Wednesday, December 31, 2003

The story you’re not seeing

(This letter was posted on the Internet by a young man whose brother had written him from Iraq:)

I’m not sure if this is a good idea or not, but I’m posting a letter I just received from my brother who is currently in Iraq. It’s nice to hear how soldiers feel over there, and it gives us a little glance into the reality of what’s happening in Iraq.

Yanni, hey, bro, how’s everything going there in LA-LA land? Sorry I haven’t written in a while, but it’s been pretty busy around here, especially after we captured that dirty bum, Saddam.

Everything here is shaping up pretty well, not that you would hear that on the news. It’s pretty routine here now. The schools are getting built, the roads are getting fixed and new ones are being built. It’s nice to see the reactions of the Iraqi people when another project is finished.

I’ve made some great friends in the different cities we’ve worked in, but it’s hard when you have to move on and say goodbye. The kids here are terrific. I didn’t expect to find the little ones with so much life and energy in them. Some of them actually speak English and it’s great to talk to them and be thanked by them and their families.

It’s really driving many of us nuts that none of the news sources are reporting the great things that are going on over here. Even Fox News, who we all expected to shoot straight, isn’t even reporting the correct way. All anyone reports is when there is an attack.

Trust me, it’s only about 3-to-5 percent of the population that is striking out at us. But like you always said, “Anchors only report the drama.” I’m glad that you are smart enough to see through the lies and know what’s really going on. Many of the guys here are really ill at heart about the way that much of the U.S. is lashing out at the government and us.

We ALL know that no government is always right all the time. But I’m more than happy to have the leadership we have now. Do I like being here? Not really. But I see that we’re doing the right thing. It would be a shame to pull out right now and make the rest of the world think that we’re pussies and we bow to the unreasonable people who protest us back home.

Speaking of which: I heard that you’re no longer a Democrat. I actually heard you switched a while ago, but I hadn’t had the chance to say anything as of yet.

I know that Pop is pretty happy about it. He was surprised when I did it as well.

Speaking of Pop: I haven’t seen him in about three months, but I get to talk to him on the radio everyday if I want. He’s just north of Baghdad right now. I know he’s been able to see the friends that we made here in 1984. He’s taken the responsibility to make sure that they are taken care of right now. I’m not sure if that’s a good decision right now, to get personally involved, but you know how he is. These people were great to us when we were here back then, so it’s nice to return the favor.

Do you remember when you were 8 years old and we were here? Pop gave you that digital watch for Christmas with the digital thermometer on it. One of the kids that you played with here found Pop on the field. I forget his name (and it’s hard to pronounce) but he was the one who put your watch in the oven to see how accurate the thermometer was.

It’s strange being back here in Iraq. As many times as we have all been here over the years, this nation never ceases to amaze me. I know Mom never wants to come back until this country is fixed, but if Pop and I are here for another year or so and civilians are allowed back in, it would be great to see you here again.

So how are things there in LA? Anymore protests going on or are the people there finally going to support us a bit. We’ve seen the reports of how they say, “We support the troops.” But to us, it’s no better than Hitler saying he wouldn’t invade France.

I used to really respect those people until I saw them blocking our shipments in Oakland, Calif., and being violent against the police and stuff. Why would they block our shipments and then say they support us? That was our food on those ships. That was our water. Those were supplies to keep us alive.

There were two sides to this conflict. They supported one side and opposed the other. The side they opposed was the U.S. That’s like someone starving their child, then saying that they love their child. Again, that was our food and water on those ships.

There are hundreds of guys here who had no problem with the protests and protesters until they came here. Now that they see the real story instead of the one being made up by children with signs on the street, they feel abandoned by the countrymen. Not that they blame ALL Americans, but they know who supports them, compared to those who claim to support them. It’s all politics with those people anyway.

Just like the protesters in WWII who protested for the appeasement of Hitler, these traitors will get bit in the a— as well.

Oh, before I forget: we’ve all heard the new rumor about the Kurds capturing Saddam, then drugging him and leaving him for U.S. forces. Who started this b.s., and are there people in the U.S. that are truly dumb enough to believe it?

If the Kurds would have captured Saddam, they would have cut his a— into a million pieces and fed him to the birds. This rumor was probably started by the far Left in the U.S. Why would they do this? This is nothing but a slap in the face to all U.S. service men and women who are fighting for our nation. It’s like calling all of us liars and thieves.

Why do these people even stay in a nation that they hate so much? Are they too scared to leave? Or too poor to pack up and move on? It’s easy for them to bash the ones who fight for their freedom, because we have fought and died to give them the freedom to bash us. It’s a cycle of stupidity.

For them to say, “We want to bring the troops home,” isn’t them saying that they care about our safety. It’s another way for them to win their war on the U.S. and even on us, the soldiers. If we are pulled out right now, we have failed. They know this, and want this to happen.

You wouldn’t believe the sheer hatred you see here. Not hatred for Iraqis, not hatred from the Iraqis to us, but hatred of those people who were supposed to be Americans back home. Sorry to rant and rave, but it angers me. It angered almost every soldier in Iraq with me.

Anytime any news source interviews one of us, we try to say how we feel about these protesters, but they edit it out. They say it will create more hatred for the troops by the Left. Many Democrats like you and I have had a rude awakening here in Iraq. Thousands of us will no longer be voting for a Democrat. If a Democrat gets into office, America loses this war. You and I both know he will pull us out, and the turmoil in this nation will start up again.

Before I go, I wanted to ask you, do you remember Manny? He was in my graduating class and I brought him to the house for Thanksgiving a few years ago. He was one of the ones to uncover one of the mass graves. I wasn’t there, but he e-mailed me a couple days after. He said he still pukes when he sees it in his mind. There were children in the graves grabbing their parents. The news didn’t go into detail, since it was a bit graphic, but he filled me in as much as he could. I think the guy was going to have a breakdown. He said his hand wiped the dirt off a child still holding what looked to be a doll or something. He couldn’t tell if it was a little boy or girl because of the decomposition. He’s one of the ones who really didn’t support this war until they saw things like that. He became a Bush supporter within minutes. The guy is pretty gung-ho now.

Well, bro, take care of yourself, and don’t do anything stupid when you encounter these people who spit on our names. They really aren’t intelligent enough to know any better. Just walk away from them, there is no educating these people.

Pop talks about you every time I talk to him. He’s very proud of what you’ve done there, but he questions your latest decision to leave what you love doing so much. I’m not going to lecture you on it, but think about this one. You’re doing what you always said you would do. That says a lot about a person.

Don’t ever feel weird about leaving the Marines. Pop knows that was the best decision for you. Remember that he did the same thing so that he could go to college as well. The only difference is that he came back in. The military was right for him. He’s a leader that many people need in the Corps. You’re more creative, and you need to be able to bring things to life.

If anything would ever happen to me here, remember that I love you and I died doing what was right. No matter how hard this is on me and the rest of the guys, it’s the right thing to do. Many people choose to do the easy things, and then bash those who take on the hard tasks. This is right. The people are thankful here and I will NOT leave them.

Give mom a hug and kiss for me, and tell her she is missed. God willing, I’ll be home in the near future and I’ll come to LA to see you. Maybe we can egg some protesters or something, lol. Just kidding.

I love you.

Steve