“I don’t even know if our generals or commanders even believe that we can win this war… What would I be dying for? What did my unit members die for?”

December 31, 2009

By Sara A. Carter, Washington Times [Excerpts]

HUTAL, Afghanistan:

Villagers stared at the Americans as they made their way into a small bazaar where goat meat hung from hooks amid stands of used clothing, pots, pans and various trinkets.

For the Afghans, the big Americans in full battle gear looked like beings from another planet. At each turn of the road, soldiers on the point knelt on the ground, automatic weapons ready. The men and women on the security walk were staggered in zigzag formation to keep casualties low in case Taliban sharpshooters were in the area and taking aim. Capt. Casey Thoreen, 30, the commander of the unit, monitored his radio for intelligence.

Fifteen minutes later, the unit arrived at a local clinic.

It was empty and ominous looking with an open gate. Villagers in the bazaar began to leave. Shopkeepers closed their shops, throwing tarps over their goods. Children who had been cadging the troops for candy and pencils scattered.

“A suicide bomber is in the area,” Capt. Thoreen said after receiving a radioed intelligence report. “We’ve got to move, now!”

It’s an especially difficult security situation for the men and woman assigned to the small Combat Outpost Rath in the heart of Kandahar province’s Taliban territory.

“We haven’t been back here since a suicide bomber took the life of several of our guys, “ said Staff Sgt. Daniel Paul Rabidou, 24, of San Bernardino, Calif., who was on protective duty that day.

“You never know out here, who’s around what corner. We’ve lost some good men, and we need more out here to get the job done.” But several said the dangers aren’t worth it.

“I have a child back home and a wife,” said one soldier, who asked not to be named for fear of retribution from his unit.

“I ran through a mine field once and survived. You know, the only thing that went through my mind was my family back home.

“I thought what in the hell am I doing this for?

“I don’t even know if our generals or commanders even believe that we can win this war - if it is even a war to begin with.

“What would I be dying for? What did my unit members die for?”

Staff Sgts. Rabidou, Yost and Cross also suffer bouts of impatience with the fight.

On Sept. 14, the three survived an improvised explosive device attack on their Stryker convoy that killed platoon leader Lt. David Wright, 25 and Sgt. Andrew McConnell, 24.

“The day after we lost two of our soldiers I had to go back to the village where the insurgents carried out the attacks,” said Staff Sgt. Yost.

“I sat with the villagers, knowing full well that some of them helped kill our own men, and I had to negotiate with them. It wasn’t easy at all.

“War is war, but we can’t go on fighting forever.

“There has to be a way to resolve this.”

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