U.S. Soldier's Update for today (on Fallujah and cleric Sadr)

There are a lot of people over here that don't like us, no question. In some places even little kids will run out and laugh while they pretend to shoot our humvees with imaginary RPGs. In most places the people are just scared. They were deeply afraid of Saddam, and many are still afraid of us.

In most of the towns we work in, the problem isn't that 'everyone hates us'. Most of the Iraqis are either very happy to see us, or grudgingly accepting that we are a lot better than Saddam. The problem is that there are some factions that will never forgive us for taking out Saddam or for not being Muslim. They can't be won over, and they'll always cause trouble if they are able.

Thanks for the offer of assistance. My system's up and running fine now and it so rarely crashes that I'm not worried about it. I have the drive mirrored & the really important stuff on my raid drives (fault tolerance) and my BDC will take over if my server crashes.

If it starts to become a problem, I'll troubleshoot it & correct it, but it's not worth the bother right now. When you do a lot with computers, you learn, they ALL fail at some point, so you get prepared, backup, and have plans for quick & complete recovery. So, no sweat.

Thanks again. Keep in touch with your uncle & ask him to let Bradley know how much support that he and the trooops have back home.

FReegards,
RebelTex

I think you forget something...the brave Iraqis who would demonstrate their support for us are still being exhumed...this was not lost on the surviving population.

This country has been abused so long, they are very skeptical. I think we need to cut them a little slack...I am frankly amazed that tens of thousands of Iraqis have voluteered to be trained for the Iraqi police force.

You have somewhat of a point. Let me see if I can clarify the picture for you.

The ICDC guys are new, fresh recruits. Most of them are just kids looking for work. With some more training, experience, and better equipment they should evolve into a pretty effective force. As of right now, they're an akward group who is still a little unsure of themselves.

The former regime elements and Muslim extremists are tough, experienced and desperate. They are passionate about their beliefs and feel completely cornered. They play to the discontent of the mob, and tell them what they want to hear. Both groups stand to lose everything, and both groups also see right now as their last chance to derail the ascent into becoming a nation of laws and personal freedom.

The average Iraqi citizen doesn't trust anyone outside his family or tribal group. Even the ones that absolutly love us suspect we're up to something by being here. 30 years of Saddam's rule has left them paranoid, irrational, and angry. They almost all want peace, and are genuinely fascinated by the prospects of becoming a prosperous, modern nation. They are truly in uncharted territory.

If the ones who are causing trouble seem more motivated, it's because they are. They know what they are fighting for, and that they stand to lose everything they care about. The ICDC and the average citizens still don't really understand what they stand to lose, so they don't fight with the same vigor.

Remember all the tough talk around here when the decision was made to send the marines back to Iraq? I believe we have had a strategy to take Faluja and we have been waiting for a pretext - political cover.

It has been clear since even before the war that the Sunni triangle would be problematic. If the marines had arrived back in town and then promptly locked the whole place down then all the deaths would have been seen as resulting from American heavy handedness. A few corpses swinging from a bridge provided all the emotional backdrop needed to go ahead and do what we probably planned on doing all along. I think you are quite right about the contractors being combat deaths and business as usual in that town.

Bonehead terrorists thought they would bait us into town with their animalistic behavior. Well now they get what they wished for :-))

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