Good news - truth from our troops - from AP.
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Posted on 06/21/2004 10:45:50 AM PDT by kattracks
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Two New Jerseyans just back from tours of duty in Iraq see hopeful signs amid the chaos in the war-torn country.The men, both with ties to South Jersey, were in Iraq to help with the rebuilding. Army First Lt. Yash Sinha of Bordentown helped oversee repairs of water and sanitation systems. Navy Lt. Brian Lindoerfer, a native of Pitman, assessed coalition buildings used to support the reconstruction.
"I'm optimistic things will be better for the people there," Sinha, 29, told The Philadelphia Inquirer for Monday's editions. "About 80 percent of the Iraqis are very happy Americans are there. They were glad to see me because they know I was trying to improve their lives."
Sinha, a reservist, has been working as an engineer at Picatinny Arsenal in Rockaway Township since returning to the United States three months ago.
"It's going to be a matter of time, said Lindoerfer, 31, who got back from Iraq last week. "There's a long way to go for security, but things are moving in the right direction."
Sinha and Lindoerfer agree that the rising number of attacks by insurgents will slow — but not halt — rebuilding efforts. That's because occupying forces are providing billions for infrastructure projects in addition to fighting the guerrillas on the ground.
Those projects, Sinha and Lindoerfer say, are providing Iraqis with jobs as well as improving their lives.
Lindoerfer goes so far as to say that by focusing on the attacks, the media are missing a powerful story of hope in Iraq: that of the many people there who are doing a lot of good work.
Lindoerfer, a U.S. Naval Academy and Pitman High School graduate who now lives in Port Hueneme, Calif., spent six months in Iraq heading a Seabee unit that assessed reconstruction needs and provided security.
The unit visited seven Iraqi cities, assessing up to 10 coalition buildings at each site. They sometimes came under small-arms fire, were often within earshot of mortar attacks and once just missed a firefight in Tikrit.
Coalition buildings serve as gathering places where reconstruction plans are made and contractors chosen.
"We made sure the buildings had running water, sewerage, heating and ventilation," said Lindoerfer, an engineer.
For his part, Sinha worked with Iraqi engineers to get water and sewerage systems up and running.
"The mood of the people was so great because their towns had been neglected. They knew we had come from far away to help them, and they'd say, `Nobody did this for us.' A lot of them didn't have jobs and now they have them," Sinha said.
"We color-coded all of Iraq to show which areas needed the most help," he said. "Then we flowed money and resources to those areas."
ping
I will be surprised if my leftist rag of a local paper -the Trenton Times - runs this AP wire number.
soldiers aren't supposed to be building things they are destroyers. This is a screwy bunch of nonsense.
Uh...what's a SeaBee? What does the Army Corps of Engineers do?
Lindoerfer goes so far as to say that by focusing on the attacks, the media are missing a powerful story of hope in Iraq: that of the many people there who are doing a lot of good work. Sorry, pal...that would be IGNORING a powerful story of hope.
Good news - truth from our troops - from AP.
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