Two soldiers' views in Iraq:

All right. These men have put their views of how it is for them in their blogs. They're very different takes on the situation with themselves and with Iraq....and very much worth reading.

http://bootsinbaghdad.blogspot.com

Wednesday, August 17, 2005

an abundance of American ignorance

You can expect some negative comments on Boots In Baghdad. I stumbled across WhyWeHateBush. So, I went there and wrote this:

you are all incredibly stupid Wow, I don't even know where to start. I suppose I should start with Iraq, because I am here right now. So you say Saddam had no WMD's? Perhaps you should ask the hundreds of thousands of Iranians, Kuwaitis, Kurds and Iraqis that suffered their wrath. So you say that Saddam Hussein didn't have links to terrorism? We have arrested dozens and dozens of members of Al Queida members in Iraq, not to mention the foreign fighters coming in from Afghanistan, Iran, Syria and Jordan all linked to various terror cells. If any of you really cared about what was happening in Iraq you would attempt to educate yourselves a little bit.

Since the invasion the U.S. and other members of the coalition have helped accomplish the following: Build over 3,000 schools, now there are over 20,000 schools up and running with over 6,000,000 students being taught by over 300,000 teachers. We have given life saving vaccinations to over 3,000,000 children. Over 26,000 Iraqi businesses have been started. The Iraqi people have received over $25 billion dollars in oil revenues. Over 1,000 construction projects have been completed and 2,500 projects are underway. There are over 76,000 soldiers in the new Iraqi Army, another 12,000 in training. There are over 92,000 Iraqi Police Officers on the streets with 3,500 coming out of training every day. Iraq's stock exchange has been up and running for over a year. Not to mention a ruthless tyrant has been jailed and a nation liberated.

I am an American Soldier. I dropped out of college and volunteered to come to Iraq. I have been here for eleven months. I can say without any doubt in my mind that I have accomplished great things this year. I have touched many lives and made a difference. I have defended the people of Baghdad (who want us here) from terrorists that want more than anything for the U.S. to leave prematurely so that democracy fails in Iraq. I have visited hundreds and hundreds of schools and hospitals and given them supplies and medications. I have trained and worked side by side with the brave soldiers of the Iraqi Army. I, with my friends in the U.S. Armed Forces have accomplished great things in Iraq for the people of Iraq.

More importantly, we have been defending your freedoms. We have been sacrificing so that you can sit and insult us without consequence. So enjoy it. Because I can tell you first hand it isn't free.Unfortunately, the majority of my generation shares the ignorant sentiments represented at WhyWeHateBush. I started this web page specifically for them. They, however, are too busy talking to listen.

http://misoldierthoughts.blogspot.com

Lessons Learned

What a place Iraq is. You go to bed to the sound of .50 caliber machine gun fire and wake up to 120 degree F (or hotter) temperatures. You get bombed and shot at and you carry a gun and body armor. You get to shoot and kill people too.In Iraq I found out many things. I learned what pieces of glistening bone look like when they are still fresh. I found out what the inside of a brain looks like, and how much blood leaks out of dead human beings. There are other things too that I have learned over here, like what Depleted Uranium rounds look like and what a person smells like when they have burned to death. I learned a lot about death here, like all the different ways bullets can rip through a person and turn them into so much meat.

One lesson that I still remember like it was yesterday was what a dead child looks like when they have been shot in the head.

I learned that you can cry until tears won't come anymore and I learned what poverty really is. I also found out here in Iraq that I know how to make people die, and I learned what true desperation is.You won't find these lessons in the school house. Most people won't even learn these things through life experiences. I wonder if they count for anything? I wish that I learned these lessons so that my son and daughter would never have to, but my father hoped for that same thing back in Vietnam and my grandfather had similar wishes while serving in World War II.

These lessons and more I learned in Iraq. A fellow soldier told me the other day, "show me a terrorist nowadays that we didn't help create here in Iraq." Perhaps you think we are making lives better here? Maybe you haven't seen the same things I have.Welcome to the Iraq School of Hard Knocks where you can learn a lesson in futility. All these lessons I have learned... I just haven't learned how to stop the nightmares.
Wrap...