Senator Reid:  

When you say we’ve lost in Iraq, I don’t think you understand the effect of your words. The Iraqis I speak with are the good guys here, fighting to build a stable government. They hear what you say, but they don’t understand it. They don’t know about the political game, they don’t know about a Presidential veto, and they don’t know about party politics.

But they do know that if they help us, they are noticed by terrorists and extremists. They decide to help us if they think we can protect them from those terrorists. They tell us where caches of weapons are hidden. They call and report small groups of men who are strangers to the neighborhood, men that look the same to us, but are obvious to them as a foreign suicide cell.

To be brief, your words are killing us. Your statements make the Iraqis afraid to help us for fear we’ll leave them unprotected in the future. They don’t report a cache, and its weapons blow up my friends in a convoy. They don’t report a foreign fighter, and that fighter sends a mortar onto my base. Your statements are noticed, and they have an effect.  

Finally, you are mistaken when you say we are losing. We are winning, I see it every day. However, we will win with fewer casualties if you help us. Will you?

Respectfully,  

LT Jason Nichols, USN MNF-I, Baghdad

This picture has drawn a lot of comments from readers of the Nashville paper, The Tennessean, like the one below:
Dear Tennessean:
The Tennessean’s April 5 photograph of young Christian Golczynski accepting the American flag from Marine Lt. Col. Ric Thompson is one of the most moving and emotion provoking images I have ever seen.
I attended funeral services for Christian’s father, Staff Sergeant Marcus Golczynski, on April 4, along with my six year-old son, dozens of Marines, and several hundred others who came to pay tribute to this fallen hero.
As one would expect, many of your readers were touched by this incredible picture. On April 9 you published two letters from those who have used this image as a basis to criticize President Bush and the war in Iraq. These writers should know that Staff Sergeant Golczynski had previously served one full tour in Iraq. He wrote to his family, shortly before his death on March 27, 2007 that he had "…volunteered to do this a second time due to our deep desire to finish the job we started. We fight and sometimes die so our families don’t have to." Tragically, Staff Sergeant Golczynski had only two weeks remaining on his second tour. I look at the photograph of Christian every day. It is displayed prominently in our home. Our hearts ache for Christian and for all those who have lost loved ones in this controversial conflict. Our nation is at a historical crossroads. Do we call an end to the struggle in Iraq or press on? Staff Sergeant Golczynski eloquently told his son how he felt about giving up. Perhaps there is a lesson for all of us in this man’s life and the choices he made. He was undeniably a man of tremendous courage and conviction. America must now choose whether to complete the job. When I look at the face of Christian Golczynski, I am reminded that doing what is right is not always easy and doing what is easy is not always right. Christian’s dad knew that too.
James Drescher Franklin, TN

"I want all of you to be safe. And please don’t feel bad for us. We are warriors. And as warriors have done before us, we joined this organization and are following orders because we believe that what we are doing is right. Many of us have volunteered to do this a second time due to our deep desire to finish the job we started. We fight and sometimes die so that our families don’t have to. Stand beside us. Because we would do it for you. Becasue it is our unity that has enabled us to prosper as a nation." Staff Sergeant Marcus Golczynski, written a week before he was killed in action in Iraq.

Why isn’t this in the news?

    Following the article I sent about Bush’s national address and troop increase, I thought it was a good idea to let you all know what the perspective is over here. I’m tired of hearing the media’s skewed version, the politicians squabbling over what they read in a report, and the average ill-informed American ranting about things he knows NOTHING about.

    I’ve been over here a couple of months now, and I’ve learned more about this country than a year’s worth of watching CNN. I’ve sat in mission briefs with Colonels, talked with village elders, had tea with Sheiks, played with the kids. And I agree with the President. We need more troops and we need to take greater action.

    There are 3 major factions here. The Sunnis, Shiites, and Kurds. The Shiites are in the majority, but Saddam was a Sunni, so he kept the Shiites in check. Everyone hates the Kurds, who are Christian and in the vast minority. The Kurds received the brunt of Saddam’s murderous tyranny. Now that Saddam is gone, the Shiites have taken control of Baghdad. The largely peaceful Sunnis are now the victims of radical Shiite terrorism. So the young Sunni men, who can no longer go to work and support their families, do what all young men would do. They join the Sunni militia and battle the Shiites. And thus the country sits on the brink of civil war.

