I've mentioned before that every veteran of the Iraq war with whom I have spoken are -- to a man -- in favor of the war in Iraq and believe that we should see it through until the end. I'm in a position with my job that affords me the privilege of talking to servicemen (and women) who have served in Iraq, and we have an unusually high number of them in our region (they don't call us the Volunteer State for nothing).
Yesterday, I was talking with a young Marine who returned from his 3rd tour of duty in Iraq earlier this year. One of his friends (Marine Cpl. Rusty Washam, who was also from our hometown) was killed when his Humvee was struck by a roadside bomb 2 years ago, when this fellow was serving his 2nd tour of duty. His most recent stay in Iraq ended prematurely when his own Humvee was struck by an IED. Four other Marines died, and he was injured, losing partial use of his left arm. Now he's back to life as a civilian as a disabled vet.
I asked him if he would go back to Iraq if given the opportunity, expecting him to be a little bitter. His answer was without a doubt, yes. He did not dance around the fact that he felt the U.S. should not have invaded Iraq in the 1st place. But, he said the same thing that I'll bet 99.5% of all those who have served in Iraq would say: If we leave now, all our efforts have been in vain. He said that the talk from the politicians who are drumming up votes by talking about "bringing the troops home" is coming from people who have no clue; the troops don't want to come home until the job is finished.
He reported the same thing that many bloggers are reporting, but that the New York Times refuses to report: That exceptional progress is now being made in Iraq. Their police forces are strengthening and improving. But, he said, they're not ready to take over their own security yet; if America pulls out, they'll be over-run by al Qaeda in a matter of weeks.
I asked him if the violence in Iraq is really decreasing as much as we're being led to believe (not by the New York Times . . . though their new silence on the war speaks volumes). He said that during his first 2 stays in Iraq, his unit was fired at on a daily basis while out on patrol. This go-around (during which he was stationed in the al Anbar Province), he said, his unit was not fired upon any and did not meet with violence until the incident that wounded him and sent him home.
I always enjoy getting reports from the boots on the ground or who have been on the ground, rather than from the politicians who spoon-feed us information that has been carefully tailored to maximize their vote gain, or by mainstream news media sources that broad-brush the news reports with their bias before airing them.
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Shhh, not so loud. The liberal media and their hordes would not want something like this to be made public. Seems like the only people who get face time from the media are Sheehan and her friends.
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Future DNC Message - From this point, all illegal aliens will be referred to Unregistered Democrats.
Public, media losing sight of Iraq, study finds...
Although Iraq topped the list of the public's most closely followed news stories in all but five weeks during the first half of 2007, according to Pew's research, interest fell rapidly in the fall, and Iraq has not held the top spot since October. That corresponded with a sharp drop in the rate of U.S. casualties in Iraq and increased news coverage of the U.S. presidential campaign.
All part of the liberal media's attempt to get one of the Socialist candidates elected to the Presidency. The surge is working. Things are improving in Iraq. That type of news would bolster McCain's candidacy. It's better for the Socialist party if the populace doesn't know that progress is being made there. As a result, the only stories you'll see coming out of Iraq are when there is a terrorist attack and American casualties.
It really does bend me out of shape when the self-serving media fails to report on thevastly improvedsituation in Iraq. The scumbags were right there with baited breath when things were going badly. The media pulled the same crap in Viet Nam.
All part of the liberal media's attempt to get one of the Socialist candidates elected to the Presidency. The surge is working. Things are improving in Iraq. That type of news would bolster McCain's candidacy. It's better for the Socialist party if the populace doesn't know that progress is being made there. As a result, the only stories you'll see coming out of Iraq are when there is a terrorist attack and American casualties.
The "surge" isn't what did it. Al-Sadr's ceasefire and us paying insurgents not to fight is what caused the improvements. No one is going to care come election day if Iraq's oil production doesn't come up. We'll see in the next few months. The good thing is that Iraq now has inflation under control.
Speaking of Iraq
