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Thanks to Arnold Schwarzenegger's entry into the race for the soon-to-be vacated California governor's chair, the mainstream media has taken a breather from lamenting the Iraq quagmire to begin slash and burn operations on the nominal Republican candidate. I usually write my own column, but in the event that the press really has given up their Vietnam-like strategy--using purported battlefield reports from actual soldiers to demoralize the rest of the troops and undermine public support for the war--I'd like to give the last word to actual soldiers in Iraq. What follows are excerpts from two emails sent to me by either a family member or the soldier himself and one that has been circulating on the Internet. While I cannot guarantee their 100% authenticity, let the American people decide whether to believe these reports or those put out by military-hating media types. Despite what the idiots in the press like to say over and over: 1) We did expect some armed resistance from the Ba'ath Party and Feydaheen; 2) It isn't any worse than expected; 3) Things are getting better each day, and 4) The morale of the troops is A-1, except for the normal moaning and griping. My brief love affair with the press, especially the guys who had the cajones to be embedded with the troops during the fighting, is probably over, especially since we are back being criticized by the same Roland Headly types that used to hang around the Palestine Hotel drinking Baghdad Bob's whiskey and parroting his ridiculous B.S. I'm no longer baby-sitting the pukes from CNN and the canned hams from the networks, but have a combat mission coordinating a bunch of A teams, seeking, finding and rooting out the mostly non-Iraqis that are well-armed, well-paid (in U.S. dollars) and always waiting to wail for the press and then shoot some GI in the back in the midst of a crowd. The only reason the GIs are pissed (not demoralized) is that they cannot touch, must less waste, those taunting bags of gas that scream in their faces and riot on cue when they spot a camera man from ABC, BBC, CBS, CNN or NBC. If they did, then they know the next nightly news will be about how chaotic things are and how much the Iraqi people hate us. Some do. But the vast majority don't and more and more see that the GIs don't start anything, are by-and-large friendly, and very compassionate, especially to kids and old people. I saw a bunch of 19 year-olds from the 82nd Airborne not return fire coming from a mosque until they got a group of elderly civilians out of harm's way. So did the Iraqis. They see the same GIs who man the corner checkpoint, helping clear the playground, install new swing sets and create soccer fields. I watched a bunch of kids playing baseball in one playground, under the supervision of a couple of GIs from Oklahoma. They weren't very good but were having fun, probably more than most Little Leaguers. I heard one doofus on MSNBC the other night talk about how "nearly 60" GIs have been killed since 01 May. The truth is that 21 GIs have been killed in combat, mostly from ambush, from 01 May through 30 June, Another 29 have been killed by accidents or other causes (two drowned while swimming in the Tigris).
X X X I caught wind of and read the recent news articles being circulated back there in the states. I figured I could clarify some things for you. As usual the news media has blown some things way out of proportion. The countryside is getting more safe by the day despite all the attacks you are hearing about. Imagine every shooting incident or robbery committed in LA or Portland being blown way out of proportion. There are some that were very loyal to Saddam that are trying to sneak around and take pot shots at us. We are cleaning them up pretty fast. There are also thugs from other countries running around, like Iran and Syria. Well the Iraqis hate these thugs as much as we do. So the Iraqi people are hunting them down too! I can honestly say 98% of the population of Iraq love us and they do not want us to leave...ever! They say as long as we are here they feel safe. The newspapers and television paint a picture of doom and gloom and that we are having major problems over here. That is just not the case. The Iraqis have a saying about the situation over here "Every day is Better than the day before". Life is flowing back in to this country and it is fun to watch and I am so glad I got to watch it happen. Some days watching the Iraqi people is like watching the faces of little kids on Christmas Day! Many of them are walking around in a daze wondering what to do with their freedom. They are starting businesses everywhere. They want to build shopping malls and factories, they want McDonalds and Jack in the Box and Pizza Hut.
X X X We do take some casualties, but we are very effective at counter-firing at the ambushes. Our aggressiveness has proven very effective. The enemy is primarily made up of insurgents from Iran and Syria who hire Iraqis to attack coalition soldiers, not disgruntled Iraqis who are mad that their electricity is not on all day yet. They provide them with AKs and RPGs and send them on their way with a promise of cash after the attack. They have even give motorcycles to kids which they are allowed to keep if they ride by a coalition check point and drop a grenade. We have good leaders, and they're responding aggressively and well to the attacks, they emphasize that everyone must engage the enemy whenever they show themselves. The kids here are excited to do their job, and they do it well, with the proper weapons and lots of ammo. We go out with M2 50 cals and MK-19 automatic grenade launchers mounted on our vehicles. We carry SAWs, M-203s, M-16s, and M9s. We also carry several different types of grenades and use everything as needed. We read press articles on the net that have no resemblance to reality everyday. The press lies, they make things up, and they misrepresent things to forward their own interests. It would be funny, except that so many people around the world believe them. To comment on this article or express your opinion directly to the author, you are invited to e-mail Lisa at FabLi@aol.com . August 13, 2003
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Toogood Reports contributor and "Best of the Web" award-winning writer Lisa Fabrizio is a freelance writer and copy editor who lives in Stamford, CT. She is a proud conservative whose aim is to recapture the public from the all-consuming fog of liberalism which seizes them early in school and pervades almost all aspects of their lives. You may email Lisa at FabLi@aol.com
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