    But this war is between them. They largely do not concern themselves with the U.S. troops. The insurgents who battle the Coalition Forces are from outside the country. And the biggest problem down here isn’t the insurgents. Its the politicians. The local politicians. Even though the country is controlled by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, downtown Baghdad is controlled by radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. The Shiites follow al-Sadr and thus the Prime Minister does what al-Sadr says. Think of it as if a warlord controlled New York and blackmailed the President into diplomatic immunity.

    When 1st Cav (mainly 2/5 Cav) came here in 2004, they took downtown Baghdad (known as Sadr City) by force. It cost many lives, but after a year, we held an iron grip on the largest insurgent breeding ground in Iraq. The insurgents were afraid of the Horse People, and rightfully so.

    But when 1st Cav left, al-Sadr influenced the Prime Minister to kick out the Coalition forces from that area of Baghdad. He said the Iraqi military forces could hold the city. But all that happened was al-Sadr regained control of his city, and it is now a heavily guarded fortress.

    A place where insurgents and terrorists can train and stockpile arms.

    And we cannot go back in because the Prime Minister won’t let us. Our hands are tied.

    So where does al-Sadr get his backing? From Iran and Syria. Iran supplies him with money and Syria supplies the terrorists. The insurgents that battle the Coalition Forces are from Syria, Somalia and dozens of other places outside of Iraq. Iraq is literally a terrorist breeding ground. They have terrorist and sniper schools here. Why not?

    They train by teaching them to attack the military forces here. And they have an endless supply of these training tools. They have factories in Sadr City to build bombs. Both Iran and Syria have openly proclaimed their number one goal in life is to destroy the great Western Devil and the little Western Devil (America and Britain). Iran wants to control Iraq to further this purpose. Al-Sadr will get to "run" the country and live like a king, but in reality Iran will pull the puppet strings. Iran will have access to thousands of radical Shiites who will do whatever al-Sadr tells them to. And Iraq will be used as a breeding ground for terrorism. Terrorism that will be targeted directly at America and Britain. The Iraq Study Group advised we should let Iran and Syria help with rebuilding? Bravo to President Bush for striking that idea down and vowing to keep those two countries out of Iraq.

    So how do the Iraqi people feel about everything? Of course they don’t want the Americans here. But they would far rather have us here than the Iranians. My platoon visited an average Sunni village on a patrol a few days ago. Their only source of income was to farm, as they could not go to the city to work for fear of violence. Many of the young men had already run off to join the militia for no other reason than to feed their families. They had no school or hospital near them and the community was dying. The village elder’s granddaughter was very sick and I was able to treat her. Afterwards he invited me and my Platoon Leader to sit in his house and have tea with him, and we talked about the situation.

    The people want peace. The Shiites kill the Sunnis because al-Sadr tells them to do so. The Sunnis fight back because they have no choice. They are glad Saddam is dead (Sunni or not), but do not want to replace him with another dictator in a politician’s clothes (which is what al-Sadr will become). And they especially don’t want Iran in charge. Many innocent Iraqis will die if this happens. These are the words that came out of the elder’s mouth:

    "We do not want America here, and America does not want to be here. But you cannot leave because the militias control the country. America must use the might of its giant army and sweep through, root out and destroy the militias. Then Iraq can be free and you can leave."

    What appears to have happened within our diplomatic community, is that Prime Minister finally realizes that his days are numbered. If al-Sadr remains, he will be kicked to the curb. So hopefully he is about to allow us to reenter Sadr City, root out and destroy the enemy. A dramatic troop increase will allow us to do this. And the Horse People are back and ready to finish what they started over 2 years ago.

    If leave now, it will be a failure for democracy. Iran will control Iraq and the end result will be more terrorist attacks on America. The American people don’t want soldiers dying over here, but its better than American civilians dying over there. Do NOT forget 9/11. They will do it again. The moment we loosen our grip on the noose, they will do it again. And the only way to root out the evil here is to stop beating around the bush, increase troops and destroy the insurgents once and for all. The Iraqi government cannot do this on their own. The Iraqi security forces are inadequate for this task. We are the only ones who can stop al-Sadr.

    Feel free to share this with whomever wants a real soldier’s opinion about the war.

    SPC "Doc" Shurley
    2/5 Cav, 1st CB ]]> http://adkins9.net/wordpress/2007/01/21/mail-from-a-1st-cav-medic/feed/ http://adkins9.net/wordpress/2006/12/11/my-own-iraq-study-group/ http://adkins9.net/wordpress/2006/12/11/my-own-iraq-study-group/#comments Mon, 11 Dec 2006 12:05:23 +0000 Thomas http://adkins9.net/wordpress/2006/12/11/my-own-iraq-study-group/             This morning, my wife started crying when we listened to the long-awaited findings of the Iraq Study Group.
            She said, “Just great! We have two sons in harm’s way, and they have a bunch of gray-haired old geezers with political agendas trying to influence how they will fight in this war, and none of them have a clue how to fight or win!”
            For some time now, I have been conducting my own Iraq Study Group, but I asked fellow Green Berets and former Green Berets working for the CIA who have lived with the Iraqi and the Afghani people, men of the US Army Special Forces, the highest trained military unit in the world, who are experienced at training people to fight their own battles. WE DO NOT NEED AN IRAQ STUDY GROUP. We need to use the resources we already have and do things right, and we will most definitely win in Iraq and Afghanistan.
            Based on my Iraq Study Group, this is how we should prosecute and will win the war:
            Tariq and Abdullah ran through the alleyway between the rows of high buildings in Baghdad not far from the Green Zone. One carried the baseplate for the 60MM mortar and the other, the mortar itself. They each carried an HE (high explosive ) round in their backpack. Tariq also carried a dead cat, with a high explosive IED inside. He carefully placed the cat’s body on a crate, making it look like the critter might be napping, and close to eye-level on a vehicle. Then he stretched a trip wire across the alleyway and tied it off to a pipe.  Moving away from the wire, and while Bayid, their friend, waited two blocks away in his multi-colored Nissan taxi with the engine running, they set up the baseplate, aimed it like they had practiced over and over, and quickly fired both rounds in rapid succession towards the armored cavalry headquarters located behind the high walls of an old presidential palace. Before the deadly rounds even hit, killing one American and wounding two more, the insurgents ran as fast as they could to the waiting car and sped to another part of town. Soldiers investigating shortly after would suffer two more wounded from the dead cat IED.  The attackers knew that their friend, Ayoob, who worked as an interpreter for an NBC News crews in the Green Zone would tell them later what kind of damage the two mortar rounds and the IED had caused.
             The story and names are fictional but the strategy is very real, but easy to overcome. One major solution is to move all military headquarters out of the cities and into the desert, so that insurgents firing mortars or rockets at the US military have to come at least one mile out of a town and expose themselves to fire their weapons. Then, we can pinpoint and eliminate them. Now the way it is, they have numerous concrete and glass caves and asphalt labyrinths to easily move through and hide in. Many Iraqi citizens are paid the equivalent of $ 20 US per month to act as lookouts or to simply look the other way as insurgents move through their neighborhoods.
            The other solution to this scenario is also common sense. By far and away, the largest percentage of our soldiers who are killed or wounded are the victims of IED’s, Improvised Explosive Devices. We were supposed to learn from the lessons of Vietnam, but we have not. The Vietnam War proved to us that the helicopter is a very useful tool. It is time to park and significantly limit all the wheeled and tracked vehicles and start using helicopters more. Additionally, Apache attack helicopters should accompany every major troop vehicle movement. That also makes attackers more exposed to our fire.
            In another fictional, but very typical anecdote, Special Forces Sergeant First Class Jones, serving in Basrah as a team weapons sergeant, had worked with one neighborhood in particular and was really getting to know the citizenry who were starting to trust him and were bringing him intelligence on a steady basis. It also helped that he and his teammates dressed like Iraqis and spent money in the struggling stores in the neighborhood.  One of those stores was owned by Muhammad who supported his family of 7 and his late-brother’s family of 5 and all lived in the same little house. He was a Sunni and his brother had been beaten and set on fire by Shiites. The A-Detachment members realized that the Sunnis and Shias have been killing each other for centuries, so they befriended both groups separately, learned how to interact with both, and did not ever try to force them to act like good friends.
            Then a new conventional armored US Army unit came into the neighborhood. Seeing the shabbily-dressed Green Berets, the commanding officer called the team commander, a young handsome West Pointer, in to his office.
            He said, “Captain, your unit is working OPCON to mine (Under Operational Control) and your men do not look like soldiers. They are to wear proper battledress from now and will be clean-shaven with haircuts that are high and tight. The ABC reporter we have imbedded with us could not believe it when I told him your men are Green Berets.”
            The captain argued with the colonel for five minutes to no avail. Then later that week, when Muhammad was ready to leave for work to support the 13 in his household, the armored unit got a report of insurgents in the neighborhood. They immediately sent two Abrams tanks to the opposite corners of the walled neighborhood, while a ground force worked its way towards them. The two tanks churned up the asphalt in the road, so Muhammad could not get his flimsy car to even drive down his own street to go to his own store. The long barrel on one of the main battle tanks, while the turret swiveled around, totally demolished the privacy wall built by Muhammad’s second cousin behind his house.
            Then, Muhammad  and his two teen-aged sons, who were working to help support the large brood as Iraqi police officers on graveyard shift,  as well as all other IAAM’s, (Iraqi Army-Aged Males) were rounded up and herded into the playground of the local school. The men understood this, but their little children did not when they were taken from their homes like prisoners. Then the US Army conventional unit spent the entire day thoroughly checking the ID’s of each of the men from the large neighborhood. The men understood that  was necessary to find insurgents even though it took money from their pockets making them miss work. What the men did not understand though, was as the weeks went on, this became a continuous process and the same men were repeatedly checked for proper identification papers, detained all day, and questioned.
            On top of that, the team commander got a call from his B-team commanding officer located in an air-conditioned office in the Green Zone. The Lieutenant Colonel chewed out the captain for not conforming to the rules set down by the Basrah commander. The captain argued his case, which fell on deaf ears, as the lieutenant colonel had just gotten an earful from a Marine general in charge of that part of the country.
