The Road of Bones

FT. CAMPBELL, Ky. -- Some U.S. soldiers aren't convinced that President Bush's plan to send as many as 20,000 more troops to Iraq will make a difference.

Pfc. Odom Walker, who served in Iraq two years ago and is stationed at Ft. Drum in northern New York state, worries that the window of opportunity has passed."This is what we should have done in the first place," said Walker, of Montgomery, Ala. "We could have done the job right. Now it might be too late."

Master Sgt. Mark Brown, who just came home to Ft. Campbell from his second deployment in Iraq, said that more troops could help stabilize Iraq but that he knows most Americans don't like the idea.

"Americans want a winning team, and right now it appears we don't have one," Brown said.

Other soldiers say the U.S. strategy in Iraq has to be about more than troop numbers.

Juan Duff, a recently retired Marine sergeant major from Camp Pendleton, Calif., said a troop escalation would work only if Iraqi security forces bolster their efforts to fight insurgents.

"My concern is what the Iraqis are doing. Are they stepping up?" said Duff, who served in Iraq in 2003.

Fresh out of basic training at Ft. Benning, Ga., 19-year-old Zac McDonald said he expects to be part of the next wave of soldiers in Iraq.

"They have to come up with a better strategy," said McDonald, who just arrived at Ft. Campbell. "More troops isn't enough."

Lt. Col. Chris Beckert of Madison, Conn., helps train U.S. soldiers at Ft. Riley, Kan., and served in Iraq during the initial invasion and the fall of Saddam Hussein. He agreed that there had to be a reason for boosting troop numbers and a clearly defined mission.

"I needed more intelligence, not more soldiers," Beckert said.

One for my dead homies