"I'll do another 15 months if he comes out here and rides along with me every day"

Another American soldier speaking out against extended tours in Iraq, Spc. Gabriel Vassell, has said he'd be happy to go another 15 months if the President will tag along for the full tour.

"We have people up there in Congress with the brain of a 2-year-old who don't know what they are doing, they don't experience it. I challenge the president or anyone who has us for 15 months to ride alongside me. I'll do another 15 months if he comes out here and rides alomg with me every day. I'll do 15 more months. They don't even have to pay me extra."

Guardian journalist Sean Smith has spent two months with American forces in Baghdad, and ABC News has a series of his photos and stories; it really drives home the point that these guys are just frustrated, tired and burning out.

Of course, I can just close the browser window and surf to something else, so I can't pretend to understand how they feel out there. It's quite distressing to read some of their accounts, though. I kind of feel an obligation to read their stories.