Check this Out (A Marine's Letter from Iraq) (1853 hits)
Category: Politics -> IraqLabels: ets_sociopolitical_commentary
Rating: 1.6 on 69 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by electrictoothsyndrome (View user info) at 2006-10-08 18:16:40 EDT
A well-written letter from an Iraqi Marine to his family. It is a candid and eye-opening read. I'm reposting here for educational purposes under the claim of fair use. It was published originally here: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1543658-3,00.html
I urge everyone to read it, American or otherwise. It's even got midgets! Not just any midgets either...Iraqi insurgent midgets!
Then when you're done with the soldier's letter, come back up here and watch another video of Keith Olbermann taking Bush to fucking school on national TV! BEAUTIFUL! SIMPLY MARVELOUS! http://www.jonesreport.com/articles/061006_olbermann.html
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SECRET LETTER FROM IRAQ
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All: I haven't written very much from Iraq. There's really not much to write about. More exactly, there's not much I can write about because practically everything I do, read or hear is classified military information or is depressing to the point that I'd rather just forget about it, never mind write about it. The gaps in between all of that are filled with the pure tedium of daily life in an armed camp. So it's a bit of a struggle to think of anything to put into a letter that's worth reading. Worse, this place just consumes you. I work 18-20-hour days, every day. The quest to draw a clear picture of what the insurgents are up to never ends. Problems and frictions crop up faster than solutions. Every challenge demands a response. It's like this every day. Before I know it, I can't see straight, because it's 0400 and I've been at work for 20 hours straight, somehow missing dinner again in the process. And once again I haven't written to anyone. It starts all over again four hours later. It's not really like Ground Hog Day, it's more like a level from Dante's Inferno.
Rather than attempting to sum up the last seven months, I figured I'd just hit the record-setting highlights of 2006 in Iraq. These are among the events and experiences I'll remember best.
Worst Case of Déjà Vu — I thought I was familiar with the feeling of déjà vu until I arrived back here in Fallujah in February. The moment I stepped off of the helicopter, just as dawn broke, and saw the camp just as I had left it ten months before — that was déjà vu. Kind of unnerving. It was as if I had never left. Same work area, same busted desk, same chair, same computer, same room, same creaky rack, same... everything. Same everything for the next year. It was like entering a parallel universe. Home wasn't 10,000 miles away, it was a different lifetime.
Most Surreal Moment — Watching Marines arrive at my detention facility and unload a truck load of flex-cuffed midgets. 26 to be exact. We had put the word out earlier in the day to the Marines in Fallujah that we were looking for Bad Guy X, who was described as a midget. Little did I know that Fallujah was home to a small community of midgets, who banded together for support since they were considered as social outcasts. The Marines were anxious to get back to the midget colony to bring in the rest of the midget suspects, but I called off the search, figuring Bad Guy X was long gone on his short legs after seeing his companions rounded up by the giant infidels.
Most Profound Man in Iraq — an unidentified farmer in a fairly remote area who, after being asked by Reconnaissance Marines if he had seen any foreign fighters in the area replied "Yes, you."
Worst City in al-Anbar Province — Ramadi, hands down. The provincial capital of 400,000 people. Lots and lots of insurgents killed in there since we arrived in February. Every day is a nasty gun battle. They blast us with giant bombs in the road, snipers, mortars and small arms. We blast them with tanks, attack helicopters, artillery, our snipers (much better than theirs), and every weapon that an infantryman can carry. Every day. Incredibly, I rarely see Ramadi in the news. We have as many attacks out here in the west as Baghdad. Yet, Baghdad has 7 million people, we have just 1.2 million. Per capita, al-Anbar province is the most violent place in Iraq by several orders of magnitude. I suppose it was no accident that the Marines were assigned this area in 2003.
Bravest Guy in al-Anbar Province — Any Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician (EOD Tech). How'd you like a job that required you to defuse bombs in a hole in the middle of the road that very likely are booby-trapped or connected by wire to a bad guy who's just waiting for you to get close to the bomb before he clicks the detonator? Every day. Sanitation workers in New York City get paid more than these guys. Talk about courage and commitment.
Second Bravest Guy in al-Anbar Province — It's a 20,000-way tie among all these Marines and Soldiers who venture out on the highways and through the towns of al-Anbar every day, not knowing if it will be their last — and for a couple of them, it will be.
Worst E-Mail Message — "The Walking Blood Bank is Activated. We need blood type A+ stat." I always head down to the surgical unit as soon as I get these messages, but I never give blood — there's always about 80 Marines in line, night or day.
Biggest Surprise — Iraqi Police. All local guys. I never figured that we'd get a police force established in the cities in al-Anbar. I estimated that insurgents would kill the first few, scaring off the rest. Well, insurgents did kill the first few, but the cops kept on coming. The insurgents continue to target the police, killing them in their homes and on the streets, but the cops won't give up. Absolutely incredible tenacity. The insurgents know that the police are far better at finding them than we are — and they are finding them. Now, if we could just get them out of the habit of beating prisoners to a pulp...
Greatest Vindication — Stocking up on outrageous quantities of Diet Coke from the chow hall in spite of the derision from my men on such hoarding, then having a 122mm rocket blast apart the giant shipping container that held all of the soda for the chow hall. Yep, you can't buy experience.
Biggest Mystery — How some people can gain weight out here. I'm down to 165 lbs. Who has time to eat?
Second Biggest Mystery — if there's no atheists in foxholes, then why aren't there more people at Mass every Sunday?
Favorite Iraqi TV Show — Oprah. I have no idea. They all have satellite TV.
Coolest Insurgent Act — Stealing almost $7 million from the main bank in Ramadi in broad daylight, then, upon exiting, waving to the Marines in the combat outpost right next to the bank, who had no clue of what was going on. The Marines waved back. Too cool.
Most Memorable Scene — In the middle of the night, on a dusty airfield, watching the better part of a battalion of Marines packed up and ready to go home after over six months in al-Anbar, the relief etched in their young faces even in the moonlight. Then watching these same Marines exchange glances with a similar number of grunts loaded down with gear file past — their replacements. Nothing was said. Nothing needed to be said.
Highest Unit Re-enlistment Rate — Any outfit that has been in Iraq recently. All the danger, all the hardship, all the time away from home, all the horror, all the frustrations with the fight here — all are outweighed by the desire for young men to be part of a band of brothers who will die for one another. They found what they were looking for when they enlisted out of high school. Man for man, they now have more combat experience than any Marines in the history of our Corps.
Most Surprising Thing I Don't Miss — Beer. Perhaps being half-stunned by lack of sleep makes up for it.
Worst Smell — Porta-johns in 120-degree heat — and that's 120 degrees outside of the porta-john.
Highest Temperature — I don't know exactly, but it was in the porta-johns. Needed to re-hydrate after each trip to the loo.
Biggest Hassle — High-ranking visitors. More disruptive to work than a rocket attack. VIPs demand briefs and "battlefield" tours (we take them to quiet sections of Fallujah, which is plenty scary for them). Our briefs and commentary seem to have no effect on their preconceived notions of what's going on in Iraq. Their trips allow them to say that they've been to Fallujah, which gives them an unfortunate degree of credibility in perpetuating their fantasies about the insurgency here.
Biggest Outrage — Practically anything said by talking heads on TV about the war in Iraq, not that I get to watch much TV. Their thoughts are consistently both grossly simplistic and politically slanted. Biggest Offender: Bill O'Reilly.
Best Intel Work — Finding Jill Carroll's kidnappers — all of them. I was mighty proud of my guys that day. I figured we'd all get the Christian Science Monitor for free after this, but none have showed up yet.
Saddest Moment — Having an infantry battalion commander hand me the dog tags of one of my Marines who had just been killed while on a mission with his unit. Hit by a 60mm mortar. He was a great Marine. I felt crushed for a long time afterward. His picture now hangs at the entrance to our section area. We'll carry it home with us when we leave in February.
