Thanks for reporting on the people who spoke up and shed some light on the conditions faced by our soldiers in Iraq (Feb. 10). I am very glad that those Maine Guard soldiers, and the Iraqi civilians they helped, had some good experiences, but this, sadly, is not the case for most of our military or for most Iraqis.

In Anbar province, the most populated area of Iraq, civilians continue to endure blanket bombings. Fathers risk their lives to obtain food and water for their families. Fallujah, four times the size of Portland, has been leveled. Raw sewerage runs down the streets because the infrastructure has been destroyed.

The rate of U.S. soldier amputees exceeds anything previously experienced in war. The same is true for suicides and post traumatic stress disorder.

The Pentagon reports that the Army is being reduced to a “thin green line.”

Yes, many were misled by “faulty intelligence,” but only the current administration helped to create it. This is well-documented by our intelligence community and proven by the Downing Street memos, neither of which has had much media coverage in the U.S.

Our soldiers have been betrayed. They have been ordered into an unnecessary war by people who would not consider the available information, nor listen to the best military advice. Our soldiers are the ones who continue to pay when, and if, they come home.

Support our troops. Bring them home now and take care of them when they get here.

Carole Whelan,

Military Families Speak Out, Hope