Dear Dad, Iraq Sucks (* Sucks) letters to Micheal Moore from US Soldiers

[ElsewheresDaughter]

http://www.commondreams.org/views04/1005-22.htm

Will They Ever Trust Us Again? Letters from the Warzone to Michael Moore by Michael Moore, to be published on October 5, 2004

To: [e-mail]
Sent: Monday, July 12, 2003 4:57 PM
Subject: Iraqi freedom veteran supports you
Dear Mr Moore,
I went to Iraq with thoughts of killing people who I thought were horrible. I was like, "Fuck Iraq, fuck these people, I hope we kill thousands." I believed my president. He was taking care of business and wasn't going to let al Qaeda push us around. I was with the 3rd Squadron, 7th Cavalry, 3rd Infantry division out of Fort Stewart, Georgia. My unit was one of the first to Baghdad. I was so scared. Didn't know what to think. Seeing dead bodies for the first time. People blown in half. Little kids with no legs. It was overwhelming, the sights, sounds, fear. I was over there from Jan'03 to Aug'03. I hated every minute. It was a daily battle to keep my spirits up. I hate the army and my job. I am supposed to get out next February but will now be unable to because the asshole in the White House decided that now would be a great time to put a stop-loss in effect for the army. So I get to do a second tour in Iraq and be away from those I love again because some guy has the audacity to put others' lives on the line for his personal war. I thought we were the good guys.


Fahrenheit 9/11
Just Out on DVD!



From: Michael W
Sent: Tuesday July 13 2004 12.28pm
Subject: Dude, Iraq sucks


My name is Michael W and I am a 30-year-old National Guard infantryman serving in southeast Baghdad. I have been in Iraq since March of 04 and will continue to serve here until March of 05.

In the few short months my unit has been in Iraq, we have already lost one man and have had many injured (including me) in combat operations. And for what? At the very least, the government could have made sure that each of our vehicles had the proper armament to protect us soldiers.

In the early morning hours of May 10, one month to the day from my 30th birthday, I and 12 other men were attacked in a well-executed roadside ambush in south-east Baghdad. We were attacked with small-arms fire, a rocket-propelled grenade, and two well-placed roadside bombs. These roadside bombs nearly destroyed one of our Hummers and riddled my friends with shrapnel, almost killing them. They would not have had a scratch if they had the "Up Armour" kits on them. So where was W on that one?

It's just so ridiculous, which leads me to my next point. A Blackwater contractor makes $15,000 <£8,400> a month for doing the same job as my pals and me. I make about $4,000 <£2,240> a month over here. What's up with that?

Beyond that, the government is calling up more and more troops from the reserves. For what? Man, there is a huge fucking scam going on here! There are civilian contractors crawling all over this country. Blackwater, Kellogg Brown & Root, Halliburton, on and on. These contractors are doing everything you can think of from security to catering lunch!

We are spending money out the ass for this shit, and very few of the projects are going to the Iraqi people. Someone's back is getting scratched here, and it ain't the Iraqis'!

My life is left to chance at this point. I just hope I come home alive.

From: Joseph Cherwinski
Sent: Saturday July 3 2004 8.33pm
Subject: "Fahrenheit 9/11"


I am a soldier in the United States army. I was in Iraq with the Fourth Infantry Division.

I was guarding some Iraqi workers one day. Their task was to fill sandbags for our base. The temperature was at least 120. I had to sit there with full gear on and monitor them. I was sitting and drinking water, and I could barely tolerate the heat, so I directed the workers to go to the shade and sit and drink water. I let them rest for about 20 minutes. Then a staff sergeant told me that they didn't need a break, and that they were to fill sandbags until the cows come home. He told the Iraqis to go back to work.

After 30 minutes, I let them have a break again, thus disobeying orders. If these were soldiers working, in this heat, those soldiers would be bound to a 10-minute work, 50-minute rest cycle, to prevent heat casualties. Again the staff sergeant came and sent the Iraqis back to work and told me I could sit in the shade. I told him no, I had to be out there with them so that when I started to need water, then they would definitely need water. He told me that wasn't necessary, and that they live here, and that they are used to it.

After he left, I put the Iraqis back into the shade. I could tell that some were very dehydrated; most of them were thin enough to be on an international food aid commercial. I would not treat my fellow soldiers in this manner, so I did not treat the Iraqi workers this way either.

