# Some US troops captured by Iraq. What should we do? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [March 24, 2003, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-us-troops-captured-by-iraq-what-should-we-do/163731 "2003-03-24T06:49:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2003, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-us-troops-captured-by-iraq-what-should-we-do/163731/1 "2003-03-24T06:49:54Z")
Win the war and free them? ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2003, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-us-troops-captured-by-iraq-what-should-we-do/163731/2 "2003-03-24T06:54:41Z")
We could try and trade the prisoners we’ve taken for them. Other than that I’d say you hit the nail on the head. ---
**Author:** ![errata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/839c29/32.png) [@errata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/errata)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2003, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-us-troops-captured-by-iraq-what-should-we-do/163731/3 "2003-03-24T06:54:58Z")
The same thing we do every night, Pinky, try to take over the world. ---
**Author:** ![Lure](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ba8739/32.png) [@Lure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lure)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2003, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-us-troops-captured-by-iraq-what-should-we-do/163731/4 "2003-03-24T07:56:29Z")
Surrender? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2003, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-us-troops-captured-by-iraq-what-should-we-do/163731/5 "2003-03-24T08:05:07Z")
Admit that the cocky, overconfident “we will win the war within two weeks with our impressive shock-n-awe bombing campaign” pre-war predictions were nothing more than jingoistic masturbation? ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2003, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-us-troops-captured-by-iraq-what-should-we-do/163731/6 "2003-03-24T13:43:33Z")
Winning the war in two weeks remains a perfectly reasonable objective. It’s been going on for five days and they’re already on the outskirts of Baghdad. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2003, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-us-troops-captured-by-iraq-what-should-we-do/163731/7 "2003-03-24T13:53:42Z")
Pray and ask God for forgiveness for sending those folks out there in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2003, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-us-troops-captured-by-iraq-what-should-we-do/163731/8 "2003-03-24T19:35:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by rjung \* > Admit that the cocky, overconfident “we will win the war within two weeks with our impressive shock-n-awe bombing campaign” pre-war predictions were nothing more than jingoistic masturbation? \*\* Bath in our self-satisfaction over the war not going as smoothly as experts predicted? ---
**Author:** ![Beagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Beagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beagle)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2003, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-us-troops-captured-by-iraq-what-should-we-do/163731/9 "2003-03-24T21:23:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by rjung \* > \*\*Admit that the cocky, overconfident “we will win the war within two weeks with our impressive shock-n-awe bombing campaign” pre-war predictions were nothing more than jingoistic masturbation? \*\* I am glad the “shock-n-awe”\* that was being peddled by the media turned out to be BS myself. My prediction was that our strategy would be to let the Iraqi soldiers surrender in droves. We tried that. It worked very well in some cases. Some units left their positions and went home. Others surrendered. Now, of course, surrender will be more difficult since the ruses used by the Iraqi militias or soldiers yesterday. Rolling up the nation strategically went almost without a hitch. Now, unfortunately, comes the part every realist dreaded–blasting the hardcore holdouts, and the, ugh, siege on Baghdad, Tikrit, Basra, etc. Maybe there are more or less holdouts than I thought there would be. But, to tell the truth, I was not making predictions about who would surrender beyond many of the conscripted units. \*Now available for your home pest control needs! ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2003, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-us-troops-captured-by-iraq-what-should-we-do/163731/10 "2003-03-24T21:31:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by msmith537 \* > Bath in our self-satisfaction over the war not going as smoothly as experts predicted? You may be self-satisfied, but I’m not. I find nothing satisfying about this whole fiasco.