Posted on 04/24/2004 5:09:47 PM PDT by Hillary's Lovely Legs
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
Budge, this might be a good thread to post a couple of excerpts from one of those Iraqi blogs.
http://usinfo.state.gov/mena/middle_east_north_africa/new_iraq/ni_services.html
Anyway, she had "live" in her studio a soldier she had been "pen pals" with for the past year. She spent a couple of minutes droaning on saying "Gosh its terrible how the media is not reporting the good things you have done, like opening 700 schools..." and the soldier agreed by nodding his head. He then began to say, "Yes, we've done so much more too, like..." and she cut him off with her famous "We have to leave it there".
The poor man tried to get the word out on the show and she wouldn't let him, even after she wasted airtime grousing about it. I think there was a pressing Kobe debate waiting in the wings after the Levitra break.
With the 4ID back, I think someone really needs to give these guys some airtime and let them tell us themselves what they have done. From what I saw, Fox was really only paying it lip service. And no one else is even going to come a close second to that.
I hadn't seen that before and didn't know they were allowed to do that.
To Make this "Effort" "Unbiased," "American Monitors" could be sent to ANY "Religious Services."
It would Problably "Do a Lot of us Good" to attend Religious Services.
It would ALSO be useful to find "FOCI" of anti-West, anti-Christian/Jewish Beliefs in an Isolated Mosque.
It would be useful to know Why & How such Beliefs came to be. Until "Islam" No Longer feels "Threatened by Christendom," There will be Constant Conflict between the two Faiths.
& Until "Islam" Abandons "Martyrdom," the possibility of Thermonuclear Annihilation of "Islam" persists.
As Long as the "ISLAMIC Psychopaths" contemplate murdering Many Thousands of Americans, the prospect of a Thermonuclear Response exists.
Don't--for a SECOND--believe that the American People would HESITATE to respond MASSIVELY & SYMBOLICALLY to a Massacre of our Citizens.
Remember Hiroshima & Nagasaki.
Considering the Barbaric behavior of "Islamic Zealots" over the past few months, Little Provocation would be necessary to result in a DEVASTATING RESPONSE.
Americans are ALREADY P+SSED-OFF!!
The "Islamic Radicals" are like so many Teen-aged Delinquents;--allowed to "Blow off Steam, but approaching a MAJOR "SLAP-DOWN!!"
If the Respectable Citizens of Iraq Neglect to Discipline their Destructive Children, THEY--& Their Children--will be HELD ACCOUNTABLE for their Childrens' Behavior.
There is a MAJOR RECKONING COMING.
Doc
I wish Michael Savage could read this. I like Mike, but he's been going on and on about how disastrous Iraq is for us. It seems to me that he's getting all his information from the mainstream media.
Sarmad Faraj
Wednesday, March 24, 2004 One year old One year later on the war. It seems like yesterday, Can we list together what was good and bad in this decision? I mean the decision of war,
No one likes wars, and no one suffered as we did, from wars, I will speak the part which is related with Iraq as an Iraqi, and you can speak on behalf of yourself,
Let me start with me, one year ago: an Iraqi person. Life :(yes, I am a life:) a body walking. Don't think. Don't feel. Don't see. Don't hear. Just living. Live until my expiration day,
Who am I? Where am I? Why me? Many questions, but no answers, The same dark tone,
Then, "48 hours"--- the time offered for saddam and his two sons to leave Iraq. This was the first shock to our live bodies and dead minds, but it wasn't enough to bring us life, The whole world hoped that saddam will take the right decision, That's what the world hoped, but who knows? This man knows how much he loves war and fighting. It was his favorite hobby.
The operation starts, Can this operation bring us life? This war was the fastest war in history. Also the cleanest war: 21 days, and the marines are in Baghdad.
Now, one believes. Look at how all these armies just collapsed.
We look about us, and think "Where did they go? Where is the nightmare which we used to see all the time? Where are our jailers? Where are our life-stealers?"
It's the 9th of April, It's a historical moment when we see the statue of saddam falling down: the statue of fear and anger, and punishment, is falling down! I am alive now! I can feel! I cried when I saw those historical moments, I can see, I see all that fear collapsing, I can hear, I hear the voice of joy and happiness, I am back to life!
One year has passed, What did this war offer to us? For the first time, war offered something good. This war, which is, to me, as to many Iraqis (and not all) is a liberation. It's a victory of good over evil.
Read the whole thing here.
Scroll down to The first candle. for another 'first person' account.
Then go to the bottom and read up for a blow by blow account of what happened.
If they could only see the faces of the Iraqis when they talk about freedom from the fear perpetrated by Saddam and his thugs and about the improvements that are taking place even now as hostilties continue.
Saturday, April 03, 2004 The Barbaric Attack
To all my friends I feel very sorry about the barbaric attack on the USA contractors in Al-Faluja city, in the fact Al-Faluja are Saddam's follows and must unsling all of them from the new Iraq.
I want to tell you the Islamic religion do not accept in this barbaric attack, and all of people in Iraq do not accept that barbaric attack, we wand to build our country and we want to make a good friendships with all the world and specially with USA and UK that because we are get our freedom with (USA and UK) help.
Please USA Please UK stay and help my people and save them from the bad and barbaric creatures, the barbaric creatures are a black point must erase it.
# posted by Alaasmary : 4/3/2004 10:56:18 AM
Emphasis mine.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.