            The solutions to these scenarios are also common sense and simple to execute. We spend millions of dollars to qualify and train each Special Forces operator (Green Beret). They are very well-trained to conduct a counterinsurgency war, plus are trained in direct action missions, as well as civil affairs and psychological operations. FOLLOW THEIR LEAD. Do not make them serve OPCON, or under operational control to a conventional unit that is not trained in counter-insurgency warfare. The entire country of Iraq should be divided up with an appropriate number of Special Forces Operational Detachment-Alpha, or A-Teams, who live and work with the civilian populace. Conventional commanders should report to them, not vice versa.
            Instead, use conventional forces as a Quick Reaction Force in the same way that the 5^th Special Forces Group used Mobile Strike Forces in Vietnam. If one town or area gets “hot,” the Quick Reaction Force for that area comes in immediately to reinforce whoever is already there fighting. The Conventional Force is also used for specialized joint operations where intelligence indicates a major enemy target.
             The US Army Special Forces proved their worth in Vietnam and ever since. They are not on trial, but are still wearing shackles and handcuffs. If you want to win the war, let our very best warriors lead the way. They have been the American military’s quietly professional stuntmen, for decades, but now they need to be the stars of the show. If you do that, you will not need to train more trainers, just deploy more Special Forces operators. That is what they are trained for. And DO NOT micromanage the war from Washington, MacDill AFB, or Fort Bragg. The commander on the ground must be trusted to perform his job, who sees what is going on around him and knows what is best at the time, not a Chairborne Ranger in headquarters miles or continents away. One of the best ways for him to see what is going on and control enemy movement in the cities, day and night, sniper teams need to be deployed on many, many more rooftops, especially with the “reach out and touch someone” long range .50 cailber Barret sniper rifle. Snipers in Iraq and Afghanistan have proven their worth.
             It is frequently mentioned that Usama bin Laden has become a non-factor in the Global War on Terrorism. No, I am sorry, he is not. He and al-Zawahiri are heroes to the jihadists who are totally bent on our demise. One of the most important psychological aspects to winning a war is the live action game of Capture the Flag. The “flag” in this war has two banners:  Usama bin Laden and al-Zawahiri. Both must be found and taken out, period. They have both sworn not to be taken alive. So let us happily give them their wish. They do not need to be in prison cells, waiting for their day in court, so we can prove we are civil, and they can play the world media. Kill them. That will knock the wind out of the al-Qaida. Those two are the symbols of hope and power to the al-Qaida.
             It is also incredibly important to “Know thy enemy.” The al-Qaida is not jealous of America. They hate Christians, and they hate Jews, and they will NOT sit down at a peace table with us someday or ever. We must accept that. They have a 7^th century mindset to capture and convert all countries to Islam, called Dar el Islam,  and to kill all Jews and Christians.
             They must be killed or conquered, period, and to that end we absolutely must fight to win the war, not friends. If a sniper shoots an American from a rooftop, level the building. If insurgents kill Americans then hide in a mosque, turn the mosque into rubble, and let a politician apologize later. And in doing this, we must understand an important principle. YOU CANNOT WIN A WAR WITH SUPPLIES FROM WAL-MART. This war will never be won by fighting on the cheap. Do what it takes to win quickly and decisively regardless of the price tag. The long term is the real drain on our resolve and our cash reserves.
            This includes no more Mr. Nice Guy with Pakistan. US Forces led by area-knowledgeable Special Forces teams must execute a massive search and clear operation with extensive use of helicopters, into the warlord-controlled tribal regions along the Afghani-Pakistani mountain corridor to find and eliminate al-Zawahiri and Usama bin Laden.
             Psychological operations  are a major part of the Global War on Terrorism, and the al-Qaida have learned very effectively how to play some of the US media like a cheap fiddle. If you are a decision-maker in a news organization, you must realize that the courage, sacrifice, and actions of the US military insures your freedom of the press. The al-Qaida wants to destroy that precious freedom by using it against you, against us, and they are succeeding in some quarters. Your first loyalty is not to the news, but to the country. Without our freedoms, your stories will be dictated to you by a man with a sword in his hand.
             And we have to start publicizing our successes in Iraq and Afghanistan and stop imbedding reporters with military units. The military’s primary job is to kill people, blow things up, and break the enemy’s back. We are there to fight and win, not protect CNN News, because “the public has a right to know.” The American public wants to know, but more importantly, they have a right to be protected, first and foremost.
            So many more men and women become general officers now with an eye on politics after their military careers end. They used to fade away, but now they run for office. If we want to win, there can be no more one-upsmanship with the US military. It has gone on for years and must stop now for the sake of victory.
            Additionally, Generals are only told whatever will keep the briefers from getting in trouble.  If you really want to know how to improve things to win, don’t ask a general, ask his sergeant major.
            We can, must, and will win this war in Iraq, in Afghanistan, and against terrorism. We simply have to learn from our mistakes in the past, follow the K.I.S.S. principle, and stop trying to win the Ms. Congeniality Award, and playing to the liberal elitists and naïve anti-war crusaders. 
             I spoke on the phone to a woman who was right there on the flight on November 27, 2006, when the US Airways incident took place with the 6 Immams. One sat in the front in first class, and one in the very back and, and the rest in between. Although neither the front or the back man was fat, both asked for seat belt extenders, which when used like a garrote could render a flight attendant unconscious in 8 seconds. When they supposedly prayed all 6 were shouting “Alluya Ahkbar!” which is what the hijackers on 9-11 were yelling before the planes crashed, and when they were thankfully removed, their attorney was already standing by ready to cry out about racism and unfairness and play the media some more. No matter what is said on the news, we were clearly being tested. We also must immediately seal our southern and northern borders. That is our Achilles heel, and it is where the al-Qaida can effectively infiltrate weapons and people, and strike us at home again. 
             Nobody ever tries to break into my house or steal my property, or even consider it, because everybody knows they will be shot and killed, period. No conversation, just double taps-center mass, and lots of blood to clean up. My country should always be regarded with that kind of respect, and if it is not, it is indeed our fault.

