One Marine's View

Biggest Mistake

I heard on the radio the other day that morons are claiming that the Iraqi War was the biggest blunder of President Bush's presidency.  Wow, are these guys the most  ungrateful, unfocused, un-American people or what? It was a mistake, they say, to invade Iraq.  Hell, let's wrap Afghanistan in that too then. It was a mistake to remove a dictator that kills off his own people to make a point. It was a mistake to stop the possible onslaught of T-72 tanks pushing into Saudi Arabia back in the Gulf War. Ok, all you cry baby bleeding hearts out there who are going to get on your soap box now and tell me we came "here", for oil and the Honorable President Bush is doing this for money and bla, blabla, bla. Save your breath. If that is your foundation for your argument, you have so missed the mark.  You need to stop believing everything you READ in your bed wetting newspaper and talk to those who have done something in coordination to change things. Yes, it must have also been a mistake to free the innocent Iraqi citizens who would not conform to the insurgent way of life. C'mon you know, they are the ones chained in underground torture chambers, electrocuted, whipped because they tried to resist. Families slaughtered in front of them.  What? Didn't you read that in your paper? That's a mistake. It must have been a mistake to have US boots on the ground and in cities like Ramadi and Fallujah to push out thug killers and eventually have shops reopen and kids to go back to school. Yes, of course, it was a mistake to stop those silly killers beheading innocent people, taking over tribes and continuing basic barbaric routines at will. I will tell you what is a mistake, you believing that bullshit! Until you grab a 3 year old kid up out of the dirt as shit is hitting the fan, you have no idea what a mistake is. Until you are hugged by an Iraqi grown man because your presence alone means he will see the sun rise again is a mistake. Not being able to know how your basic Iraqi family tries to survive, lives, earns a day wages is a mistake. I know you finger pointers are all of sudden CNN war analysts. Do you even know any of the cultural systems of Iraq? No? That's a mistake. Know that before you decide to tell us how the president made "The Biggest Blunder". To see the entire Iraqi country rotate, change and evolve into a productive state, building its economy and living without the fear of any of the prior is no mistake or blunder. Not hearing about how well Iraq is doing now with your warriors' support and the ones who have been here before is a huge freaking mistake.  If you feel that Iraq and all of the good work overhear has resulted into a  "Big Blunder", I'll meet you in Kuwait, bring you north and introduce you to a few families that may disagree. Your call, but I would think twice about calling our success in Iraq a "Big Blunder" especially in front of any servicemember who has spent time here. That will be a big mistake.

ENJOY IT WHILE IT LASTS.

You are going to miss this I tell the young Marines especially the ones bitching about the deployment. There is something primitive about being deployed during war . Your entire focus is killing the bad guy or the other extreme helping them back to life. You eat, sleep think about your girl back home, workout train, prepare, eat, sleep think about your girl, and repeat cycle. You don’t get into a routine like that back into the states. Not like here. Even Marines who stay on the FOB still prepare to eventually do one of the above, kill or help or support those who do. When you get back to the states this all changes.

Another Convoy

Its late in the afternoon and we are heading out on a convoy to an outpost. Its hotter and humid that usual and you feel the sweat building in the seat like you have been riding in a car for 19 hours but you only have been in there 10 minutes.  We hold at a security halt as other hummers are linking up with us and we talk about the day and how its been going. How hot it is bitch and moan a bit then the young driver tell me a joke or two. It breaks up the monotony.  As we move out I continue to scan the road as I did last deployment at all of the trash on the sides and piles of dirt thinking hmmm that could be an IED, so could that, and that but you continue on.

As we drive past a Iraqi Army check point, we throw a couple bottles of water out to them as they are uncomfortable as us but manning their post and doing great. Professional and squared away. They were surprised to see us give them some water and thanks us in Iraqi. These guys really appreciate things like that. When yousee them walk down to the

Euphrates

river and fill up an empty water bottle and drink it, it will make you barf. The river is nasty. We fished bodies out of last deployment, dead donkeys, medical waste you name it. The convoy continues as we see what could become a bad situation on the road ahead but because of our presence and another oncoming coalition force convoy, the situation dissipates. (That’s all I can say about that—in the Forest Gump voice)

Gang-

A regular visitor here and a good friend since I was sent to Afghanistan back in the day has passed away. Big Bro Jim as he posts was not only a patriotic man but a warrior for justice. He will be missed.  Please keep him and his family and friends in your thoughts and prayers.

March 10, 2008: U.S. troops in Iraq can see the next round of Iraqi terrorism taking form. Next time, it will mainly be Shia Islamic radicals, trying to terrorize their way into power. Muqtada al Sadr, the head of the radical Mahdi Army, may be a little slow, but he’s not stupid. He finally figured out that his primary asset is time; sooner or later the US will be gone, having rid the country of al Qaeda and the most militant Sunni groups.  Then all he has to deal with will be the moderate Shia.

This is a rather fanciful plan, since American troops will be in the region ( Kuwait ) for a long, long time. That’s because Kuwait still fears Iraq and Iran (and even Saudi Arabia , if only a little bit). But Sadr, and other Shia radicals, control over a third of the seats in parliament. If they can hold onto that, they can maintain pressure for a quick American exit from Iraq . There’s also the hope that, in the United States , the next president will be a Democrat, and inclined to keep campaign promises about getting out of Iraq right away. That’s not a sure thing either. What is a sure thing is that if the Shia radical groups take on American forces again, they will get slaughtered just like the last few times.

Catch up

Gang-

Conducted a few convoys in the area and I thought I would pass on the atmospherics in the area. Compared to my last deployment here, things are a lot better. We began in the local area and did not have to utilize any escalation of force due to vehicle threats. Roads have been repaired from past IEDs and general contracting and building is improving across the bar. However, we have had incidents that resemble my last tour here that prove that the insurgents are still around, although not as evident or as frequent. Not much goes on at night as we were out and about (we are everywhere) and didn’t see many people out. Good thing. The air is still filled with the ever present burning trash, tires etc and the temps are on the rise along with the multiple day sand storms. The local people are very cooperative with us which foils insurgent’s plans to intimidate them to get to us. This is mainly due to the Iraqi Army and police force kicking butt. Several schools and shops have been rebuilt and improved. The main takeaway is that finally, the Iraqi people have said “enough is enough” towards the insurgents and have solidly taken a stance against them and their tactics and threats. This is gigantic for us because along with the thousands of training hours we have implemented, now the Iraqi Army and Police along with several additional security forces can protect what is theirs. They have no other followers. It really has come down to the bad guys waiting out the American people. The insurgent’s foundation was that the American people would demand us out of Iraq . That never materialized, we did our job and now the proof is materializing. Those who doubted us should be ashamed. Go jump off a bridge and end the DNA chain would ya? I love it here. I volunteered to come here again. Why would you join the Marine Corps and sit on the sidelines? I am sure there are plenty of “other” organizations you could have joined and not come to Iraq . The Marines morale is sky high. They see the results of the hard work done by units before us, which motivates them to keep kicking ass and taking names. You want to shoot a couple rounds at the Iraqi Army huh Mr insurgent? Say Hello to my little friend called the Marine Corps. However, we haven’t had to be called on as time progresses. Yes, we show up armed to the teeth ready to get some, but the Iraqi forces are Taking care of business (TCB)Thankyouverymuch.

Life back in Iraq

Gang- Conducted a few convoys in the area and I thought I would pass on the atmospherics in the area. Compared to my last deployment here, things are a lot better. We began in the local area and did not have to utilize any escalation of force due to vehicle threats. Roads have been repaired from past IEDs and general contracting and building is improving across the bar. However, we have had incidents that resemble my last tour here that prove that the insurgents are still around, although not as evident or as frequent. Not much goes on at night as we were out and about (we are everywhere) and didn’t see many people out. Good thing. The air is still filled with the ever present burning trash, tires etc and the temps are on the rise along with the multiple day sand storms. The local people are very cooperative with us which foils insurgent’s plans to intimidate them to get to us. This is mainly due to the Iraqi Army and police force kicking butt. Several schools and shops have been rebuilt and improved. The main takeaway is that finally, the Iraqi people have said “enough is enough” towards the insurgents and have solidly taken a stance against them and their tactics and threats. This is gigantic for us because along with the thousands of training hours we have implemented, now the Iraqi Army and Police along with several additional security forces can protect what is theirs. This is also, why you may be reading about why the insurgents are utilizing mentally ill adults or children for suicide attacks.

Remember Iraq?

February 28, 2008: Remember Iraq ?  You know, the war we lost?  The big failure we were wasting our lives and “treasure” on?  Yeah, that one.  Haven’t heard much about it lately, right? That’s because Iraq has disappeared off the international radar, and for good reasons.  Enemy activity levels are at the lowest levels in years.  The Iraqi Police and military is growing in leaps and bounds.  Half of the country has been turned back over to Iraqi control and next month, Anbar Province will become the tenth province turned over.  So what has been going on there anyway?

Politically, the Iraqi Parliament has been passing landmark legislation on Baathist (Sunni Arab) reconciliation, oil revenues, and provincial elections.  They even passed a budget.  Numerous political parties have come together and compromised to move the country further.  The economy continues to grow and the people are prospering.