My cousin that is over in Irag sent me this letter from one of his crew

A Major in Irag CORRECTS The Media Hype ( The Real Scoop)

Date: Fri, 20 Jun 2003

Subject: Iraq dilemma

OPEN LETTER TO FIRST LUTHERAN CHURCH OF RICHMOND BEACH

It has been a while since I have written to my friends at First Lutheran Church about what's really going on here in Iraq. The news you watch on TV is exaggerated, sensationalized and selective. Good news doesn't sell.

The stuff you don't hear about? Let's start with Electrical Power production in Iraq. The day after the war was declared over, there was nearly 0 power being generated in Iraq. 45 days later, in a partnership between the Army, the Iraqi people and some private companies, there are now 3200 mega watts (Mw) of power being produced daily, 1/3 of the total national potential of 8000 Mw. Downed power lines (big stuff, 400 Kilovolt (Kv) and 132 Kv) are being repaired and are about 70% complete.

Then there is water purification. In central Iraq between Baghdad and Mosul, home of the 4th Infantry Division, Water treatment was spotty at best. The facilities existed, but the controls were never implemented. Simple chemicals like Chlorine for purification and Alum (Aluminum Sulfate) for sediment settling (The Tigris River is about as clear as the Mississippi River) were in short supply or not used at all and when chlorine was used, it was metered by the scientific method of guessing. So some people got pool water and some people got water with lots of little things moving in it. We are slowly but surely solving that. Contracts for repairs to facilities that are only 50% or less operational are being let, chemicals are being delivered, although we don't have the metering problem solved yet (It's only been 45 days).

How about oil and fuel? Well the war was all about oil wasn't it? You bet it was. It was all about oil for the Iraqi people because they have no other income, they produce nothing else. Oil is 95% of the Iraqi GNP. For this nation to survive, it MUST sell oil. The Refinery at Bayji is at 75% of capacity producing gasoline. The crude pipeline between Kirkuk (Oil Central) and Bayji will be repaired by tomorrow (2 June). LPG, what all Iraqi's use to cook and heat with, is at 103% of normal production and WE, the US ARMY, at least 4th ID, are insuring it is being distributed FAIRLY to ALL Iraqi's.

You have to remember that 3 months ago, ALL these things were used as weapons against the population to keep them in line. If your town misbehaved, gasoline shipments stopped, LPG pipelines and trucks stopped, Water was turned off, power was turned off.

Now, until exports start, every drop of gasoline produced goes to the Iraqi people, crude oil is being stored, the country is at 75% capacity now, they need to export or stop pumping soon, thank the UN for the delay. ALL LPG goes to the Iraqi people EVERYWHERE. Water is being purified as best they can, but at least it's running all the time to everyone.

Are we still getting shot at? Yep

Are American Soldiers still dying? Yep, about 1 a day from the 4th ID, most in accidents, but dead is dead.

If we are doing all this for the Iraqi's, why are they shooting at us?

The general population isn't. There are still bad guys, who won't let go of the old regime. They are Ba'ath party members (Read Nazi Party, but not as nice) who know nothing but the regime. They were thugs for the regime that caused many to disappear in the night and they have no other skills. At least the Nazis had jobs they could go back to after the war as plumbers, managers, engineers, etc... these people have no skills but terror. They are simply applying their skills.... and we are applying ours. There is no Christian way to say they must be eliminated and we are doing so with all the efficiency we can muster. Our troops are shot at literally everyday by small arms and RPGs. We respond and 100% of the time, the Ba'ath party guys come out with the short end of the stick. The most amazing thing to me is that they don't realize that if they stopped shooting at us, we would focus on fixing things and leave. The more they shoot at us, the longer we will stay.

Lastly, Realize that 90% the damage you see on TV was caused by IRAQI's, NOT the war. Sure we took out a few bridges from military necessity, we took out a few power and phone lines to disrupt communications, sure we drilled a few palaces and government headquarters buildings with 2000lb laser guided bombs (I work 100 yards from where two hit the Tikrit Palace), he had plenty to spare. But, ANY damage you see to schools, hospitals, power generation facilities, refineries, pipelines, was ALL caused either by the Iraqi Army in its death throws or the Iraqi civilians looting the places. Could the army have prevented it? Nope. We can and do now, but 45 days ago the average soldier was lucky to know what town he was in much less be informed enough to know who owned what or have the power to stop a 1,000 people from looting a building by himself.

