Lando 
Posted on 05/12/2004 6:23:31 PM PDT by Lando Lincoln
Hugh Hewitt has posted a letter from a Marine in Iraq that everyone in America should be forced to read. It's a fascinating look at circumstances our forces are operating under and the psyche of the Iraqi people.
The part about Abu Ghraib stopped me cold:
As for the Abu Garayb atrocities, that is exactly what they are. I have been inside this prison several times. I never saw anything like what is now on the news but we did see a general lack of discipline among the service members in there when we arrived. We are horribly ashamed that fellow service members would do such a thing. It does not matter that it was Army or National Guard. Most Marines and Sailors in the Regiment have had their hands on detainees. It is a very emotional and taxing situation especially if the guy was just shooting at you. However, these prison guards didn't go out on patrol and capture the Iraqis, nor did they conduct a raid and grab them in a very dangerous operation. They simply failed at every level to maintain even the most basic standards not only of US servicemembers but as human beings. They traded the Nations moral high ground and fueled the extremists message of hate as a result of their weakness. Unfortunately they did it not just to themselves but every where a Marine or Soldier patrols tonight across the globe and even for every American citizen who travels abroad and naturally represents the United States.
What do we do? I can only imagine this is what people must be asking. I can only share what the Marines here believe. We stand and fight. We honestly and absolutely accept responsibility and do our best through out actions to convince the world that those acts were conducted by criminals and are not indicative of our values or intentions. We continue to go on patrol and do our best to kill the terrorists and protect the people. We stay tolerant one second longer. We adjust to a very fluid environment and stay faithful to our values. We live up to what the American people expect of United States Marines and we maintain high expectations of the American people. We share our courage with both the Iraqi people and even our neighbors, fight like hell when the situation dictates and maintain our humanity through it all.
I admit I'm a bit of a sap. But this letter filled me with such pride for our servicemen and our country that it literally brought me to tears.
What astounds me, however, is that there are people in America who would read this same letter and feel nothing but indifference (or worse) instead of pride. They would call its author an "idiot" rather than a hero.
These people live in Ted Rall's America. It's hate-filled, morally inverted place where the U.S. military is an oppressive, evil force (only when Republicans are in the White House, of course) and those serving are not individuals worthy of honor but mindless cogs in a killing machine. We can all be thankful the people living in Ted Rall's America represent only a tiny minority of the real America.
More disturbing than than the bile-spitting wingnutters on the left, however, we're seeing a broader section of the Democratic party willing to take the honor and integrity of the Marine who wrote this letter and all those like him in Iraq and flush it down the toilet to score some points against President Bush and his Secretary of Defense.
These people live in Ted Kennedy's America, and they're so hungry for power it seems there is no angle they are unwilling to exploit, including telling the world that the U.S. military is now running torture chambers in Iraq.
Ted Rall's America doesn't frighten me. The people who live there will always be on the pathetic fringe and they marginalize themselves every day with their words and deeds.
Ted Kennedy's America is a different story. It's big and it's full of people - like Kennedy himself - who already hold positions of considerable power. Their influence on our country will increase exponentially if John Kerry wins the White House in November.
After watching them politicize the issue of Abu Ghraib, trying to climb back into power by exploiting the misdeeds of a few soldiers at the expense of all who serve, it makes me worry and wonder. Frankly, Ted Kennedy's America scares me to death.
Lando
I've been thinking about this lately, too. Kennedy will be the puppet master to the empty Democratic suit, and that has got to be scary. Can you imagine Kennedy with a fast-track through the White House?
Lando
Carry on Marine.
This grateful citizen, thanks you.
What do we do? I can only imagine this is what people must be asking. I can only share what the Marines here believe. We stand and fight. We honestly and absolutely accept responsibility and do our best through out actions to convince the world that those acts were conducted by criminals and are not indicative of our values or intentions. We continue to go on patrol and do our best to kill the terrorists and protect the people. We stay tolerant one second longer. We adjust to a very fluid environment and stay faithful to our values. We live up to what the American people expect of United States Marines and we maintain high expectations of the American people. We share our courage with both the Iraqi people and even our neighbors, fight like hell when the situation dictates and maintain our humanity through it all.
My prayer for you Marine(s),
'The Lord is your shepherd, you shall not want, he makes you to lie down in green meadows and sit beside still waters, and though you may walk through the valley of the shadow of death, fear not for your Lord is always with you.!
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