Best Chuck Norris Moment — 13 May. Bad Guys arrived at the government center in a small town to kidnap the mayor, since they have a problem with any form of government that does not include regular beheadings and women wearing burqahs. There were seven of them. As they brought the mayor out to put him in a pick-up truck to take him off to be beheaded (on video, as usual), one of the Bad Guys put down his machine gun so that he could tie the mayor's hands. The mayor took the opportunity to pick up the machine gun and drill five of the Bad Guys. The other two ran away. One of the dead Bad Guys was on our top twenty wanted list. Like they say, you can't fight City Hall.
Worst Sound — That crack-boom off in the distance that means an IED or mine just went off. You just wonder who got it, hoping that it was a near miss rather than a direct hit. Hear it practically every day.
Second Worst Sound — Our artillery firing without warning. The howitzers are pretty close to where I work. Believe me, outgoing sounds a lot like incoming when our guns are firing right over our heads. They'd about knock the fillings out of your teeth.
Only Thing Better in Iraq Than in the U.S. — Sunsets. Spectacular. It's from all the dust in the air.
Proudest Moment — It's a tie every day, watching our Marines produce phenomenal intelligence products that go pretty far in teasing apart Bad Guy operations in al-Anbar. Every night Marines and Soldiers are kicking in doors and grabbing Bad Guys based on intelligence developed by our guys. We rarely lose a Marine during these raids, they are so well-informed of the objective. A bunch of kids right out of high school shouldn't be able to work so well, but they do.
Happiest Moment — Well, it wasn't in Iraq. There are no truly happy moments here. It was back in California when I was able to hold my family again while home on leave during July.
Most Common Thought — Home. Always thinking of home, of my great wife and the kids. Wondering how everyone else is getting along. Regretting that I don't write more. Yep, always thinking of home.
I hope you all are doing well. If you want to do something for me, kiss a cop, flush a toilet, and drink a beer. I'll try to write again before too long — I promise.
User Reviews
Submitted by DesolateMisanthrope (user info) at 2007-02-24 10:13:27 EST (#)
Ranking: -2
I could not care any less for an idiot that knowingly causes another person harm (directly or indirectly) when they have done nothing to precipitate it. He thinks what he is doing is "cool, or some out of this world video game and writes as though what he is doing is some kind of prank joke, but he will someday, realise the enormity of his transgressions, and by then it will have been too late. Take that letter and print it on copying paper, then compress the paper into a tiny ball to the best of your ability, finally chew and swallow the paper. Now try to redeem the value of that paper and you might understand what I am saying here.
Submitted by Hypatia86 (user info) at 2006-10-11 15:33:52 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
really good.... nice to hear something from the people that are actually over there. Not just some asshole on tv telling you what the que cards say.
Submitted by Flack (user info) at 2006-10-10 15:24:38 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Brings back memories. Fallujah was such a shit hole when I was there and I can't imagine it being any different now.
Midget insurgents? Why couldn't I see any of that shit whe I was over there. That woulda made for a helluva story while Drinking at the American Legion.
Submitted by electrictoothsyndrome (user info) at 2006-10-09 20:30:03 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by domenad (user info) at 2006-10-09 19:42:05 (#)
Ranking: -2
Submitted by electrictoothsyndrome (user info) at 2006-10-08 20:49:37 (#)
Ranking: 0
It doesn't matter how much you believe in it, dude. I don't.
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By now, you should know that I don't give a gold fuck what you think Bradley.
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The feeling is mutual.
Submitted by Arizhel (user info) at 2006-10-09 19:51:12 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
This was a great read. Thanks for sharing it. I've got a younger brother over there myself.
And Jesus, did the mayor story ever amuse the hell out of me. That rocks.
Submitted by domenad (user info) at 2006-10-09 19:42:05 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
Submitted by electrictoothsyndrome (user info) at 2006-10-08 20:49:37 (#)
Ranking: 0
It doesn't matter how much you believe in it, dude. I don't.
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By now, you should know that I don't give a gold fuck what you think Bradley.
Submitted by electrictoothsyndrome (user info) at 2006-10-09 19:03:04 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Jesus, Wardy, why do you even try?
Submitted by wardy (user info) at 2006-10-09 17:39:36 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
holy shit! and you wouldn't believe what the fucking men in the american revolution went through! fighting on christmas and all...
Submitted by DrSeussman (user info) at 2006-10-09 17:10:22 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Great read ETS thanks for sharing. My little brother is over there now.
Submitted by electrictoothsyndrome (user info) at 2006-10-09 14:57:29 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
How so, Jonny?
How does seeing the motives and lies behind this war put me anywhere NEAR the category of fucking Bill O'Reilly, who goes out of his way nightly to defend the war and obfuscate our reasons for being there?
The fact is, there IS an objective truth beneath all this. This isn't one of those situations where the truth is grey. Either this president lied to get the American people behind this war or he didn't. There are no two ways about it.
People do things with a MOTIVE. They don't just do things arbitrarily. Governments are no different.
The reasons stated for going into Iraq have not only been shown to be utterly false again and again, but serious allegation of deliberate twisting of the intelligence by the Bush administration have surfaced in NUMEROUS PLACES.
When all fingers point in a certain direction, at some point you have to ask yourself how you can believe any different.
Saddam Hussein didn't have WMD. -
We lied and said he did even though we knew better. And even if he HAD had WMD, they would have been weapons WE sold him! The "yellow cake" claims were utter and complete bullshit. The CIA told the president that and he ignored them, putting the claim in his State of the Union speech anyway.
Why? -
We could be here all fucking day on the "whys". Hussein threatened OPEC by driving down the price of oil. It's no wonder Saudi Arabia jumps to help us every chance they get, just so long as we're taking out the competition and allowing them to jack up prices to whatever degree they deem necessary. This helps both OPEC and big oil, who lobbies hard in Washington for these kinds of deals. Saddam was demaning Euros for his oil instead of dollars. This was a clear challenge to the hegemony of the United States, and challenged long-standing arrangements that have been responsible for the buildup and maintaining of the American Empire the past 100 years. Iraq is a strategic location for building 14 permanent military bases for possible future assaults on Iran or the Balkans, which collectively have far more oil than Saudi Arabia. Most troubling of all is the motive of the MIC, "military industrial complex". How much is a 10-year war worth in terms of government no-bid contracts? How much is an ounce of American or Iraqi blood worth? Maybe you should ask the CEOs of Halliburton, Brown and Root, The Carlyle Group, and Lockheed Martin. Ask the people who attend the annual Bilderburg meetings how much the war is ultimately going to be worth to western capitalism. Ask them if they give a FUCK about the people of Iraq or the outside threat of terrorism. Ask them if any of them are responsible for world policy. Then ask them who they answer to. Ask them who benefits.
Cui bono?
No, sir, there is a VAST fucking difference between myself and Mr. O'Reilly. I ask real questions that none of you can seem to answer without scoffing at me or calling me a 'conspiracy theorist'. Mr. O'Reilly sells his soul nightly on national TV by intentionally misleading the American public.
That's no a point of view, merely. That is the truth.
Submitted by JonnyX (user info) at 2006-10-09 14:16:23 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
Submitted by electrictoothsyndrome (user info) at 2006-10-08 23:56:07 (#)
Ranking: 0
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It doesn't matter how much you believe in it, dude. I don't.
This was a play for power and money...oil and war machines...territory and strategy... This has nothing to do with 9/11 or fighting evil or democracy or equality for people of all races and creeds.
This war and the reasons presented to justify it stand on a grand lie - a lie that has crumbled and re-crumbled to the consistency of powder while fat men in $5000 suits stand around and talk about how to divvy up the spoils.
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just keeping telling yourself that Brad - don't let anyone tell you otherwise!
You realize of course Bradley, you're just another one of the herd with blinkers on, shuffling on...you're no better than Bill O'Reilly.
Submitted by electrictoothsyndrome (user info) at 2006-10-09 14:06:16 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Letter to Keith Olbermann:
Dear Mr. Olbermann,
The level of appreciation I feel for what you're doing in your daily
commentary is immense. Your open questioning of 9/11, however watered
down for the masses, is much welcomed and long overdue in American
mainstream media.
Your arguments condemning the Bush administration - an administration
whose aims seem to include espousing an openly imperialistic foreign
policy and, with the help of a rubber stamp Congress, unabashedly
rolling back human rights to pre-Magna Carta days of the middle ages -
are pointed and difficult for any reasonably intelligent person to
deny.