This went on for eight months while I was in Iraq, and going through it told me that we were not there for their freedom, we were not there for WMD. We had no idea what we were fighting for anymore.

more....... REALworld letters from soldiers in Iraq

[Gruenemann]

1. Just one quesiton

WHY DO THESE SO-CALLED SOLDIERS HATE AMERICA?

[Name removed]

2. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[alexisfree]

3. you are wrong

they don't hate America you moron....dont you read..is the system, the president who they hate...you put your self in they're shoes for once....

[Gruenemann]

6. chill out

don't you know sarcasm when you see it? jeez.

[ProfessorGAC]

7. I Saw It

I thought it was pretty obvious sarcasm, too! Some people are on a hair trigger because of the criminals in this administration, i guess.
The Professor

[ElsewheresDaughter]

9. i didn't realize it was sarcasm either i guess i'm not the sharpest tool

and you're new here and perhaps you should use <sarcasm on> or <sarcasm off> signs until we get know ya better....

welcome to DU you :7

[Gruenemann]

11. right, I should have known

I would be misunderestimated. I've seen college students take Jonathan Swift's "Modest Propsal" seriously...

Thanks for the welcome. It's the first I've gotten since I started posting here this spring.

I'll be more careful in the future.

[annabanana]

13. Well, here's another one!

:toast:

welcome Gruenemann!

[Gruenemann]

15. thanks!

Sometime I'll have to tell you about my encounter with the Venus of Willendorf.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

4. "we were not there for their freedom"

"This went on for eight months while I was in Iraq, and going through it told me that we were not there for their freedom, we were not there for WMD. We had no idea what we were fighting for anymore."

[seasat]

5. I heard this from a friend.

He comes from a poor neighborhood and said that if you don't somehow manage to get into college, you go into the military in his neighborhood. This guy is also a Republican that supports vouchers and Bush's faith based iniative. However, he'll vote for Kerry in this election. It is all about the Iraq war. He lost a good friend in the war and knows of 2 others from his neighborhood that were killed.

He told me that one of his friends described Iraq as extremely chaotic. His buddy says that many times they have been forced to throw women to the ground when they are assaulted by them because the women are in anguish over the killing of their family members by the US military. They have to be on constant alert because kids will try to lure the soldiers around corners where insurgents will wait in ambush. They wrecked a supply truck transporting food and water to the Iraqis. While he and another soldier lay injuried, the Iraqis literally stepped on them to loot the truck of all the supplies. His buddy was eventually rotated back home but was later told that he would return to Iraq. His wife is expecting their first child and his friend decided to go AWOL. He'd rather spend a couple of years in jail and get a dishonorable discharge than return to Iraq.

[Q]

8. I posted this yesterday...

...without much response. Guess the VP debate overshadowed. But this is important stuff...in that it shows that not all soldiers are unfeeling robots for Bush* and that the situation in Iraq is deteriorating.

- Thanks for posting.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

10. Q thank you for posting it...sorry i missed it & i agree it is important

[annabanana]

14. I think most of us are VERY AWARE

that the soldiers are not "unfeeling robots for Bush". At the very worst, they are misinformed, undereducated kids who haven't yet grown beyond the years where they seriously question the "truths" that they grew up with. People come to that age at different times, and under different circumstances. My heart aches for those kids who's awakening happens under these disasterous conditions. They may never heal.

[sinkingfeeling]

12. I received my copy of M.M.'s 'Will They Ever Trust Us Again'

yesterday. It's composed of nothing more than letters to Mike from those in Iraq, older veterans, US troops in other countries, and their families. I stayed up and read most of them last night, after the VP debate and responding to online polls. It's an awesome collection. In the back, Mr. Moore gives instructions on how to get free copies of 'Dude, Where's My Country?' or 'Bowling for Columbine' DVDs for active soldiers! He also lists organizations that aid the troops and their families, aid to Iraqis, and how to stop the war.

[DinahMoeHum]

16. Gotta love that Marine LCPL's letter (2nd from bottom). . .

(snip)
"...Months have passed since I've been back home and the unfortunate conclusion I've come to is that Bush is a lying, manipulative motherfucker who cares nothing for the lives of those of us who serve in uniform. Hell, other than playing dress-up on aircraft carriers, what would he know about serving this nation in uniform?

His silence and refusal to speak under oath to the 9/11 Commission further mocks our country. The Patriot Act violates every principle we fight and die for. And all of this has been during his first term. Can you imagine his policies when he doesn't have to worry about re-election? We can't allow that to happen, and there are so many like me in the military who feel this way. We were lied to and used. And there aren't words to describe the sense of betrayal I feel as a result..."
(snip)

:nuke: