SwiftVets.com

[Kimmymac]

Hi all, I just wanted to share an excerpt from an email my son sent his dad. My son is a platoon leader in Iraq, and I am posting this excerpt, in part at least, because the headline of my paper trumpeted "THIS COUNTRY IS LOST" in 18 point type.

He sounds tired in his emails, but still has the same since of humor, and is still lecturing and worrying about his little sisters. As they said, "even from Iraq, he cuts us no slack!"

....About 2 weeks ago I got moved from my Iraqi National Guard liason slot to the position that I'm actually meant to be, platoon leader. 2 days after taking over we were rolling out to retake the town of Tal Afar from Syrian fighters. It's a border town, about 15 mi from Syria and has become a huge way-point for the foreign fighter problem. 3 days, an AC-130 gunship and plenty of mortar rounds later, the town was empty and the mayor was restored. I am trying to get things cleaned up before Kath gets here. I want her to be so bored with her unit, and have so little to do, that they send her home early. Oh, I know, she has trained and studied hard, so maybe she can deliver a few babies for the locals, or something.
They are now moving my unit elsewhere from Mosul. Don't really know where yet. But it is somewhere down south. Other than that, things are peachy Tell Mom not to worry (she's not fooling me with those notes) and tell the girls I hope they are studying hard and that Beth broke up with whats-his-face like I told her. If not, they will have to answer to me.
More later, Dad, I am really beat and hope to grab a few hours sweaty sleep.

[directorblue]

Here's the real scoop from operational HQ in Baghdad...

http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/archives/002544.php

The US media is abuzz today with the news of an intelligence report that is very negative about the prospects for Iraq’s future. CNN’s website says, “[The] National Intelligence Estimate was sent to the White House in July with a classified warning predicting the best case for Iraq was ‘tenuous stability’ and the worst case was civil war.” That report, along with the car bombings and kidnappings in Baghdad in the past couple days are being portrayed in the media as more proof of absolute chaos and the intransigence of the insurgency.

From where I sit, at the Operational Headquarters in Baghdad, that just isn’t the case. Let’s lay out some background, first about the “National Intelligence Estimate.” The most glaring issue with its relevance is the fact that it was delivered to the White House in July. That means that the information that was used to derive the intelligence was gathered in the Spring – in the immediate aftermath of the April battle for Fallujah, and other events. The report doesn’t cover what has happened in July or August, let alone September.

The naysayers will point to the recent battles in Najaf and draw parallels between that and what happened in Fallujah in April. They aren’t even close. The bad guys did us a HUGE favor by gathering together in one place and trying to make a stand. It allowed us to focus on them and defeat them. Make no mistake, Al Sadr’s troops were thoroughly smashed. The estimated enemy killed in action is huge. Before the battles, the residents of the city were afraid to walk the streets. Al Sadr’s enforcers would seize people and bring them to his Islamic court where sentence was passed for religious or other violations. Long before the battles people were looking for their lost loved ones who had been taken to “court” and never seen again. Now Najafians can and do walk their streets in safety. Commerce has returned and the city is being rebuilt. Iraqi security forces and US troops are welcomed and smiled upon. That city was liberated again. It was not like Fallujah – the bad guys lost and are in hiding or dead.

You may not have even heard about the city of Samarra. Two weeks ago, that Sunni Triangle city was a “No-go” area for US troops. But guess what? The locals got sick of living in fear from the insurgents and foreign fighters that were there and let them know they weren’t welcome. They stopped hosting them in their houses and the mayor of the town brokered a deal with the US commander to return Iraqi government sovereignty to the city without a fight. The people saw what was on the horizon and decided they didn’t want their city looking like Fallujah in April or Najaf in August.

Boom, boom, just like that two major “hot spots” cool down in rapid succession. Does that mean that those towns are completely pacified? No. What it does mean is that we are learning how to do this the right way. The US commander in Samarra saw an opportunity and took it – probably the biggest victory of his military career and nary a shot was fired in anger. Things will still happen in those cities, and you can be sure that the bad guys really want to take them back. Those achievements, more than anything else in my opinion, account for the surge in violence in recent days – especially the violence directed at Iraqis by the insurgents. Both in Najaf and Samarra ordinary people stepped out and took sides with the Iraqi government against the insurgents, and the bad guys are hopping mad. They are trying to instill fear once again. The worst thing we could do now is pull back and let that scum back into people’s homes and lives.