It is my sincerest hope that more journalists will be inspired by your
work and your voice and will finally begin to speak out in force
against the tyranny and lies of the post-9/11 political landscape -
against this faux "War on Terror" and the erosion of civil liberties
in the name of security.
If nothing else, I hope that more journalists begin to understand that
journalism is not only a vocation, it is a very great responsibility.
Being a journalist means being on the front lines of the never-ending
battle against those that would overreach their power and turn our
beloved Republic, which is supposed to be "by the people and for the
people", into an oligarchic nightmare of Orwellian proportions.
This is not a joke. This is not the runaway imagination of a few crazy
conspiracy theorists. This is reality. When power goes unquestioned
and unpruned by healthy criticism it grows into a frightful beast.
It is the kind of beast that steals elections. It is the kind of beast
that makes signing statements indicating no intention to follow the
laws of Congress, which is effectively refusing to follow the will of
the people. It is the kind of beast that pushes for suspension of
habeas corpus, and eventually, like a frog in the proverbial boiling
water, slowly erodes the Bill of Rights to the point of obscurity.
It is worth remembering that the Nazi party rose to power in the
1930s, not by conquering the people physically, but by breaking down
their system of constitutional law one act and one bill at a time. And
no matter how unsavory such a comparison might be for the typical
American, it is far more dangerous to turn a blind eye to the
goings-on of our government and trust that they would not do the same
if given the chance.
In closing, I commend you, sir, for your willingness to stand out on
the front lines and blow the clarion of integrity. I commend your
bosses and any of those who have allowed you this forum to speak the
truth to the masses and even to power itself. I can only pray that
the call is answered and change comes soon. And while I might lament
what the future could bring, I know that, in the end, right will
prevail and the truth will set us free.
Keep up the good work,
Brad Linzy
Evansville, Indiana
Submitted by Poots (user info) at 2006-10-09 11:35:24 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I did it all for you ETS. The pain. The sex.
Submitted by shark25 (user info) at 2006-10-09 11:13:14 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Damn
Submitted by morontian (user info) at 2006-10-09 11:05:48 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
nice.
Submitted by Beano312003 (user info) at 2006-10-09 10:18:18 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
Video was awsome also.
Submitted by inion_de_trua (user info) at 2006-10-09 10:13:11 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
loo? maybe it's pieced together from something, but i doubt a us marine would say loo. there isn't enough swearing in this either. all the soldier letters i've seen include at least the word "hell" if they're being polite. actual correspondence and not just porn requests tend to include a lot of "fuck" as well.
Submitted by Davros (user info) at 2006-10-09 09:48:21 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Pentameter (user info) at 2006-10-09 09:36:33 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by nya_nyo (user info) at 2006-10-09 09:27:26 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
bravo
Submitted by CaptainThorns (user info) at 2006-10-09 09:17:44 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Excellent read.
Submitted by apollo88 (user info) at 2006-10-09 09:07:43 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by paint_it_black (user info) at 2006-10-09 02:45:52 (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by apollo88 (user info) at 2006-10-09 00:11:15 (#)
Ranking: 0
fake.
no US marine would use the word 'loo' for toilet.
That is a term reserved for use by british women/girly men.
good writing though.
_________
fuck you are smart! you t0ttaly exposed time magazine because they used one word that you don't think belongs in a marines vocabulary!
hmmm maybe you should create a jay pig style sh1tty alter alert for your hi spec investigations, faggot. """
are you new?
Submitted by BadAssJulie (user info) at 2006-10-09 08:57:15 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by badassmofo (user info) at 2006-10-09 08:15:38 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
it often amazes me at the backlash people get here when they say 'support the soldier, not the war'
Submitted by skrapmetal (user info) at 2006-10-09 07:17:06 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
Not sure why it's "secret", unless you count the "Bad Guy X" as some sort of clue. But it does read well.
... and as far as Americans using Brit vernacular, I've been known to ask where the "bog roll" has gotten to. Why is so much British slang dedicated to the toilet, by the way?
