Iraq Before/After

The Following Information is an Account from SFC Ray Reynolds of the Iowa Army National Guard-

As I head off to Baghdad for the final weeks of my stay in Iraq, I wanted to say thanks to all of you who did not believe the media. They have done a very poor job of covering everything that has happened. Just so you can rest at night knowing something is happening in Iraq that is noteworthy, I though I would pass this on to you. This is the list of things that has happened in Iraq recently-please share it with your friends and compare it to the version that your paper is producing.

-Over 4.5 million people have clean drinking water for the first time ever in Iraq

-Over 1500 schools have been renovated and ridded of the weapons that were stored there so education can occur

-The port of Uhm Qasar was renovated so grain can be off loaded from ships faster

-100% of the hospitals are open and fully staffed compared to 35% before the war

-Over 80,000 Iraqi soldiers are patrolling the streets side by side with US Soldiers

-Students are taught field sanitation and hand washing techniques to prevent the spread of germs

-Text books that don't mention Saddam are in schools for the first time in 30 years

Don't believe for one second that these people do not want us there. I have met many people from Iraq that want us there and in a bad way. They say they will never see the freedoms we talk about but hope their children will. We are doing a good job in Iraq and I challenge anyone, anywhere to dispute me on these facts. So if you happen to run into John Kerry, be sure to give him my email address and send him to Denison, Iowa. This soldier will set him straight.

Thanks for the post, Flightdeck. You might want to pass on the following proof to your fellow warriors...and thank you for your service!

Thanks for the ping, Valin (and the chance to thank our troops, set the record straight, inform the negligent press, and share our Iraqi bloggers with the troops, other allies).

Earlier e-mails were accurate, and easy to verify...based mainly on the CPA briefing, 6-month anniversary of Baghdad Liberation Day, Oct. 9, 2003 (and FR efforts to get the word out).

Haven't checked these facts, but updated numbers, stubborn facts are readily available to all members of the press - releases put out by CPA, DoD, CENTCOM, State Department on the anniversary of the first day of the war, March 19, 2004:

8 The New IRAQ: A Year of Progress ~ Good tribute from the DoD.

8 SELECTED HIGHLIGHTS FROM OIF: THE FIRST YEAR ~ CENTCOM
8 Iraq: One Year After The Beginning of The War ~ A special Presentation ~ Dept of State - CPA

Along with the primary news source - our troops - another important voice most often ignored by our free press is the majority of Iraqis - victims of Saddam's thugs, who are grateful to our troops, are not stupid, and are very much on OUR side, having been brutalized for decades by the same thugs our troops are destroying today:

IRAQ THE MODEL
Wednesday, April 21, 2004

http://iraqthemodel.blogspot.com/

A routine day in Iraq.
Today is a special day for me, it's my birthday I woke up early, had many things to arrange, it was a lovely sunny day. One should enjoy looking at April flowers and not stay at home at all, and I will celebrate it just as I should.

Then I heard the news; tens of people killed in terrorist attacks in Basra with many children among them. Omar, my brother, is still in Basra, and we were very worried and didn’t rest until we called a friend there to have some information about the attacks. We still haven’t heard from him, but that's because he doesn't have a telephone or access to the internet in the small town where he works, and we know that he doesn’t usually go downtown at such times.

This is my daily ‘routine’ thoughout 35 years; wars, meaningless death of innocent people, armed people terrorizing us, relatives and friends get killed or disappeared, close gunshot or explosions awaken me from sleeping, our laughs and talks get lost amid sounds of jetfighters in the sky and noise of tanks in street reminding me where I’m I and where I live. It seems that it’s not allowed for me to live a normal life like others do.

I believe in the bright future ahead but I’m upset now and I came here to write and release some of my frustration. I can't bear it alone. why me? Why my country? All that we need is a moment of peace. I really need it now. Why should I bear it with my people? When will it be over and when can we live in peace at last?

The hardest thing is that I have to fight more, and I will, but God, please give me the strength. Why should I be strong while watching others run away; Spain, Honduras, Thailand, human organizations, the UN and all the others who want (and it’s their right I must say) to avoid the dangers. But why did they disappoint us? Why abandon us in this moment when we really need them? Will they come back when conditions improve? Most likely, but who will need them then!!? We don’t need doctors and engineers. We have enough of those and large numbers of Iraqi doctor, teachers and engineers are working abroad. We do export minds, and some of those have returned and are doing their job and some are on their way back. We need political, financial and military support, and once we get rid of the terrorists, WE will show you what we can do, and we will not forget those who helped us, they will remain as friends and allies, that’s from a political point of view. As for me, they will remain as my real family, my brothers and sisters.

One of our friend was angry when he saw the former slaves burn the flag of their liberators (and he has all the right to feel so), but I saw my country being destroyed for 35 years and I’m not desperate because I have faith that it will be rebuild one day. Still, why am I supposed to be the 'superman' who is never allowed to feel angry, sad or frustrated?

Others ask me to demonstrate and show my support to the coalition. Ok I’m with the coalition but I can’t do it my friends. I’m surrounded by armed criminals who wouldn’t hesitate for a minute before shooting me for just speaking out, yet I do speak, and not only on this page.

You, there in the free world, cannot witness against criminals without witness protection programs. We have nothing of this. Just under trained and half corrupted policemen and few newly graduated army soldiers and the law system, we inherited from Saddam and haven’t really changed it yet, is far from being efficient.
Why do others get discouraged easily? Don’t mistake me. I’m upset but will NEVER run away like some people did.

I wasn’t like this before. I was afraid most of the time. I have always looked for safety above all. I lost faith in the whole world and I wasn’t ready at all to make the slightest sacrifice for the sake of others. I was trying to leave my country and find a better job in a safe place, BUT, The brave solders (who don’t hold shares at Halliburton or Bechtel) who crossed seas and oceans and came to my country to fight for our freedom -and don’t anyone dare say the opposite, as I met so many of these soldiers and had hundreds of letters from them and there families and I know their motives; they fight for their country’s safety and for our freedom and they are proud of what they are doing- gave me the faith and showed me that man should not care only about himself, his family or his country, these are not enough to make a human being. These guys are MUCH better than me because I have to fight for my issue and they fight for me. They deserve the respect of the world and so do the people who support them. They always give me hope to go on no matter how difficult it seems.

I think I’ll have to skip celebrating my birthday this year, but that will not make me less determined than before, and I know that even if other countries pull out of Iraq, we will always have the strongest and greatest nation on our side, the wonderful people of the USA, together with the UK, Italy, Japan and the rest of the coalition forces. We owe you a lot and I pray, and I’m sure, that one day we will be able to return some of your favors and I’m talking about the people not the politicians although I don’t deny those the credit they deserve for doing their job as good as they can. When that day finally comes, you will know for sure that the great efforts and sacrifices you’ve made were not in vain.

-By Mohammed.

- posted by Omar @ 18:20

9 posted on 04/21/2004 10:35:17 AM EDT by Valin (Hating people is like burning down your house to kill a rat)

More on the "will of the Iraqi people" - other potential Iraqi Freepers, bloggers with new free press - thanks to the US military and friends.

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