Pueblo veterans welcome Iraq pullback

By PETER ROPER
THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAINAs news broadcasts showed Iraqis celebrating the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq’s major cities, several Pueblo Iraq veterans welcomed the news Tuesday, saying it was time to give the dangerous work of rooting out insurgents to the Iraqi police and military.     "This is what we’ve been working toward for years now, so if they say they’re ready, more power to them, " said Army Sgt. Gabriel Ballejos, who served two tours in Iraq and just returned from Afghanistan where he was with the 101st Airborne Division.

Ballejos, 28, lost friends in combat in Iraq and does not want to see the al-Qaida insurgency return in strength. But neither does he want to see U.S. troops there indefinitely. He’s been to Afghanistan and sees a long struggle there.

"From the soldiers’ point of view, I’m glad we’re starting to pull back in Iraq. We did our job. We can turn the security job over to them now. Are they ready? I hope so." Pueblo County Sheriff’s Deputy Ryan Landreth served two deployments in Iraq as a Marine, taking part in the heavy fighting around Fallujah in 2004-05. He was wounded twice. "I’m of two minds," the 24-year-old veteran said Tuesday. "Sitting here on the couch at home, it’s easy to say that we should stay there until we’ve killed every insurgent. I’ve got some strong feelings about them.

"But speaking for our troops there? It’s time to bring them home. I know what they’re going through. And it’s not like we’re retreating. Our troops have done a great job and the Iraqis want their country back," Landreth said.

Leroy Garcia, a Pueblo Community College instructor, was part of the 14th Marine Regiment that invaded Iraq in 2003. He now is running for City Council.

"I think the news coming out of Baghdad is good news, personally. I have friends who have done four deployments," the 27-year-old Garcia said. "Of course we want the Iraq government to succeed, but we’ve been there a long time. If the Iraqis aren’t completely ready to take over their security, they soon will be. They are celebrating about taking control of their country again, so I think it’s time we start giving it to them."

Garcia noted that U.S. troops have learned costly lessons about fighting insurgents, knowledge the Iraqis should benefit from.

"When I was there, we drove around in Humvees with the doors off because we thought that was acceptable," he said. "Now I see the armored-up vehicles we use against the (roadside bombs) and I realize how much we’ve had to learn."

Both Ballejos and Garcia noted that the U.S. is pulling back only in Iraq, not leaving entirely.

Landreth was less optimistic about the ability of Iraqi troops to handle any resurgence in terror attacks.

"The way I saw it, the Iraqi government was just too corrupt," he said. "I think they’ll have to really crack down if they expect to control the insurgents. Can they do that? I doubt it."

Ballejos is still in the Army and has been assigned to the 4th Infantry Division at Fort Carson. He just returned from Afghanistan, which he said is a very different war from the urban fighting U.S. troops experienced in Iraq.

"I’ve lost friends in both places," he said Tuesday. "It looks like we could be in Afghanistan for some time and we’re going to need to focus on that."

proper@chieftain.com

Related Posts:

• No Related Posts

Short URL: http://www.veteranstoday.com/?p=7676