Submitted by paint_it_black (user info) at 2006-10-09 02:45:52 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by apollo88 (user info) at 2006-10-09 00:11:15 (#)
Ranking: 0
fake.
no US marine would use the word 'loo' for toilet.
That is a term reserved for use by british women/girly men.
good writing though.
_________
fuck you are smart! you t0ttaly exposed time magazine because they used one word that you don't think belongs in a marines vocabulary!
hmmm maybe you should create a jay pig style sh1tty alter alert for your hi spec investigations, faggot.
Submitted by electrictoothsyndrome (user info) at 2006-10-09 00:12:30 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
I'd say Time magazine might check the source. Just a guess. Of course, I would have thought the same of Popular Mechanics at one time, so there ya go...
Submitted by apollo88 (user info) at 2006-10-09 00:11:15 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
fake.
no US marine would use the word 'loo' for toilet.
That is a term reserved for use by british women/girly men.
good writing though.
Submitted by electrictoothsyndrome (user info) at 2006-10-08 23:56:07 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by domenad (user info) at 2006-10-08 21:46:31 (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by electrictoothsyndrome (user info) at 2006-10-08 20:49:37 (#)
Ranking: 0
He challenged me, a person dead set against the war, and I think he will also challenge the most fervent flag-waving Bush defenders. That's sayin' something
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My father was in Vietnam, Bradley. He has never, since I can remember, woken up from sleep normally. Rather, he explodes from sleep to instant wakefulness in the blink of a moment. I know in the instant that his eyes focus from the light, he is not looking for his family, he is looking for the enemy, men that want to kill him. The whole 'you have no idea what it's like' mantra is simply not applicable - I've been seeing what war has done to a person I love for almost three decades. That's how strongly I believe in what we're doing over there. But take heart. You have convinced me, however accidentally, to change my views on the death penalty.
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It doesn't matter how much you believe in it, dude. I don't.
This was a play for power and money...oil and war machines...territory and strategy... This has nothing to do with 9/11 or fighting evil or democracy or equality for people of all races and creeds.
This war and the reasons presented to justify it stand on a grand lie - a lie that has crumbled and re-crumbled to the consistency of powder while fat men in $5000 suits stand around and talk about how to divvy up the spoils.
The service men and women want to, nay HAVE TO, believe in the lie, even as it continually changes in front of them.
At this juncture in time, three and a half years on in this war against a dictator that was once beloved and abetted by our government, in a country whose main 'instability' was in drving down the price of oil, NOT in manufacturing WMD, I can only pray that some good can come of this.
Your dad, if nothing else, should serve as a living reminder to you, Anthony, how much damage an unjust war for profit can bring.
Submitted by Shaun_Rocks (user info) at 2006-10-08 22:49:57 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Fairly often, I talk out of my ass and people seem to believe what I say. So for a person like me who makes those kinds of comments...I just don't think I should say anything here.
Yeah, I realize I'm commenting on how I shouldn't be commenting. Whatever.
Respect
Submitted by Axolotl (user info) at 2006-10-08 22:36:58 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Pretty cool.
A friend of mine is leaving in three days for his second tour in Iraq, and he still has nightmares from his first. He got back in April from Tikrit, and it's a bit quieter up there, but he still said it was hell. Car bombs going off, friends of his killing themselves...
Submitted by paint_it_black (user info) at 2006-10-08 22:17:24 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by domenad (user info) at 2006-10-08 21:46:31 (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by electrictoothsyndrome (user info) at 2006-10-08 20:49:37 (#)
Ranking: 0
He challenged me, a person dead set against the war, and I think he will also challenge the most fervent flag-waving Bush defenders. That's sayin' something
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My father was in Vietnam, Bradley. He has never, since I can remember, woken up from sleep normally. Rather, he explodes from sleep to instant wakefulness in the blink of a moment. I know in the instant that his eyes focus from the light, he is not looking for his family, he is looking for the enemy, men that want to kill him. The whole 'you have no idea what it's like' mantra is simply not applicable - I've been seeing what war has done to a person I love for almost three decades. That's how strongly I believe in what we're doing over there. But take heart. You have convinced me, however accidentally, to change my views on the death penalty.
