Marines in Iraq Unfazed by Electoral Storm

[maddezmom]

NEAR FALLUJAH, Iraq - As Americans head to the polls, U.S. Marines squaring off against Iraqi insurgents say they expect trouble in Iraq (news - web sites) for years no matter who wins the White House. What they want is better equipment, more pay and a clear exit strategy from their next commander in chief.



Many Marines fighting in Iraq's Sunni Triangle don't talk much about the race between President Bush (news - web sites) and Sen. John Kerry (news - web sites). For them, the focus is on staying alive and following orders that they don't expect to change: Defeat the insurgency and help rebuild Iraq.


But what really concerns them is the prospect of an open-ended mission lacking a final benchmark for victory.


"We obviously can't just leave Iraq now and waste all of the good work the Marines have done here," said Hospital Corpsman Quinton Brown, a 24-year-old Chicagoan attached to the 1st Marine Division.


"Regardless, I want to see the next president give us an idea how we're going to end the occupation," he added. "What are we doing while we're here? What's next? Bush has done that to some degree. But we need more."

more: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=540&ncid=736&e=2&u=/ap/20041101/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_us_elections