Again, I am going to lock this thread and leave it up for 3 days. If you have comments, please create your own thread to discuss it there.
I hope you enjoy reading and hearing another edition as much as I do (as well as perspective).
Thanks!
"One of the most rewarding things about serving in Iraq is witnessing first hand how freedom is changing people?s lives. I have spent hours talking to many Iraqis about how their lives have changed. One of the most informative conversations I had was with an Iraqi village leader. When the war first started, he was a Colonel and a pilot in the Iraqi Air Force. He was serving in the Iraqi military under Sadaam and had been for over twenty years. He was a member of Sadaam?s political party, the Baath party. With such values, I wondered what his loyalties were. On the surface you might think he would be a prime example of the enemies the coalition is now fighting. But that is not who he is. In fact he is the exact opposite of what his profile would indicate. I will never forget what this former enemy Colonel had to say about Sadaam, the United States Army, and the American President.
To better appreciate what he said you must first understand some things about the Iraqi people. They are very honest and emotional people. There is no such thing as ?political correctness?. When they feel passionately about something, it is obvious. It is this ?face value? honesty that contributed so significantly to our conversation. As we talked the Colonel shared some very personal things with me. He began by telling me what it was like to serve under Sadaam. At this point in the conversation he began to be very angry. His face was reddened and his voice became abrasive. He told me how Sadaam often had senior military people tortured or killed if they questioned his directives or decisions. He shared with me some of the stories of men he knew, and how they had been killed or tortured. He told me how he had been cheated and betrayed personally by Sadaam. He said, ?Sadaam was a bastard. He killed ruthlessly and for no reason other than to promote himself or his
sons.? We talked about how Sadaam did not trust his military officers, and often discredited their opinions and suggestions. Sadaam abused his own military. He never had any interest in Iraq or the Iraqi people, just himself. He was not a leader.
The more the Colonel described to me the brutality of Sadaam, the more I realized how right we were to take him out of power. Sadaam represents evil itself. He represents everything that good and decent people are against. We started the war in Iraq as a campaign to find and destroy Sadaam?s Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) and WMD production programs so that they may never be used by terrorists groups to attack America or American interests. Since we haven?t found a big stockpile of nuclear weapons, some Americans believe the intelligence our President received was a lie, and that President Bush lied to the American people. The critics of our military and our President say that we will never find Weapons of Mass Destruction. Well, I say they are wrong. We have found and removed the WMD. The greatest WMD in Iraq was Sadaam himself. We found him in a rat hole on a small Iraqi farm in December of 2003. And I can tell you this, Iraq can?t produce Weapons of Mass Dest
ruction now! This one man is responsible for hundreds of thousands of brutal killings, mass graves, public rapes, torturing of innocent civilians, suppression of the masses and promoting of evil. If that is not what you call a Weapon of Mass Destruction, then I don?t know what one is.
This was very interesting and educational to me, but nothing was more significant then the Colonel?s opinion and comments about the United States Army and the American President. He began by telling me how much respect the Iraqi military had for the American military and its power. They knew the US military would be a tough force to deal with and fight. But more then anything, they knew the American President did not fear Sadaam like so many other world leaders did. As he spoke about our President he had such strong convictions. He looked me in the eye and described what courage it took to take on Sadaam. ?We call your President ?The-ab? (thee-ub) he said. It means ?wolf? in Arabic.? The Iraqi people admire our President for having the courage to face and destroy a brutal dictator. So many Iraqis lived in fear of Sadaam. Even members of his direct family feared his wrath and being killed. He used torture and death to enforce his own self serving agenda. The Iraqis
call President Bush ?The Wolf? because he is brave and not afraid to attack our nation?s enemies. I then told the Colonel how some Americans are against President Bush, and that he may not be reelected in November. This was very troubling for him and difficult to understand. He asked me, ?How can they not see what the courage of this man has done for the people of Iraq?? I thought this was so amazing. To hear a former enemy military officer speak of our President with such high regard and respect was truly astonishing. It made me wonder how so many Americans back home could be so disrespectful to President Bush. How so many Americans back home hate him and despise him for the very courage that so many Iraqis love him for. How can our Nation be so divided over what is right and wrong in Iraq. Why can?t those who are against the war in Iraq realize what positive change we have made, and how we are changing people?s lives for the better everyday! For our President to
stand up against Sadaams brutal regime and free the Iraqi people was an act of heroism!
As my conversation ended with the Colonel we stood together. He grabbed me by the arm and pulled me close to him. He looked me in the eyes and with a smile said this. ?*****, tell your family what you have done here. They need to know that they should be proud of you for helping the Iraqi people. They need to know that you being here is worth it.?
I am proud to be an American. I am proud to be an American soldier serving in Iraq. I am proud of our Commander in Chief. Americans should be proud of our accomplishments in Iraq and Afghanistan. I believe President Bush has done a great thing not only for the people of Iraq, but for the future of the Middle East and the world. As the leader of the free world he has had to make some tough decisions. It has to be lonely and difficult to labor over such tremendous burdens. But I believe the difficult decisions our President has made were the right ones. I believe the results of his trust in God, and his faith will have lead to good decisions which will have long term beneficial results for generations of Iraqis to come. I believe his decisions have forever changed the course of history and the world.
As Americans ready themselves for the November election, some question the reason we went to war in Iraq. I?ve heard a certain candidate say that this is ?the wrong war at the wrong place at the wrong time?. My reply is this. Is there a wrong time to stand for and fight for freedom? Is there is a wrong time or place to do what is right for the good of suffering people? America is the greatest nation in the world because we are brave enough to make the tough decisions and take the difficult actions for the advancement of freedom. We are a nation of courage and leaders. We are a nation that leads, not follows. We are a nation of vision not blindness. We know that anything worth defending is preserved by force. We are a nation respected by our peers, and feared by our enemies. I don?t think this was the wrong war at the wrong place at the wrong time. I believe everything about this war is right. In order to have peace you must first go to war. We went to war in Ira
q to preserve and protect the freedom of the world and to promote peace. We understand that freedom isn?t free.
A very close friend of mine once wrote me. He said ?*****, years from now when your old and sharing the story of your time in Iraq with your grand children, you will be proud. You were a part of history. And some where, in a free Iraq, there will be an Iraqi man speaking to his children about the day the American soldiers came to Iraq and freed them from the brutal regime of Sadaam Hussain.? You know what ? he is right. Someday, long after President Bush is no longer the Commander in Chief, an Iraqi family will be enjoying the rewards of his courageous actions and decisions, and I will be telling the story to my grandkids.
I hope that this update was informative. I fear this update will be my last chance to speak to you all about how important this election really is. I know some of you do not agree with the President for going to war with Iraq. But please believe me and trust me when I say it was the right thing to do. Thank you so much for continuing to pray for me and all the troops serving in the US military. We sincerely appreciate it.
God Bless,
*****"
