For Those Who Think We Are Achieving Nothing in Iraq, READ THIS

Triathlon Forum
1

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 h ad 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

2

The letter is genuine, the facts aren’t particularly accurate.

Just to light the blue touch paper…

http://www.orwelliantimes.com/2004/04/26.html

3

So the point of the war was to get kids educated, oil pumped in record numbers, grain in the ports, drinking water and immunization? Im cluelss, I thought it was about weapons of mass destruction. I suppose if we would have told the rest of the world what our goal was, they all would have helped. How did the author of that letter get all those statistics? Not a flame, but the two guys I know over there dont know any of that stuff.

4

I’m not saying this isn’t real or accurate but it sounds like one of those letters that tell me I’ll get a check for $100,000 if I pass it on to 50 of my friends.

6

Of course he could have just put “Ray Reynolds” into google like I did and the first article which comes up is Snopes.com (A well known urban myths debunking site) which refers you to Orwellian Times for more information.

I didn’t even know that there was such a beast as Orwellian Times, but I guess that is one of the great things about the Internet - there is a home for everyone.

The Internet is a great place to sow misinformation, but it is also the best source for debunking it too. Freedom of Information is a beautiful thing.

8

QuintanaRooster,

Thanks for sharing this post. Since these are facts and not open to dispute, I doubt that your post will elicit any responses from those who are against the efforts in Iraq or those who hate Bush and Company. They will simply ignore these accomplishments, just like the media, rather than embarrass themselves so they can continue to undercut the administration, the coalition and our sons and daughters in harms way.

See, here’s the proof that Bush and company had no plan for after the “war” in Iraq.

What an achievement! This is such an amazing accomplishment in such a short time in spite of the “harrassment” of the coalition by the insurgents, etc., that to highlight these accomplishments would only embarrass those who say there was no plan for after the war or that nothing has been accomplished but the loss of life of many coalition forces.

The men and women of the coalition forces, and the United States in particular, have my deepest respect and admiration.

This kind of really points out just how one sided and slanted the media really is. Clearly, the media has an agenda and showing the full picture is definitely not part of that agenda.

Now one more time, convince me that the media is controlled by the conservative, right wing, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity types. You must be joking.

I think this is more like the proof that what is bad for the United States and the American people is what is good for the Democratic Party and John Kerry, Tom Daschele, Nancy Pelosi, etc. They have to try and submarine the effort in Iraq, the economy, and anything else that could be perceived as progress or, for them, that would mean the current administration is doing a good job.

9

QuintanaRooster,

I’ve read on and was not surprised to discover that since this information is in direct contrast to what the media has been churning out, it must be a manufactured lie to try and deflate the anti war, anti Iraq, anti Bush crowd.

So it goes.

10

How do you explain the policy that the media has?

Why will they choose to distort facts in their coverage?

11

Well because they’re obviously commie pinko bastards in a not-so-secret plot to give away the country to the terrorists and hurt God-fearing Americans!

12

Is this a case of deja vue? Those of us old enough to have lived through the Viet Nam era will also remember supporters of the war regularly publishing letters to home from soldiers assuring everyone “how well” things were going over there.

I’m neutral. Only time will tell.

13

Is this a case of deja vue? Those of us old enough to have lived through the Viet Nam era will also remember supporters of the war regularly publishing letters to home from soldiers assuring everyone “how well” things were going over there.

I’m neutral. Only time will tell.

! i thought the same thing…

Axel

14

You’ve hit the nail on the head davet, that’s exactly what I did. Since most of what gets spread by email is crap I’m very suspicious when I see any email of this nature purporting to be genuine.

15

Was born in '74 but my history teaches me that the average soldier knew for every 6 Americans killed there were 100 enemy kills (at the least). That’s winning the war on the tactical level. He would think things were going okay. His buddies were being killed, but man the buisiness of killing commies was good.

The national policy for military action in Viet Nam was to stop the spread of Communism, eventually leading to it’s collapse. It didn’t happen immediately, but it worked. I was alive and aware when the Berlin Wall came down and when the Soviet Union fell. I think leaving China and Cuba as the last great bastions of Communism means its still working. That’s winning the war on the Strategic level.

Nicely tying these together is the Operational level. How the government uses tactical forces to win strategic results. Viet Nam was where we ‘operated’. It’s where the line was drawn in the sand. It’s been drawn in other places too, but the tactical worked and Communism was shaken up enough that Reagan and Bush were able to continue the job.

Viet Nam was poorly run by several different Commanders in Chief- but those boys won that war despite being severely handicapped. The American Media told you they lost, and you bought it. The goal wasn’t to invade or really even to keep the Viet Namese free, it was to contain Communism. To show them that we could pick any place on the globe and hold them off as long as we wanted. That Americans would continue to come until it was at best for them a standoff.

The same thing is happening with the media in Iraq, Americans are dying and it makes the news in spades, but what you don’t see (or understand if shown to you) is that the enemy is being killed in place whenever and wherever the orders to do so come down.

I hate the media coverage if for no other reason that my Grandmother-in-Law should not look at me every 30-40 minutes Easter weekend and ask me to turn on the news so she can see 'What’s new with the war." She shouldn’t be able to find out what’s new with the war-ever. Neither should we as a people. We should be able to read about when it’s all over.

