More correspondence, this time from a soldier stationed in Iraq who saw my recent post about the terrible shooting in Tal Afar. I should say that I can’t verify the identify of my correspondent, but I have no reason to doubt what he says about himself.

Before I even start to explain my motives for writing I must say that I am very left leaning, and completely opposed to the war in Iraq. However I am a member of the United States Army, a signal soldier. I did not join because of my extremist national pride, nor because of the fervor surrounding our post 9-11 nation. I am now an enlisted soldier because after High School I was denied scholarships due to the fact that my family’s income wasn’t in a low enough tax bracket and my father wanted me to appreciate the struggle involved in supporting one’s own education. That ought to be a sufficient background for you.

At present time I am stationed in Iraq, this is my second tour, I was here for the ground war. As I said before I don’t agree with this, but I must fulfill my obligations in order to eschew incarceration and enjoy the full benefits of a decent education. It is without a doubt a horrific thing when children are torn from their parents and siblings due to war, and it is absolutely unjust if this occurs due to a twitchy trigger finger. However, as the front gunner (the soldier manning the front .50 caliber machine gun on the front of all convoys), I realize that at times we must do what we abhore (or is it sans “e”) the most. At every chance I get I wave people off the rode at wait till the last minute to even fire a warning shot (although I must admit this happens quite often), and unless it is under the most dire circumstances will I fire upon another human being (which I have not yet done). It is my belief that the s oldiers in Tal Afar were doing what was right. If in fact the soldiers in Tel Afar properly escalated their use of force, from hand signals, to pointing their weapon, then firing warning shots, and the car still continued, then the final step was to engage and kill the driver of the vehicle. As terrible as that sounds, the car could have been a VBIED (Vehicle Born Improvised Explosive Device) instead of a family, and that would have led to several dead and wounded soldiers. From my point of view when it comes down to the wire, regardless of all my political and moral standards I feel it necessary to respond in a manner that will protect the lives of those around me as well as my own.

This is not a justification for war, nor a seal of approval for all actions taking place in Iraq. It is merely meant to shed some light upon the actions taken by the soldiers in Tal Afar, if in fact the story we have been given is correct and unadultered. As a soldier, working along side soldiers, I felt it my responsibility to share my opinion with you. Not all of us are morally or ethically unsound, nor without hearts, some of us here are just trying to make it out alive.

As I said in reply, I posted about this because it was such a terrible accident, not because I wanted to single those particular soldiers out for blame. I certainly don’t want to condemn the soldiers serving in Iraq in general. Events like this happen in war zones even when everybody follows the rules—- which is one of the reasons, I think, why the present administration should be condemned for committing its forces to Iraq under the circumstances they did.