THE REAL STORY FROM IRAQ...
13th Air Force Veterans Newsletter, Summer 2004 | Ray Reynolds, SFC
THE REAL STORY FROM IRAQ...
As I head off to baghdad for the final weeks of my stay in Iraq, I wanted to say thanks to all of you who did not believe the media. They have done a very poor job of covering everything that has happened. I am sorry that I have not been able to visit all of you during my two week leave back home. And just so you can rest at night knowing something is happening in Iraq that is noteworthy, I thought I would pass this on to you. This is the list of things that has happened in Iraq recently. Please feel free to share it wity your friends and compare it to the version that your local newspaper is printing!
Over 4.5 million people have clean drinking water for the first time ever in Iraq.
Over 400,000 kids have up to date immunizations.
Over 1500 schools have been renovated and ridded of the weapons that were stored there so education can occur.
The port of Uhm Qasar was renovated so grain can be off loaded from ships faster.
School attendance is up 80% from levels before the war.
The country had its first 2 billion barrel export of oil in August.
The country now received 2 times the electrical power it did before the war.
100% of the hospitals are open and fully staffed compared to 35% before the war.
Elections are taking place in every major city and city councils are in place.
Sewer and water lines are installed in every major city.
Over 60,000 police are patrolling the streets.
Over 100,00 Iraqi civil defense police are securing the country.
Over 80,000 Iraqi soldiers are patrolling the streets side by side with US soldiers.
Over 400,000 people have telephones for the first time ever.
Students are taught field sanitation and hand washing techniques to prevent the spread of germs.
An interim constitution had been signed.
Girls are allowed to attend school for the first time ever in Iraq.
Text books that don't mention Saddam are in the schools for the first time in 30 years.
Don't believe for one second that these people do not want us there.
I ahve met many, many people from Iraq that want us there very badly. They say they will never see the freedoms we talk about but they hope their children will. We are doing a good job in Iraq and I challenge anyone, anywhere to dispute me on these facts.
So if you happen to run into John Kerry, be sure to five him my email address and send him to Denison, Iowa. This soldier will set him straight. If you are like me and very disgusted with how this period of rebuilding has been protrayed, email this to a friend and let them know there are good things happening.
Ray Reynolds, SFC Iowa Army National Guard 234th Signal Battalion |