__________
I hope you know what you're talking about domenad, because no one else fucking does.
wtf are you 'we' doing over there exactly?
Submitted by domenad (user info) at 2006-10-08 21:46:31 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by electrictoothsyndrome (user info) at 2006-10-08 20:49:37 (#)
Ranking: 0
He challenged me, a person dead set against the war, and I think he will also challenge the most fervent flag-waving Bush defenders. That's sayin' something
------------
My father was in Vietnam, Bradley. He has never, since I can remember, woken up from sleep normally. Rather, he explodes from sleep to instant wakefulness in the blink of a moment. I know in the instant that his eyes focus from the light, he is not looking for his family, he is looking for the enemy, men that want to kill him. The whole 'you have no idea what it's like' mantra is simply not applicable - I've been seeing what war has done to a person I love for almost three decades. That's how strongly I believe in what we're doing over there. But take heart. You have convinced me, however accidentally, to change my views on the death penalty.
Submitted by thorpe (user info) at 2006-10-08 21:33:27 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
Submitted by kybernetikum (user info) at 2006-10-08 20:02:38 (#)
Ranking: -2
War propaganda -2
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Pretty stupid war propaganda, from either side.
Submitted by kaos-king (user info) at 2006-10-08 21:32:28 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Dude, this was awesome.
Thanks for posting it so we could read it.
The thing about the Mayor and the midgets... WTF!?!?!?
Submitted by forthewin (user info) at 2006-10-08 21:07:38 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by AsshOly (user info) at 2006-10-08 21:01:54 (#)
Ranking: 1
Submitted by Stagger_Lee (user info) at 2006-10-08 20:57:41 (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by electrictoothsyndrome (user info) at 2006-10-08 20:55:37 (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by kybernetikum (user info) at 2006-10-08 20:02:38 (#)
Ranking: -2
War propaganda -2
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Honestly...did you read this?
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Yeah...I'm not sure how this was war propaganda.
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Or how anybody could ever accuse ETS of supporting our government.
________________
LOL!
Submitted by AsshOly (user info) at 2006-10-08 21:01:54 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
Submitted by Stagger_Lee (user info) at 2006-10-08 20:57:41 (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by electrictoothsyndrome (user info) at 2006-10-08 20:55:37 (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by kybernetikum (user info) at 2006-10-08 20:02:38 (#)
Ranking: -2
War propaganda -2
-------------------
Honestly...did you read this?
----------
Yeah...I'm not sure how this was war propaganda.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Or how anybody could ever accuse ETS of supporting our government.
Submitted by Stagger_Lee (user info) at 2006-10-08 20:57:41 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by electrictoothsyndrome (user info) at 2006-10-08 20:55:37 (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by kybernetikum (user info) at 2006-10-08 20:02:38 (#)
Ranking: -2
War propaganda -2
-------------------
Honestly...did you read this?
----------
Yeah...I'm not sure how this was war propaganda.
Submitted by retrospect (user info) at 2006-10-08 20:56:19 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
that was fun to read
Submitted by electrictoothsyndrome (user info) at 2006-10-08 20:55:37 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by kybernetikum (user info) at 2006-10-08 20:02:38 (#)
Ranking: -2
War propaganda -2
-------------------
Honestly...did you read this?
Submitted by electrictoothsyndrome (user info) at 2006-10-08 20:49:37 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by domenad (user info) at 2006-10-08 19:54:54 (#)
Ranking: 1
INteresting. Really not trying to be a dick, but this wasn't written by you, so a +1 is all I can give you.
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No, I agree with this. I would have done the same thing. I try to applaud originality too by reserving +2s.
You know why I posted this, Anthony? Because, if nothing else, this is a soldier I can get behind and sympathise with.
It's people like this who call it like they see it rather than gild over everything in the interest of politics or a misguided sense of 'honor' that I respect. This soldier didn't get into a discourse on whether or not we should be there; he was just writing a letter to his family.
He just talked about his little corner of the Iraq, the part he knew well, and in doing so he gave us a crystallized glimpse of the realities of the situation, the situation that lies BEYOND the evening news.
