Real News from Iraq

[thedrifter]

Real News from Iraq
Dear Post 45,


I caught wind of and read the recent news articles being circulated back
there in the states. I figured I could clarify some things for you.


As usual the news media has blown some things way out of proportion. The
countryside is getting more safe by the day despite all the attacks you are
hearing about. Imagine every shooting incident or robbery committed in LA or
Portland being blown way out of proportion. This is a country where most of
the Saddam Hussein thugs are being chased around like scared rabbits by
Coalition forces. It is literally open season on them! We hunt them down
like animals. There were about a million soldiers in the Iraqi army at the
beginning of hostilities and most of them took off before we attacked. There
are some that were very loyal to Saddam that are trying to sneak around and
take pot shots at us. We are cleaning them up pretty fast.


There are also thugs from other countries running around, like Iran and
Syria. Well, the Iraqis hate these thugs as much as we do. So the Iraqi
people are hunting them down too! I can honestly say 98% of the population
of Iraq love us and they do not want us to leave...ever! They say as long as
we are here they feel safe.


What is going on with the country's infrastructure? Everything is going
well! The railroad is running again! The railroad has not run since 1991. In
the city of Hilllah, the power stays on 24 hours a day and it has more power
than prior to the war. Some Iraqis are worried about getting too much food
from the coalition because they don't have enough room in their homes to
store it. The markets are open. The Seabees have rebuilt all of the schools
and put in furniture and chalkboards. The kids used to sit on the floor! Now
they have nice desks to sit at. Commerce is running. New money is being
printed. The Iraqi Dinar has stabilized and is now increasing in value. Most
of the Iraqi men want to buy Chevy pickups (I told them a Dodge Ram with a
Cummins Diesel is better Ha Ha). They pretty much want any vehicle made by
General Motors. The highways and bridges are being repaired.

In the Universities, the girls have tossed their deshakas (long black
dresses with head and face coverings) and are now wearing western style
clothes and even some are wearing short sleeves. The favorite drink is
Pepsi, followed by Coke. They want us to bring them any and everything
American. Any item made in America or that is from America is worth money
over here.


The newspapers and television paint a picture of doom and gloom and that we
are having major problems over here. That is just not the case. The Iraqis
have a saying about the situation over here "Every day is better than the
day before". Life is flowing back in to this country and it is fun to watch
and I am so glad I got to watch it happen. Some days watching the Iraqi
people is like watching the faces of little kids on Christmas Day! Many of
them are walking around in a daze wondering what to do with their freedom.
They are starting businesses everywhere. They want to build shopping malls
and factories, they want McDonalds and Jack in the Box and Pizza Hut. Of
course anything American Fast Food, because of the stories the troops are
telling them. We give them our old newspapers and magazines that you have
been sending us and they are absolutely flabbergasted when they read them!
They want us to keep bringing them. They read every single page even the
advertisements over and over! This would be a good time for media to get
their magazines going over here because the Iraqis just love them.


So in short you see I will give you the straight scoop and keep you informed
of what is up over here. I will sign off for now and send this along. Thanks
again to all of you for your support. My mailing address has changed. The
older one is no longer working. I will tell you the new one as soon as we
get it.


Senior Chief Art Messer, 22 Naval Construction Regiment (Forward), Task
Force Charlie, U. S. Navy Seabees

With Compassion For Others, We Build, We Fight, For Peace With Freedom"





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God Bless America
*****
Were it not for the brave,
there would be no Land of the Free!

Remember our POW/MIA's
I'll never forget!


Sempers,

Roger