A message from Fallujah -
Sullivan -
EMAIL OF THE DAY: I can't verify this first-hand but it comes from a source I know and trust. It's from a military chaplain in Fallujah:
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Here's some background on Al Faluja to keep in mind.
A) Why is it in the news almost every night? Because it
is one of the FEW places in all of Iraq where trouble
exists. Iraq has 25 million people and is the size of
California. Faluja and surrounding towns total 500,000
people. Do the math: that's not a big percentage of Iraq.
How many people were murdered last night in L.A.? Did it
make headline news? Why not?
B) Saddam could not and did not control Faluja. He bought
off those he could, killed those he couldn't and played
all leaders against one another. It was and is a 'difficult'
town. Nothing new about that. What is new is that outside
people have come in to stir up unrest. How many are there
is classified, but let me tell you this: there are more
people in the northeast Minneapolis gangs than there are
causing havoc in Faluja. Surprised?
C) Then why does it get so much coverage? Because the
major news outlets have camera crews permanently posted in
Faluja. So, if you are from outside Iraq, and want to get
air time for your cause, where would you go to terrorize,
bomb, mutilate and destroy? Faluja.
D) Why does it seem to be getting worse? Two answers:
1) This country became a welfare state under Saddam. If
you cared about your well-fare, you towed the line or
died. The state did your thinking and your bidding. Want a
job? Pledge allegiance to the Ba’ath party. Want an
apartment, a car, etc? Show loyalty. Electricity, water,
sewage, etc. was paid by the state. Go with the flow: life
is good. Don't and you're dead. Now, what does that do to
initiative? drive? industry?
So, we come along and lock up sugar daddy and give these
people the toughest challenge in the world, FREEDOM. You
want a job? Earn it! A house? Buy it or build it!
Security? Build a police force, army and militia and give
it to yourself. Risk your lives and earn freedom. The good
news is that millions of Iraqis are doing just that, and
some pay with their lives. But many, many are struggling
with freedom (just like East Germans, Russians, Czechs,
etc.) and they want a sugar daddy, the U.S.A., to do it
all. We refuse. We don't want to be plantation owners. We
make it clear we are here to help, not own or stay. They
get mad about that, sometimes.
Nonetheless, in Faluja, the supposed hotbed of dissent in
Iraq, countless Iraqis tell our psyopers they want to
cooperate with us but are afraid the thugs will slit their
throats or kill their kids. A bad gang can do that to a
neighborhood and a town. That's what is happening here.
2) We have a battle hand-off going on here. The largest in
recent American history. The Army is passing the baton to
the Marines in this area. There is uncertainty among the
populace and misinformation being given out by the bad
guys. As a result there is insecurity and the bad guys are
testing the resolve of the Marines and indirectly you, the
American people. The bad guys are convinced that Americans
have no stomach for a long haul effort here. They want to
drive us out of here and then resurrect a dictatorship of
one kind or another.
Okay, what do we do? Stay the course. The Marines will get
into a battle rhythm and, along with other forces and
government agencies here, they will knock out the crack
houses, drive the thugs across the border and set the
conditions for the Falujans to join the freedom parade or
rot in their lack of initiative. Either way, the choice
will be theirs. The alternative? Turn tail, pull out and
leave a power vacuum that will suck in all of Iraq's
neighbors and spark a civil war that could make Rwanda
look like a misdemeanor.
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Hey, America, don't go weak kneed on us: 585 dead
American's made an investment here. That's a whole lot
less than were killed on American highways last month.
Their lives are honored when we stay the course and do the
job we came to do; namely, set the conditions for a new
government and empower these people to be the great
nation they are capable of being. |