He challenged me, a person dead set against the war, and I think he will also challenge the most fervent flag-waving Bush defenders. That's sayin' something.
Submitted by DCWoody (user info) at 2006-10-08 20:43:00 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
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Submitted by domenad (user info) at 2006-10-08 19:54:54 (#)
Ranking: 1
INteresting. Really not trying to be a dick, but this wasn't written by you, so a +1 is all I can give you.
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Gee I hope no one figures out that none of the pictures I put on here are taken by me.
Submitted by recall (user info) at 2006-10-08 20:41:16 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Stagger_Lee (user info) at 2006-10-08 20:14:31 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by HotWillie (user info) at 2006-10-08 20:12:03 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by d_prime (user info) at 2006-10-08 20:10:03 EDT (#)
Ranking: -1
Er...
Submitted by Chroniclysm (user info) at 2006-10-08 20:06:49 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by forthewin (user info) at 2006-10-08 20:04:01 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Yeah, true that he didn't write this, but there's a mental formula we all use where the appreciation of the content of the post is measured against the urge to negative rate unoriginal content.
Submitted by kybernetikum (user info) at 2006-10-08 20:02:38 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
War propaganda -2
Submitted by rob_berg (user info) at 2006-10-08 19:55:32 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by domenad (user info) at 2006-10-08 19:54:54 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
INteresting. Really not trying to be a dick, but this wasn't written by you, so a +1 is all I can give you.
Submitted by AsshOly (user info) at 2006-10-08 19:45:42 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Loved this.
Submitted by DCWoody (user info) at 2006-10-08 19:24:44 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I dunno whether I like that farmer or the mayor better
Submitted by maiorano84 (user info) at 2006-10-08 19:18:12 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Very cool.
Submitted by Serious_Melvin (user info) at 2006-10-08 19:06:12 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Snark (user info) at 2006-10-08 18:55:49 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Maltese (user info) at 2006-10-08 18:53:00 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
w00t
Submitted by Bubba2341 (user info) at 2006-10-08 18:52:23 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Something this well-written would take UM IV by storm.
Thanks, ETS, for putting this out there.
Submitted by darko (user info) at 2006-10-08 18:51:28 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by HurtByTheSun (user info) at 2006-10-08 18:41:15 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Interesting, touching and occasionally funny read.
Submitted by Sacrilicious (user info) at 2006-10-08 18:38:51 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Word.
Submitted by Cracked_out_cali (user info) at 2006-10-08 18:35:49 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by forthewin (user info) at 2006-10-08 18:33:54 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Can't argue with someone that's there.
Submitted by Caulaincourt (user info) at 2006-10-08 18:33:42 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
the mayor story was hilarious
Submitted by LSD420 (user info) at 2006-10-08 18:31:24 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
+2 just cause.
Submitted by GodChicken (user info) at 2006-10-08 18:28:03 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
My name is GodChicken, and I approve of this message.
=========
Incidentally, I could tell you almost exactly what unit and section this author works for.
Also coincidentally, I was about a block away from that May 13 incident in Ramadi with the Mayor.
Submitted by electrictoothsyndrome (user info) at 2006-10-08 18:20:51 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Biggest Outrage — Practically anything said by talking heads on TV about the war in Iraq, not that I get to watch much TV. Their thoughts are consistently both grossly simplistic and politically slanted. Biggest Offender: Bill O'Reilly.
Submitted by electrictoothsyndrome (user info) at 2006-10-08 18:20:19 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Biggest Hassle — High-ranking visitors. More disruptive to work than a rocket attack. VIPs demand briefs and "battlefield" tours (we take them to quiet sections of Fallujah, which is plenty scary for them). Our briefs and commentary seem to have no effect on their preconceived notions of what's going on in Iraq. Their trips allow them to say that they've been to Fallujah, which gives them an unfortunate degree of credibility in perpetuating their fantasies about the insurgency here.
Submitted by electrictoothsyndrome (user info) at 2006-10-08 18:17:17 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
I misspoke. He's obviously NOT an Iraqi Marine. He's a US Marine in Iraq. My bad.