In
Tim Hetherington’s Restrepo, the men
of 2nd Battle Company, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne
Brigade Combat Team were stationed in Korengal Valley. Korengal Valley was one
the deadliest valleys in Afghanistan. For five years over 40 U.S. troops were
killed or wounded, causing many to feel that the U.S. government should have
brought her troops home sooner. Restrepo is
different than many of the war movies of our generation because of the reality.
This movie is a shining example at how war can be savage and brutal, and that occasionally
U.S. forces must engage in prolonged combat.
The Washington Post claims: “It was
as if the five years of almost ceaseless firefights and ambushes had been a
misunderstanding -- a tragic, bloody misunderstanding.” I believe that the U.S.
was fighting for the right reasons, however, they may have fought longer than
was required. Dan Kearney, the company commander, would sit down with the Shura
and discuss solutions to resolve the conflict. Commander Moretti was asked byThe Washington Post to inform them what his statement on Khan asking why he was
not attending Shura meetings was. In his statement, he claimed: "The Shura
is a waste of time. All we talk about is dead goats. In 10 months, the meetings
haven't accomplished a single thing." Many of the things U.S. tried to
accomplish in Korengal Valley were not towards a greater goal. The U.S. armed
forces should not continue to have to fight in Afghanistan for petty reasons.
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| The Shura |
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| Korengal Valley |
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| 173rd Airborne at Restrepo base |
I think once the U.S. realized progress had stopped in the Korengal the troops should have been taken out. The troops went in with good intentions of clearing out the valley of the insurgents and helping the local people. Their main goal was to go area by area and valley by valley getting the local people to start following the main Afghan government and not the Taliban. After so long of being in the Korengal it was made clear the locals didn't want help and just wanted to be left alone. After knowing that the troops should have been pulled out. There was no hope in helping these people if they didn't want it.
ReplyDeleteI like how you brought up the Shura. I too talked about the Shura. This aspect of war is one that is not usually depicted in other war movies but Restrepo shows us that it plays a big role in war. I agree with Tiffany, I think it became clear, at a certain point, that the locals were not going to cooperate. At this point I think the troops should have been pulled out.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you both. There comes a time in a war where the effort of the troops are a waste, and at that point there is no reason for even being there in the first place.
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