So, you may hear analysts and prognosticators on CNN, ABC and the like in the next few days talking about how bleak the situation is here in Iraq, but from where I sit, it’s looking significantly better now than when I got here. The momentum is moving in our favor, and all Americans need to know that, so please, please, pass this on to those who care and will pass it on to others. It is very demoralizing for us here in uniform to read & hear such negativity in our press. It is fodder for our enemies to use against us and against the vast majority of Iraqis who want their new government to succeed. It causes the American public to start thinking about the acceptability of “cutting our losses” and pulling out, which would be devastating for Iraq for generations to come, and Muslim militants would claim a huge victory, causing us to have to continue to fight them elsewhere (remember, in war “Away” games are always preferable to “Home” games). Reports like that also cause Iraqis begin to fear that we will pull out before we finish the job, and thus less willing to openly support their interim government and US/Coalition activities. We are realizing significant progress here – not propaganda progress, but real strides are being made. It’s terrible to see our national morale, and support for what we’re doing here, jeopardized by sensationalized stories hyped by media giants whose #1 priority is advertising income followed closely by their political agenda; getting the story straight falls much further down on their priority scale, as Dan Rather and CBS News have so aptly demonstrated in the last week...
_________________
http://directorblue.blogspot.com - click for various missives on the folly of John Kerry's candidacy.

[Sisku Hanne]

This is one of the things that literally causes me nightmares: that the lefties and the media will succeed in doing to our soldiers in Iraq what they did to Viet Nam.
We CANNOT allow them to lose another war at home after our soldiers have one it on the field. It just cannot happen!
I could cry when I think of all the additional lives lost as these terrorist aiders and abbettors do everything they can to politicize and demoralize our soldiers.

[homesteader]

Earlier today I sent in a post that would be appropriate here. It got moved into the Winter Soldier Forum. I'm a novice at this and do not know how to reprint it here. Could someone do that for me.

The previous entries of the thread are axactly what I was talking about. Unity, resolve and power are respected in the Arab World. Progress is made when we use power the way they would if they had it.

[homesteader]

Its in the Kerry Integrity Questioned thread. Thanks

[BB Stacker]

Thanks for the great post directorblue.

The sad and undeniable truth is that there is no way the US Military and Iraqi citizenry can be defeated by radical Islamic terrorists without the willing assistance of U. S. leftists and their liberal media allies. It makes me sick that they would put their personal political power ahead of the best interests of Americans in general, and so many honest Iraqi's who just want to build a peaceful and reasonably free life for themselves.

Everyday Iraqi's have an opportunity to make, for the first time in decades, a better life for themselves. Is their greater enemy the car bombers within their midst or the Bush haters in ours?

[2ndamendsis]

Kimmy, THANX for sharing!
It's great to hear and sad that the public gets so little of this information.

We count on people like you to help in getting the "positive" news out. It's also great to hear that your son is giving
no slack to his sisters at home
Keeps those home fires burning strong.
_________________
PROUD wife of Army ASA Vet - 66-70
mom of Sailor - Gulf 1
daughter of WW11 Army Vet

[no_1_momlandj]

Anyone wanting good news stories from Iraq or a chance to show suuport for our troops by sending care packages or letters should visit this site:

http://kitkat92470.bravejournal.com/entry/5000

Another site:

http://www.anysoldier.us

[Nutso]

I also have my oldest son in Iraq right now. He is in good spirits and is very dedicated to his mission. What I really enjoyed is when he told me that he and many of his fellow soldiers (mostly medics in a psych unit) who are up for re-enlistment soon are waiting til the election is over. The consensus amoung them is that if Kerry should pull off a victory, they are getting out. They are afraid to serve under him.

[MotherGoose]

Nutso,,,,my son said the SAME exact thing. They're pressuring him now to reenlist, but he won't, until after the election.

BTW, he's in Sadr City...at Camp War Eagle. They call it Camp Dirty Bird!

[ArmyMedicsMom]

This is an excerpt from an email I recieved from a soldier in Afghanistan who I offered to send a copy of "Unfit For Command"....

"If you want to know at this point what you can do for me, not allowing Kerry into office is the greatest thing you can do for all soldiers, past, present and future. That is the biggest thing you can do for me. I have done more listening to debates this year in the presidential election, even though I have always been in the military since I was allowed to vote. We somehow need to impress this upon the civilians out there that vote democrat just because. You want your taxes raised, vote for Kerry. You want someone that is wishy washy in their decision making, vote for Kerry. I was listening to a debate, per say, that involved 2 war veterans. A guy that is head of the California Republican Veterans association, and a guy that was head of some organization in support of Kerry. The Republican guy made a good point. Kerry will be talking and say something like "we need to end this war and bring the troops home", but then turn around in the same sentence and say "We need to buy more protective vests and other protective equipment for soldiers, to decrease the injuries and deaths." 2 contradicting statements. My biggest concern is that Kerry is going to extend our deployment because it costs too much to rotate troops out. Most of the people that are against Bush don't understand what he has done for the people of these countries over here. If it weren't for his leadership in decision making, Saddam Hussein would still be free. That is more than Clinton did in 8 years. Enough said. I know I am preaching to the choir. Go ahead and send that book over. I will let the troops over here enjoy it. I will add it to the library. Thanks for what you are doing as well."

Also my son who was in Iraq and may be going back in a few monthes, has just signed up for an additional 14 monthes service beyond the 2 years he has left to serve. He is hoping that Kerry loses.