The United States and Britian are doing a very noble thing here. We stuck our necks out on the world chopping block to free a people. I've already talked the weapons of mass destruction thing to death, bottom line, who cares, this country was one big conventional weapons ammo dump anyway. We have probably destroyed more weapons and ammo in the last 30 days than the US Army has ever fired in the last 30 years (Remember, this is a country the size of Texas), so drop the WMD argument as the reason we came here, if we find it GREAT, if we don't, SO WHAT? I'm living in a "guest palace" on a 500 acre palace compound with 20 palaces with like facilities built in half a dozen towns all over Iraq that were built for one man. Drive down the street and out into the countryside 5 miles away (I have) and see a family of 10 living in a mud hut herding two dozen sheep, Then tell me why you think we are here.

Respectfully,
ERIC RYDBOM MAJ, ENGINEER
Deputy Division Engineer
4th Infantry Division

 

You know what's particularly cool about this letter? It's not a hoax. This guy really exists, and he really did write this.

A rarity - a letter being passed around the 'net that's not faked. Awesome!

:up:

 

I'm waiting on a rebuttal from Team Atomic.....

 

oh, he will accidentally miss this thread for sure.

 

Now why don't we see more of this in the press, we hear EVERYDAY about the soldiers whining, and saying we have no reason being there, but I have NEVER seen anything like this published...... damn liberal press......

 

What he said!

 

THANKS ! I really enjoyed that.
And I will add : GOD BLESS OUR TROOPS
God bless America and its
generous people !

 

Guys i have several friends & couple of family members that i have known for years that are over there as we speak, also some of those guys and gals have been home for awhile..but they have never whinned about being in Iraq, i think those that whine about being there should have never enlisted in the Armed Forces, if and when i get more of these letters ill start sharing them with you..im sure my buddys wouldnt mind...take care.

 

The letter is awesome. Thanks for sharing.

God bless America, Our Troops, and The American Way of Life.

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A5498-2003Jul30.html

"Attackers can be anyone, anywhere, anytime, perpetrating guerrilla-style violence on a scale not encountered by U.S. forces since the Vietnam War."


I rest my case......

 

wa wa wa

Damn, reading that I almost fell off the left side of my chair...

Notice all the whining is being done by REMF reservists?

 

Just one word to say...

Hoo-ah!

 

great letter..... it's great to hear to here is things have been improving. the quality of life kind of thing we take for granted, water, electricity and food. your friend sounds like an engineer... this is more important than finding the deck of cards. The sad fact is you don't have to look very the far for the next tyrant oppressing his people....and the list very long....

just to add a fuel to fire....the classified pages of the 9/11 report, implicates Saudi Arabia in a direct link to Al-Quaeda...this goes to the highest levels of the Saudi government....you want state sponsored terrorism...this is your link! this is your smoking gun!!

 

Aboot time you answered this post, Chuck. I bet it hurt to acknowlege that Bush's war with Iraq's government is a just war. Seriously, do you think the nation would be safer in the hands of Al Gore? Who is your candidate of choice, I'm curious?

 

I think the answer to your question is easy...It wouldn't matter who is President....you after go after the bad guys. It’s the Al-Quaeda, and go after them in Afganistan. I'm sure if the Dems where in power we would never went to war with IRAQ.

As for the question of personal safety. This is a very personal question. I think we all agree that our airliners are safer.

Bu$h uses idea of FEAR very well. FEAR has changed many things in this country. We created a new branch in government, eroded our civil liberties and started wars.

Many may feel safer because conquered a supposed enemy. Many probably still feel wary that Osama is still out there.

 

Fear. Yep, it is real. I'm afraid of another 9/11-style attack. I'm afraid that a leader without a backbone (example: Bill or Hillary Clinton) would erode our nations defenses to the point where we could NOT win a war with Iraq or Afghanistan.

I don't think that Iraq was/is a perceived threat, but a real one. Time will tell. As far as our civil liberties, how has YOUR life changed due to their "erosion"?

Truthfully, I'm still not convinced about Dept. of "Homeland Security", or the Securities act, but I do like the idea of a president who is proactive and not just a bunch of hollow words. I would hope that these are not the beauracratic feel-good wastes of money that they seem to be. I also like a president who will make a command decision based on his own morals and advice from a carefully-picked cabinet, without taking a poll to see what makes him more popular.

Read "Dereliction of Duty", and tell me you would feel safer today with Clinton in the White House.

 

OK, exactly how do you know the contents of the classified pages of that report when the rest of the free world doesn't?

 

The cold war is over...what's so wrong with shrinking the defense budget?? A defense department in which spending is so out of control that they can't pass an audit.

http://www.pbs.org/now/politics/spinney.html

read the patriot act too much stuff to list. lots of stuff in there speaks of "McCarthyism" homeland security...I thought that was the job of DOD....

still hanging clinton for a blowjob, and think a known drug abuser is moral.

carefully selected war hawks and 1 diplomate to the cabinet. Powell is gone after this term.

they all watch the sunday morning talk shows.