A marines view of Iraq and the news

[rockytop]

I got this from a retired Colonel friend of mine that now works at the pentagon, the letter was dated 7/18 so it' s very current.

Dad, The bottom line is this: Things are not as bad as they appear on the
> news. I can' t believe how bad the press is, even Fox news which I don' t
> think is that much better than the Communist News Network (CNN). Why do
> they only report on the one or two soldiers killed daily? They don' t
> report on the millions of great things we do on a daily basis to make this
> country better. These people love us for the most part. It is only a very
> small amount of unorganized Ba' ath left-behinds who are giving us trouble.
> We have turned Al Hillah into one of the richest, safest cities in Iraq.
> The only people who probably know this are the Marines and the people of
> Al Hillah. I get very frustrated with the media. I have little respect for
> them and I don' t think I' ll ever again be the voracious news consumer I
> was before. Their agenda is all too obvious to the men over here who are
> actually living and working in Iraq. I have been here for months, in the
> same damn town. These journalists come in for a day or two, never get out
> of their SUVs, walk around, go into people' s homes, or play with kids at
> schools. They hear that a soldier was killed by a sniper. Power went out.
> People took to the streets to protest a weapons turn in policy, a pay cut,
> or a new mayor. Then all of a sudden this place is " unstable" and " a
> quagmire." How many American cities are " unstable" and stuck in a
> " quagmire" ? By the media' s definition, I' d say quite a few. What would
> today' s American journalists have said about the months after the American
> Revolution, reconstruction in the south, even post-Nazi Germany? How have
> these so-called educated journalists become so short-sighted and
> pessimistic. You can' t change a country in a few months. You can' t change
> a culture in years. The months after combat have had their ups and downs
> and struggles. We expected that. I remember the day our battalion drove
> into Saddam City, Baghdad. People jumping and crying in the streets,
> cheering and throwing cigarettes at us, offering us their daughters and
> babies. It was emotional for the Marines. It was one of the most intense
> emotional moments of my life. As intense as combat. It is sad that the
> media is not reminding America of our glorious victory. The media has now
> turned to slinging mud at the president and our military planners. They
> are doubting our efforts. They say morale is at an " all time low." Well,
> maybe for the Army reservists. But not the Marines. We are motivated and
> dedicated to rebuilding Iraq and doing the job right. We are professionals
> and have already proven to the world that we are 100 times more effective
> at peace-keeping and nation-building than the Army. Please relay my
> thoughts to your friends at work and parties. They need to be critical of
> the news. We laugh at the news. We sneer at reporters. We are the do-ers,
> not the passive watchers and critics. We have invested blood into this
> god-awful garden and we' ll be damned if we just pull out and let some gang
> of punks ruin it for the people of Iraq. I think I' ll give some speeches
> or write opinion articles about all this when I go home. I will declare
> Jihad on the media. All for now, Nathan
>

[hntngirl]

Good letter, rockytop! Our men and women are doing an incredible job over there and we need to continue to remember them in our prayers every day. And pray that their work will end as soon as possible so they can all come home to the people here who love them!

[Tazman]

Good post rockytop, my son just got home from the war a few weeks ago, he also is disgusted with the news media, he said 99% of the trouble makers over there are one of three groups, Irani Muslim fundimentalists, Baath party members & good old fashioned Arab terrorist.

[CalHunter]

Very interesting. Seems like the media is even more screwed up than we might think. Thanks for the post.