The View from the Front Lines

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The military has barely made a dent in the insurgency. It's hard to imagine how American troops can leave in large numbers without further inflaming the threat to the U.S. Al-Qaeda is stronger now than it was before the invasion of Iraq and under al-Zarqawi has even extended its reach, as proved by the Nov. 9 hotel bombings in Jordan by three of his acolytes.

The soldiers of Blue Platoon don't need to be told that. On Aug. 23, with four insurgent video cameras rolling, al-Zarqawi's group sent a truck bomb under cover of small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades straight into their observation post. The explosion knocked the entire platoon--more than 30 troops-- unconscious. They recovered and fought back, only to be hit by the mini-Tet three months later. Until the U.S. begins a withdrawal, it's up to soldiers like those of Blue Platoon to man the bunkers. "After the truck bombing," says Gronski, "every one of them, to a man, said, 'We are not pulling out of here.'"