Posted on 12/10/2003 7:30:11 PM PST by B-Cause
Email from a friend.
Hi Folks,
This past Tuesday I was flying from Columbia SC back to Seattle and had a short lay over in Atlanta. As I walked toward my gate I saw several young folks in Army fatigues and then during a routine stop in the men's room one of the young men (Sgt. John Schwebel from Houston, TX) was grooming himself at the sink. I asked of his presence and he laid down his razor, sat on the counter and proceeded in a lengthy conversation with me. Undoubtedly he was anxious to talk to folks about his experiences. I will attempt to summarize 20 minutes of dialogue:
* He said we (USA and President Bush) were absolutely right in going into Iraq.
* He is concerned that folks here are not getting the full story about all the reasons for going--about how evil & cruel Saddam, his sons and the whole regime were and still are.
* His unit is there to build relationships and help the transition to Iraqi control.
* We talked about the dangers there--he is stationed in Takreit--and he said it is terrible but not unbearable. The Iraqis are untrained, poorly equipped and not capable of tough combat but there are really tuff insurgents from Saudi Arabia, Libya, Jordan, Syria and he also mentioned a couple more which I can not remember.
* He projected that the USA must remain in Iraq for several years if we intend to liberate the folks. We need to have liberation as the goal not a time table for withdrawal.
* When asked about the progress he said it was slow but very certain and that each day he sees signs of folks believing us and losing some of there fear.
* This gentleman is a hero but he does not think so. He was a sailor and left the Navy years ago but right after 9/11 he joined the Army because he thinks so much of the USA and feels it his responsibility to work for world peace.
* When asked if he was alone in his thinking his response was---look around this airport---all these folks agree with me. We are all back for a couple weeks but anxious to return and finish our work.
Now, I am attaching a message that I got from an Everett friend and it certainly supports this man's view. Listen to these messages and ignore that bunch of clowns seeking the presidency that are bashing our country and our President. We can and will make the world a safer place to live.
Subject: Behind the news
Something to think about!
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SINCE PRESIDENT BUSH DECLARED AN END TO MAJOR COMBAT ON MAY 1:
... The first battalion of the new Iraqi Army has graduated and is on active duty.
... Over 60,000 Iraqis now provide security to their fellow citizens.
... Nearly all of Iraq's 400 courts are functioning.
... The Iraqi judiciary is fully independent.
... On Monday, October 6 power generation hit 4,518 megawatts -- exceeding the pre-war average.
... All 22 universities and 43 technical institutes and colleges are open,as are nearly all primary and secondary schools.
... By October 1, Coalition forces had rehabbed over 1,500 schools - 500 more than their target.
... Teachers earn from 12 to 25 times their former salaries.
... All 240 hospitals and more than 1200 clinics are open.
... Doctor's salaries are at least eight times what they were under Saddam.
... Pharmaceutical distribution has gone from essentially nothing to 700 tons in May to a current total of 12,000 tons.
... The Coalition has helped administer over 22 million vaccination doses to Iraq's children.
... A Coalition program has cleared over 14,000 kilometers of Iraq's 27,000 kilometers of weed-choked canals. They now irrigate tens of thousands of farms.
This project has created jobs for more than 100,000 Iraqi men and women.
... We have restored over three-quarters of pre-war telephone services and over two-thirds of the potable water production.
... There are 4,900 full-service connections. We expect 50,000 by January first.
... The wheels of commerce are turning. From bicycles to satellite dishes to cars and trucks, businesses are coming to life in all major cities and towns.
... 95 percent of all pre-war bank customers have service and first-time customers are opening accounts daily.
... Iraqi banks are making loans to finance businesses.
... The central bank is fully independent.
... Iraq has one of the world's most growth-oriented investment and banking laws.
... Iraq (has) a single, unified currency for the first time in 15 years.
... Satellite dishes are legal.
... There is no Ministry of Information.
... There are more than 170 newspapers.
... You can buy satellite dishes on what seems like every street corner.
... Foreign journalists and everyone else are free to come and go.
... A nation that had not one single element (legislative, judicial or executive) of a representative government, does.
... In Baghdad alone residents have selected 88 advisory councils. Baghdad's first democratic transfer of power in 35 years happened when the city council elected its new chairman.
... Today in Iraq chambers of commerce, business, school and professional organizations are electing their leaders all over the country.
... 25 ministers, selected by the most representative governing body in Iraq's history, run the day-to-day business of government.
... The Iraqi government regularly participates in international events. Since July the Iraqi government has been represented in over two dozen international meetings, including those of the UN General Assembly, the Arab League, the World Bank and IMF and, today, the Islamic Conference Summit. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs today announced that it is reopening over 30 Iraqi embassies around the world.
... Shia religious festivals that were all but banned, aren't.
... For the first time in 35 years, in Karbala thousands of Shiites celebrate the pilgrimage of the 12th Imam.
... The Coalition has completed over 13,000 reconstruction projects, large and small, as part of (a) strategic plan for the reconstruction of Iraq.
... Uday and Qusay are dead - and no longer feeding innocent Iraqis to his zoo lions, raping the young daughters of local leaders to force cooperation, torturing Iraq's soccer players for losing games...murdering critics.
... Children aren't imprisoned or murdered when their parents disagree with the government.
... Political opponents aren't imprisoned, tortured, executed, maimed, or are forced to watch their families die for disagreeing with Saddam.
... Millions of long-suffering Iraqis no longer live in perpetual terror.
... Saudis will hold municipal elections.
... Qatar is reforming education to give more choices to parents.
... Jordan is accelerating market economic reforms.
... The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded for the first time to an Iranian -- a Muslim woman who speaks out with courage for human rights, for democracy and for peace.
... Saddam is gone.
Since ... Iraq is free.
NOT BAD FOR AN ADMINISTRATION:
WITH NO PLAN.
NO DIRECTION
WAS GOING TO BE SLAUGHTERED GOING INTO BAGHDAD
WAS ONLY IN THIS FOR THE OIL.
Thanks to you both & GB :-)
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When asked about the progress he said it was slow but very certain and that each day he sees signs of folks believing us and losing some of there fear.
This gentleman is a hero but he does not think so.
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Army Sgt. John Schwebel from Houston, hero, explains why we're in Iraq.
Please share with a CNN viewer.
*As for the list, we have that covered at FR.....mine, 10/19 , an then e-mail, and Frontpagemag.com and e-mail here. I'm sorry about the misunderstanding. Can ask the Admin Mods to delete it. Just ping.
However; if everything listed and exhaulted in that second letter is true, our mission is jst abvout complete, isn't it? Maybe it is time to bring our troops back? A guerilla war can never be completely won...period!
If Iraq is doing so well (as indicated by that second list), it's time to hand the country to them and get the Hell out!
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