——-

(Commentary by Mathias Dapfner CEO, Axel Springer, AG)

Appeasement crippled Europe when genocide ran rampant in Kosovo, and even though we had absolute proof of ongoing mass-murder, we Europeans debated and debated and debated, and were still debating when finally the Americans had to come from halfway around the world, into Europe yet again, and do our work for us.

Appeasement generates a mentality that allows Europe to ignore nearly 500,000 victims of Saddam’s torture and murder machinery and, motivated by the self-righteousness of the peace movement, has the gall to issue bad grades to George Bush.  Even as it is uncovered that the loudest critics of the American action in Iraq made illicit billions, no, TENS of  billions, in the corrupt U.N. Oil-for-Food program

It is a conflict that will most likely last longer than any of the great military conflicts of the last century - a conflict conducted by an enemy that cannot be tamed by "tolerance" and "accommodation" but is actually spurred on by such gestures, which have proven to be, and will always be taken by the Islamists for signs of weakness.  Only two recent American Presidents had the courage needed for Anti-appeasement:  Reagan and Bush.

His American critics may quibble over the details, but we Europeans know the truth.  We saw it first hand:  Ronald Reagan ended the Cold War, freeing half of the German people from nearly 50 years of terror and virtual slavery.  And Bush, supported only by the Social Democrat Blair,
acting on moral conviction, recognized the danger in the Islamic War against Democracy.  His place in history will have to be evaluated after a number of years have passed.

Why?  Because we’re so moral?  I fear it’s more because we’re so materialistic, so devoid of a moral compass.

If you haven’t yet, take a look at it, and be sure to contribute your family information and photos (particularly old photos that you may have.)

An American is generous. Americans have helped out just about every other nation in the world in their time of need, never asking a thing in return.
 

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