Letter from Iraq

My name is Michael W and I am a 30-year-old National Guard infantryman serving in southeast Baghdad. I have been in Iraq since March of 04 and will continue to serve here until March of 05.

In the few short months my unit has been in Iraq, we have already lost one man and have had many injured (including me) in combat operations. And for what? At the very least, the government could have made sure that each of our vehicles had the proper armament to protect us soldiers.

In the early morning hours of May 10, one month to the day from my 30th birthday, I and 12 other men were attacked in a well-executed roadside ambush in south-east Baghdad. We were attacked with small-arms fire, a rocket-propelled grenade, and two well-placed roadside bombs. These roadside bombs nearly destroyed one of our Hummers and riddled my friends with shrapnel, almost killing them. They would not have had a scratch if they had the "Up Armour" kits on them. So where was [George] W [Bush] on that one?

It's just so ridiculous, which leads me to my next point. A Blackwater contractor makes $15,000 [�8,400] a month for doing the same job as my pals and me. I make about $4,000 [�2,240] a month over here. What's up with that?

Beyond that, the government is calling up more and more troops from the reserves. For what? Man, there is a huge "expletive deleted"ing scam going on here! There are civilian contractors crawling all over this country. Blackwater, Kellogg Brown & Root, Halliburton, on and on. These contractors are doing everything you can think of from security to catering lunch!

We are spending money out the ass for this "expletive deleted", and very few of the projects are going to the Iraqi people. Someone's back is getting scratched here, and it ain't the Iraqis'!

My life is left to chance at this point. I just hope I come home alive.

Well, I don't care what people say, you need to stay safe, and your government has an obligation to put you in no further danger than is absolutely necessary.

To me, this means providing you with your proper equipment. So, would you say that if they hired a dozen guardsmen in place of contractors, that it would be enough money to outfit all of the vehicles in your unit?

This is a letter from Mike not me Loki.

Subject: About Iraq from a cousin

This is a letter from Ray Reynolds, a medic in the Iowa Army National Guard, serving in Iraq:

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. I am sorry that I have not been able to visit all of you during my two week leave back home. And just so you can rest at night knowing something is happening in Iraq that is noteworthy, I thought 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 400,000 kids have up-to-date immunizations.
* School attendance is up 80% from levels before the war.
* Over 1,500 schools have been renovated and rid of the weapons stored there so education can occur.
* The port of Uhm Qasar was renovated so grain can be off-loaded from ships faster.
* The country had its first 2 billion barrel export of oil in August.
* Over 4.5 million people have clean drinking water for the first time ever in Iraq.
* The country now receives 2 times the electrical power it did before the war.
* 100% of the hospitals are open and fully staffed, compared to 35% before the war.
* Elections are taking place in every major city, and city councils are in place.
* Sewer and water lines are installed in every major city.
* Over 60,000 police are patrolling the streets.
* Over 100,000 Iraqi civil defense police are securing the country.
* Over 80,000 Iraqi soldiers are patrolling the streets side by side with US soldiers.
* Over 400,000 people have telephones for the first time ever
* Students are taught field sanitation and hand washing techniques to prevent the spread of germs.
* An interim constitution has been signed.
* Girls are allowed to attend school.
* Textbooks that don't mention Saddam are in the 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, 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 they 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. If you are like me and very disgusted with how this period of rebuilding has been portrayed, email this to a friend and let them know there are good things happening.

Ray Reynolds, SFC Iowa Army National Guard
234th Signal Battalion


Mostly True

www.truthorfiction.com...

Another

www.truthorfiction.com...

Sorry edsinger but your links are bias and by the way the "school books" just yesteday they show on CNN that they are still waiting for books, and all they are using is a pile of rubble for books hummmm I wonder.

This is your second post with similarities you most be on a mission.

A medic in a national guard unit from Iowa, serving in somewhere other than Baghdad knows all of this for a fact?

For all I know, he could be having just as much propaganda fed to him as we are, and probably is. Lying to keep morale up has been common practice for a long time now.

This man is talking about broad sweeping things, and seems to be on a crusade, whereas mike up there decided that he just wanted armor on his humvee so he doesnt get blown to bits.

To be completely honest, it sounds like the info in this second letter is much more suspect than the info from the first.


Although, by the same token, there's a good possibility that there are massive changes going on in Iraq. I'm sure things are changing for the better, and it's the least we could do after pulling the 'bull in the china shop' act on a country that didn't deserve it. But you don't think that these numbers have been exaggerated?

Even if that were true there are over 23,000,000 people in Iraq. There are four times as many people living in Detroit alone than your figures. Lets get real bub...

Well the links provided the proof, like I said most claims were true!

Believe it , or Not!


On a mission? Just countering the "bad" letter with another side to the story.

Its ok I am not against your post edsinger, but now that the MWDs are not there to justify the war I guess bush has no other choice but to bring something else to sell to the american people.

I feel sorry for the poor people in Iraq, and the destruction of that country.

A godd debunking of that Ray Reynolds letter is HERE.