Seraphim
08-12-2003, 01:17 PM
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=540&e=1&u=/ap/20030812/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_us_troops
http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20030811/capt.1060638471.iraq_xws102.jpg
U.S. soldiers guard a body under a tarpaulin that was shot by U.S. soldiers during a grenade attack on a convoy, Monday, Aug. 11, 2003, in Baghdad, Iraq (news - web sites). The soldiers reported that three Iraqis were fatally shot during the attack which left only minor damage to vehicles in the convoy and no injuries. (AP Photo/Wally Santana)
By NIKO PRICE, Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD, Iraq - The commander of U.S. forces in Iraq (news - web sites) said Tuesday that troops should expect to serve for at least a year, with brief rest breaks in the region and possibly a few days at home.
"It's a one-year rotation," Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez told The Associated Press. "Every soldier has been told that they'll be deployed for a year, and then at the end of the year we'll be working to send them home."
But some of the 148,000 soldiers in Iraq said nobody had told them how long they would remain in the country, where guerrillas attack Americans daily and high temperatures hover around 122 degrees.
Pfc. Deacon Finkle, 20, of Dallas, screwed up his face — red from the heat — when asked how long he would be in Iraq.
"Don't know. No idea," he said.
Spc. Jeff Ross, perched atop a bridge overlooking Baghdad's dangerous Airport Highway, knew he was scheduled to be in Iraq for a year, saying: "We really don't have a choice."
"A year's going to be rough. It's going to be a long haul," said Ross, 22, of Hillsboro, Oregon. "But I think we can do it. If it cools off a little bit it'll be all right."
The issue of soldiers' tours has been contentious, with troops and their families posting missives on the Internet criticizing the their government for keeping them in Iraq.
Some express concern about "mission creep," in which what begins as a swift war turns into a long-term occupation that could cause heavy American casualties as Iraqis become more and more skeptical of U.S. promises to let them govern themselves.
http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20030811/capt.1060638471.iraq_xws102.jpg
U.S. soldiers guard a body under a tarpaulin that was shot by U.S. soldiers during a grenade attack on a convoy, Monday, Aug. 11, 2003, in Baghdad, Iraq (news - web sites). The soldiers reported that three Iraqis were fatally shot during the attack which left only minor damage to vehicles in the convoy and no injuries. (AP Photo/Wally Santana)
By NIKO PRICE, Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD, Iraq - The commander of U.S. forces in Iraq (news - web sites) said Tuesday that troops should expect to serve for at least a year, with brief rest breaks in the region and possibly a few days at home.
"It's a one-year rotation," Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez told The Associated Press. "Every soldier has been told that they'll be deployed for a year, and then at the end of the year we'll be working to send them home."
But some of the 148,000 soldiers in Iraq said nobody had told them how long they would remain in the country, where guerrillas attack Americans daily and high temperatures hover around 122 degrees.
Pfc. Deacon Finkle, 20, of Dallas, screwed up his face — red from the heat — when asked how long he would be in Iraq.
"Don't know. No idea," he said.
Spc. Jeff Ross, perched atop a bridge overlooking Baghdad's dangerous Airport Highway, knew he was scheduled to be in Iraq for a year, saying: "We really don't have a choice."
"A year's going to be rough. It's going to be a long haul," said Ross, 22, of Hillsboro, Oregon. "But I think we can do it. If it cools off a little bit it'll be all right."
The issue of soldiers' tours has been contentious, with troops and their families posting missives on the Internet criticizing the their government for keeping them in Iraq.
Some express concern about "mission creep," in which what begins as a swift war turns into a long-term occupation that could cause heavy American casualties as Iraqis become more and more skeptical of U.S. promises to let them govern themselves.