The 101st Airborne Division inspect the site of Dec. 2 car bomb explosion in Samarra.
On one of his last days in Iraq, Sgt. Dale Evans looked out over the turbulent city from a rooftop tower piled high with sandbags, manning a machine gun. Below him, rows of Bradley Fighting Vehicles stood at the ready. Dusty streets were lined with coiled barbed wire and abandoned houses pockmarked from gunfire -- a protective no-man's land around a base that U.S. commanders describe as their "battleship" in downtown Samarra.
This month, Evans and his company from the 3rd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, will leave Patrol Base Uvanni, beginning a third attempt in as many years by U.S. forces to hand this Sunni city over to Iraqi police. It's a major test for the U.S. military in Iraq, and one U.S. commanders here say they can't afford to fail.
We clear the insurgents from their towns only to have them allowed back again after we leave. At what point do we demand the Iraqis 'stand up' on their own?
Will we go back into Samarra for a fourth time? Because we
know it will be taken over again by the insurgents.
We've kicked each of their asses going on 3 to 4 times-our soldiers and Marines have done enough. We need to send 100,000 troops home and re-deploy 40,000 to Afghanistan last week!
The 101st Airborne Division inspect the site of Dec. 2 car bomb explosion in Samarra.
We clear the insurgents from their towns only to have them allowed back again after we leave. At what point do we demand the Iraqis 'stand up' on their own?
Will we go back into Samarra for a fourth time? Because we know it will be taken over again by the insurgents.
We've kicked each of their asses going on 3 to 4 times-our soldiers and Marines have done enough. We need to send 100,000 troops home and re-deploy 40,000 to Afghanistan last week!
