Since most of the people who write in this forum are from the US, as a European living in Europe I'd like to ask you how the feeling of American soldiers towards the war in Iraq has evolved since the war started. I read news from the US but who better that those that live this reality every day to help me have a more accurate idea.

Thanks for your input

It seem to me that many soldiers, although not all, have started to develop a more negative attitude towards the war, especially with the prolonged occupation following the initial combat victory. This is keeping in mind that many soldiers probably did not agree with the conflict when it started.

Yeah, I thought that too, especially when I read that some soldiers, like Jeremy Hinzman, have applied for refugee status in Canada.

Oh...

Well...

So say the people who are not soldiers.

Say, what do you guys think of the military and warfare in general?

Americans have no clue what US soldiers think about the war. We hear US news reports which include, one negative report and one positive report in the interest of being balanced. What I can tell you is the vast majority of US soldiers whos term ended in Iraq, reenlist to come back. Many do not though. I do not pretend to know what the guys who put their balls on the line tend to think about it.

C4Lukin hit the nail right on the head.

One of my old buddies just made it back from Iraq 2 weeks ago, and his views of the war have changed considerably. Before the conflict he was staunchly conservative, and now he considers our involvement unneccessary. His newborn daughter has taken a prominent role in his life and he has told me specifically that he will not re-enlist and should another war in the middle east arrive he'd head to canada.

A friend of mine was in Iraq about a year and a half ago. He came back with some brutal stories. He seems to be alright though which makes me happy. He just left for Afghanistan last week. He didn't enlist to spread democracy. he did it because it was a job and he gets good benefis from it. He re-enlisted because it's more money and benefits. He's a liberal and doesn't support war but it is his job and he does it to his best ability. I just hope he comes home safe.

I'm not speaking as an American, but as a Canadian. Which is a unique situation because we didn't go to war with anyone, but we were the closet country to be observing the US' side of things. At first when the 9/11 thing happened most people were shocked and hurt, and that in America grew into a hate and need for revenge, charging up their armies with a nationalistic pride and thirst for blood as it were. I think that over time died down a lot, and people on the US side in the Iraq "war" started to feel a lot of remorse and having second thoughts. There were a fair enough of US soldiers who tried to come to Canada to seek refuge from their own war hungry government. Take that as you will.

I don't know anyone in combat, but I know two ex marines. One hated the war from the get go. One originally wanted to go to the war, but then decided that Bush probably didn't give two shits about the soldiers. He came to this realization about a year ago and started seriously questioning the war.

Towards then end of last year I went to a wedding and met a man who worked for the U.S. State Dept. He had just returned from spending a year in Iraq and he said that the situation was much much worse than we in the United States were being told. He told me he was pleased to be reassigned to Columbia because he thought it would be less of a mess there.

Personally, I don't know any soldiers and I live in a place that is overrun with anti-Bush liberals -- thankfully .

I think the average American is in the same position as the European who started this thread, we just don't really know what's going on in Iraq and how the people directly involved are feeling about the situation.

I like this admission:


-regalo

Yet, we all feel the need to have opinions.

Such is the way of Americans.

Of course, if our country is at war and we don't know anything about it, I think that's justification for frustration and anger.

Does the fact that Europe has been and still is strongly anti-Bush influenced Americans' opinion in any way?

from what I've seen, only to the people that are anti-Bush anyway. It's just one more reason to be anti-Bush. It seems to make the people that are pro-bush anti-europe.

I think for US citizens, regardless of who voted for this administration or not, the European community showing its dislike of Bush did nothing more than solidify opinions in the US on both sides of the coin.
Generally, the European community doesn't have much sway one way or the other, and probably won't for quite some time, unless or until the US finds itself in a position where it needs help in some fashion from Europe.

I think Bush no longer feels Europe's views on Iraq are no longer important, last year he went on a European trip aimed at building a new consensus among allies wary of a U.S. leader whose policies are widely unpopular on the continent.

However, some European leaders worry that they will lose political capital back home if they appear too cozy with Bush.

I believe America's relations with other countries, including natural allies, have seldom been as strained. To be associated with President Bush and current American policy is a political liability around the world right now.

I think Bush strongly desires to change this situation.

I don't think Bush has ever given a damn on what Europe's views are on Iraq, if anything.

However, that's not inherently a bad thing.