Sad

Iraq is scary sometimes, but usually just sad. Last night, as I was lying in bed, I heard mortars landing somewhere in the distance, followed by about twenty minutes of return artillery fire**, along with the very familiar sound of an F-16 plugging in the afterburner - probably to get the guys who were firing the mortar rounds.

These are the moments that impact me the most. As we lay in bed listening to the sounds of war I said to N, "I hope no one dies," a silly hope under the circumstances I suppose. He responded, "Someone will." I've talked to a lot of incredible young soldiers and Marines over here, and I can't help but wonder if it will be one of their families on the receiving end of that dreaded phone call that stops life dead in its tracks. Or maybe it will be an insurgent’s family that gets the message that a son has died - just as sad for sure I suppose, though the death of an insurgent means life for women and children who are saved from the bus bomb that dead man might have planted, or the mortar fired on a rival neighborhood, or the suicide vest worn into busy morning market. I’ll take the death of insurgents over innocents.

If there is one thing that this trip has taught me, it is that war is always a complicated, messy, horrific thing, and that the media has made this war much worse, and much more complicated than it needs to
be. The men and women who are serving here have honor and integrity. They have a desire to help the people of Iraq, showing compassion to people who could easily be plotting to kill them. And the truth is that they are helping. I have never seen a group of people so determined to do the right thing, even if it means giving their very life. I am ashamed on behalf of the America that makes these men and women of honor out to be bloodthirsty criminals.

Yesterday I spoke to a young soldier named James who enlisted on the same day as his twin brother. This brother, Nick, was in a Humvee when it was hit by an IED, causing it to flip 13 times. Nick, the only survivor, was flown to Walter Reed Medical Center in D.C. James was on his way to Iraq at the time, but he was able to visit his brother before he left. As he walked into the hospital to visit his twin brother who was in serious condition, in danger of never walking again, he heard the shouts of war protestors: "You got what you deserve! Baby-killer!" This James is the same man who held back tears as he told me about watching a warlord in Afghanistan shoot a 4-year-old girl in the street for absolutely no reason. James has only brothers, and he's always wanted a little girl. The trauma of seeing this little girl’s death has him on anti-anxiety medication. James also told me that when searching the homes of potential insurgents, he often finds the suspect waving his gun, surrounded by children - little human shields. This happens “all the time” according to James. He said Iraqis have told him they know Americans are sensitive to children, and will not use violence in their presence, so they take advantage of the compassion of American soldiers and Marines. It's ironic to me that the Iraqis who kill their own children and willingly expose these children to violence recognize the compassion of American soldiers. But Americans safe at home in the United States do not.

The media has repeatedly put these men and women in danger, whether by giving up details that compromise security, or so twisting the truth that public opinion keeps the soldiers from doing their jobs for fear of media retaliation. After all, this war is one that will be determined by American politics and public opinion. The insurgents, Al Qaeda in Iraq and their cohorts know this, and use it to their advantage, but Americans seem completely oblivious to this fact.

I'm sure many of you watched or have read about Gen Petraeus’ testimony. While the “surge” has done some good, and gains have been made, there is still “much work to be done.” Yet the calls are still heard within the United States to withdraw all combat forces. The Government of Iraq is not yet fully equipped to restrain the likes of Al Qaeda in Iraq, and other insurgent groups who are willing to massacre thousands to gain power. If our government heeds the voices that cry for our troops to return home NOW, only then will the true bloodbath begin. It is widely agreed (here in Iraq) that if Coalition forces pull out now, or in the near future, a tragedy the likes of Rwanda could be repeated: ethnic cleansing is likely to occur, unfettered by the security that is currently provided by Coalition Forces from around the world. I cannot imagine sitting through such horrific killing and doing nothing to stop it. The whole world regrets doing nothing during the Rwandan Genocide. Will we allow the same to happen in Iraq?

The sad thing is this: those who call for withdrawal of troops are doing exactly what Al Qaeda in Iraq would have them do. The “anti-war” voices are the very voices of the insurgency. They scream the message that Al Qaeda would have us hear. The war that Al Qaeda in Iraq wages is not against the Coalition Forces alone, but against the people who stand behind the forces, the people at home, either standing firm or – Al Qaeda hopes – standing down.

Here’s how an insurgency works: Al Qaeda in Iraq kills lots of civilians using myriad weapons intended for the sole purpose of killing civilians, including using civilians as human shields. The media then tells the good folks back home that lots of kids are dying in Iraq - very sad to be sure. And then there are the military casualties. People hate losing kids to war, whether the kids are little Iraqi kids, or all-grown-up American kids. So the people back home say, “this must stop!” and they start to believe that everything will be better if we leave Iraq now and let the Iraqis (or Iran, or whomever has the biggest guns) settle it. This is exactly what the insurgents want. They know they can’t have all-out war for absolute power if the Coalition is still here. They know the Government of Iraq is not quite equipped to hem them in. So they use the American people as puppets who will, they hope, persuade the government to leave Iraq. All of this so they can massacre people, unhindered by a military that stands for honor, freedom, and for justice, even justice for Iraqis who can’t fight for themselves.

**[The fact that our military was using artillery fire or air power means that the mortars came from an unpopulated area. Though technology makes both of these methods extremely accurate, the risk of doing harm to civilians is greater with air-strikes and artillery than with troops on the ground, and contrary to what most believe, our military takes extra measures to prevent civilian deaths.]