The political debate in Washington is indeed surreal.

Seven Returning Troops: "The War As We Saw It"

In The New York Times, seven soldiers write:

"Viewed from Iraq at the tail end of a 15-month deployment, the political debate in Washington is indeed surreal. Counterinsurgency is, by definition, a competition between insurgents and counterinsurgents for the control and support of a population. To believe that Americans, with an occupying force that long ago outlived its reluctant welcome, can win over a recalcitrant local population and win this counterinsurgency is far-fetched. As responsible infantrymen and noncommissioned officers with the 82nd Airborne Division soon heading back home, we are skeptical of recent press coverage portraying the conflict as increasingly manageable and feel it has neglected the mounting civil, political and social unrest we see every day."

The Other War: Iraq Vets Bear Witness

Chris Hedges & Laila Al-Arian In a special investigation of the impact of the war on Iraqi civilians, interviews with fifty combat veterans reveals disturbing patterns of behavior by US troops in Iraq--brutal acts that often go unreported and almost always go unpunished.

The Deadly Occupation

The Editors Veterans of conscience have come forward with evidence that US forces kill Iraqi noncombatants every day. America must bring this deadly occupation to an immediate end.

Worse Than You Think

Peter Rothberg New Oxfam report highlights horrific humanitarian crisis in Iraq.