War will never be pretty enough to be swallowed by the masses. No matter how well an operation goes, if one American dies he’ll be put on the marquee for ratings. The concept of winning but with some sacrifice is lost on the masses. And it’s a horrible shame. Doing it in the 60’s was wrong, but hell- freedom of the press and speech and all that other shit means screw what’s right, give the people what they want. So we continue to see images and actions on the 6 O’Clock news that have no buisiness being there.

Imagine how well D-Day would have looked for the first few hours. Can’t you just see Peter Jenning sitting there giving a running commentary? “Well this is obviously a total failure because the American’s didn’t win the entire war during the 30 minutes I’m on the air. Hell it dosen’t even look like they’ve had one man set foot on the beach. The obstacles put in place have been totally effective at stopping the American Invasion. Here’s what’s on Nightline at 11, why Operation Overlord failed.”

Do yourself a favor and turn off the TV and start reading the info that’s coming out about the atrocities commited on the Iraqis by Saddam and anything that’s happened before that. It’s had the minimum amount of time to go through any kind of a validity filter. But then you wouldn’t be able to talk about today’s big action in Mosul at the H2O cooler tommorow.

And for those in the know- Yes “MDCP 1 - Warfighting” is sitting on my desk and I try to read a little every day. Hoo Rah

16

Do yourself a favor and turn off the TV and start reading the info that’s coming out about the atrocities commited on the Iraqis by Saddam and anything that’s happened before that. It’s had the minimum amount of time to go through any kind of a validity filter. But then you wouldn’t be able to talk about today’s big action in Mosul at the H2O cooler tommorow.

Validity filter? Seems to me there is also an amnesia filter operating too, because all these things were happening and the people in charge did nothing about about it until it suited them. Like Rumsfeld shaking Saddams hand in '83 when he was over there on a visit. Was he doing nothing wrong then? Think not…

17

“Do yourself a favor and turn off the TV and start reading the info that’s coming out about the atrocities commited on the Iraqis by Saddam and anything that’s happened before that.”

But thats not why we were told that we were going to war. This came after no WMD’s were found. Why dont we take every other inhumane leader around the world out of power? War is a last resort.

18

The United States backed Iraq in the past in order to assure Iran would not over-run the entire middle east. Similar to how we backed Afgan rebels during Soviet occupation and sided with Saudi Arabi durung Gulf War I. Maybe that’s what he was doing over there. Those alliances were short term to achieve a specific goal. They have not paid off in the long run, but that does not make them blunders.

When possible the US backs local fighters in order to keep US troops out of an area of political importance. When not possible and necassary we send our own.

And that was before those big buildings in New York were destroyed (2nd attemp worked, what was done after the first?), like it or not that did change everything.

19

america didnt win vietnam.

20

Not being privy to all levels of governmental policy, I have no idea if the US will in fact continue to take out ‘inhumane leaders’ around the world. I though maybe that’s what the Axis of Evil speech may have been about. Who’s to say that North Korea isn’t next? Maybe this War on Terrorism is Termed “Global” for a reason.

WMD’s are now nothing but a political tool for both sides. Those who banked on them say we found them, those who disagree say you have not found them. It’s an impass. I can claim that one 7.56mm round is a WMD if it hits me in the skull at 100 yards. You can define it any way you’d like so it has no real meaning. As far as I know there is no baseline for what actually is a WMD, so it is a moot point. Is it a numbers thing- if a WMD is that which can kill 10 people, 100, 1,000…? If we agree on a number can I say a crate of 1000 rounds of 9mm ammo counts as a WMD? What about one RPG if it sinks a boat with 1,000 people on it? What about a baseball bat that tests positive for 1,000 different kinds of blood DNA?

Gets kind of slippery doesn’t it? So either way it’s an unwinnable argument. I don’t think the evidence Bush was expecting was there, but ask a ground troop if he thinks a sarin gas artillery shell is a WMD. I bet he would if it detonated near his hole. I tend to give more credit to his opinion that John Kerry’s.

People who are trying to win elections have a different vested interest than those trying to stay alive in an armed conflict.

And I didn’t say Saddam’s actions were why we went to war, but they should at least convince you life is better for most Iraquis because we’re there. If the ends justify the means is an individual call, but don’t try to make that call based on live CNN coverage.

21

Well then tell me what happened. I’m so sick of hearing that with no follow up. I made my argument as to why I believe we did win, do the same for your position.

22

ok to sum it up. the war wasnt about vietnam, the fact it took place there is pretty irrelevant. usa sent over shitloads of troops, many of em got fucked up. many of em were fucked up upon returning to the usa. it caused political unrest at home.

on a ratio of lives lost, vietnam may have lost more, i’m not sure about exact figures…but remember…technology. napalm anyone? again, the human aftermath of that pointless war.

a war to stop communism? a war to halt the ‘red threat’? what a joke. it was just the usa trying to stamp its authority on the world vis a vis what was really a third world country, and they still got fucked up. didnt the usa ‘withdraw’ from vietnam? it’s been a lil while since i looked at this stuff. a tactical withdrawal is analogous to a defeat at the hands of the ‘gooks’ if you ask me.