Iraq 20 years later: 3 vets reflect on the war they fought | Nightline

The fact that around 400,000 Iraqis lost their lives is the telling factor. The vast majority innocent civilians all of sudden caught up in a situation from which they had no control.

I was on a plane about a week ago and some old fella sitting beside me started telling me how stupid the invasion of Iraq had been and how beautiful the country was when his military unit went in. I couldn't figure out why he was telling me this but now I see it was anniversary time. "There are no winners in war, only widows and orphans."

"The wars will end and the leaders will shake hands, and that old woman will remain waiting for her martyred son, and that girl will wait for her beloved husband, and the children will wait for their heroic father, I do not know who sold the homeland but I know who paid the price" - Mahmoud Darwish

That US Colonel is full of it. He is saying what his masters want him. You think he’s gonna say that the war wasn’t legit being active in the military?! A career man? 😂

Imagine what the Iraqis went through if you think it was that bad for the aggressors.

There’s always context left out when talking about the US military volunteers of the early 00’s. Most of their early childhood was the super patriotic Reagan/GI Joe 80’s or Gulf War era. Then in high school or middle school the WW2 media explosion of the late 90’s kicks off with ‘Saving Private Ryan’ and a million movies, video games, shows and books building up military service, patriotism, and the sacrifices of ‘the Greatest Generation’ come out and permeate the culture. Then a couple years later 9/11 happens when they’re either college age or near the end of high school. Of course many of them joined up, seemingly oblivious to what had been learned by the Vietnam generation the hard way. I was twenty when 9/11 happened, and seriously considered joining when I was in college at the time. However, I had been such a military history nerd, had read everything from ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ to Vietnam era books like ‘Dispatches’ since I was very young that I just didn’t bite the bait. I already knew about the Pentagon Papers, and what my government was capable of sacrificing for economic interests and unreachable political goals. Everything I’ve seen play out in Afghanistan and Iraq since then tells me I made the right decision. This generation of soldiers was used for political and monetary gain by elites in the political and industrial power class, at the costs of thousands of lives, both US and Iraqi, and none of the people responsible for the decisions ever faced any consequences. Amazing…

Who’s going to tell the story of the innocent people they killed and terrorized?

"WAR is a RACKET. It always has been. It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only one international in scope. It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives." - Two Time Medal of Honor Recipient USMC Major General Smedley Butler (1935)

Captain Johnson saying the war was worth it just to keep his position in the Military. Look at his mouth and eyes, full of horror and terror, i wish him a good state of mind.

what about the media's role in all of this? a bit of self reflection never hurts

War is a terrible human experience that no one should have to experience, regardless if you wear a uniform or just an innocent bystander. I hope all that were involved in Iraq: combatants, insurgents, civilians, and anyone who experienced this horrific event are able to find some comfort and peace. Great story ABC.

My grandfather was suicidal starting about 20 years after his service in WW2 fighting the Japanese in SE Asia and then as part of occupation forces there for several years, going into Nagasaki shortly after bomb was dropped there. What disturbed him more than the war itself were the business deals being made both before and after the war.

“If at the end of a war story you feel uplifted, or if you feel that some small bit of rectitude has been salvaged from the larger waste, then you have been made the victim of a very old and terrible lie.” Tim O'Brien

no mass weapons....just oil

It's sad that the captain doesn't regret the Iraq invasion. How does he sleep at night knowing he and his colleagues killed a million innocent people

You could tell that marine colonel was wanting to tell the truth, but swore to never tell the truth.

The two reasons for the invasion did not include "removing a dictator and freeing his people," especially because it was the US that had helped Saddam to power to begin with. The two reasons were that Saddam was linked to Al-Qaeda and that he had weapons of mass destruction. Both of them were false allegations. Just like the Vietnam war before it and the Afghanistan war after it, the US lost that war.

Proud of the Iraqi people for resisting the illegal invasion of their country. They are the heroes.

I was there 19 years ago in April. Spent 17 months in Iraq and like that marine put it, I've been in the deep end ever since. I did a total of 6 deployments 3 of which were in the middle east. Nothings been the same nothing ever will be the same that's just the way it is now. One thing I try not to do is stop and look back, I a get lost.

It’s crazy I just turned 24 I’m almost done with college. And I’ve been seriously considering joining doing my part while I’m still young and able too. But that guy literally said “I felt like I sold my body”