foley

"We made decisions to take an indirect approach, which is great if you want low U.S. casualty rates. [However] passing responsibility to Iraqis does not equal defeating terrorists and neutralizing the insurgency. Period."
Pentagon official who has served in Iraq
U.S. Casualties in Iraq Rise Sharply
[It now appears that war on the cheap is not such a good bargain]

"There were screams and shouts of people calling for help. I felt like I was being crushed against the door of my car. After that, I do not recall what happened."
Hameed Buhriz, 43, a taxi driver who was wounded by car bomb in Tall Afar
Bomb Kills 14 in Iraqi City That Bush Had Lauded as Safe
[This in a city that Bush previously hailed as a symbol of security and normalcy. Unfortunately, the bombing makes the city far more symbolic of Iraqi 'security and normalcy']

"There is an American tank on every corner of Diwaniya"
One resident of the city, who declined to be named
U.S. And Iraqi Troops Kill 30 in Shi'ite City Clashes
[Wow, isn't that just the image to dispel anti-Americanism!]

"I can't go outside, I can't go to college. If I'm killed, it doesn't even matter because I'm dead right now."
Noor, a teenager in Baghdad
Sectarian Havoc Freezes the Lives of Young Iraqis
[Aren't you proud this despair is paid for by American taxpayers?]

"Sectarian stuff has come into our life from all doors."
Safe, 21, a Sunni Arab in Baghdad
Sectarian Havoc Freezes the Lives of Young Iraqis
[This just makes our petty partisanship look even more petty]

“We feel desperate, desperate, desperate.”
Sena Hussein, an assistant principal in Baghdad
Sectarian Havoc Freezes the Lives of Young Iraqis
[Let us not forget that our frustration with the Iraq War doesn't begin to equal its costs to the Iraqi people]

"They tilt their heads and say they are sorry for you, but that doesn't help."
Lance Cpl. Mark Strahle, 22, who took shrapnel in his right arm, stomach and groin in an explosion in Iraq
Battered Marines Adjust to Civilian Life
[Of course, some Americans paid a higher price than others]