I know once in awhile this board of good people has gone back in forth in regards to the US's position in the Iraq War. What I've learned over the past few years is that the situation in Afghanistan is often times overlooked - by us, by the media, and by our government. My brother has served in the US Army for the better part of the past 24 years. He has been to Bosnia (witnessing and helping to clean up mass graves), he served in Iraq in 1990 and again in 2005, and now he is in Afghanistan. He hasn't said too much about Afghanistan until today (well, we received the email just today).
I'm not posting his email because I am believing that there needs to be some big debate about it - just though some of you might appreciate reading a totally unedited point of view from a soldier. There is certainly a lot about which we can debate, but what a soldier feels in his/her heart is based on their personal experiences. He is a Staff Sergeant in charge of a group of guys that are young enough to be his own children - something he does not take lightly. He feels he owes it to their families to keep these young'uns as safe as possible. I've also included a recent photo of him with a couple of his guys (he's the old dude in the front).
Cheers,
Loonette
p.s. when he mentions "Sandra", that is his wife of less than a year - they met in Germany (she is German) in 2002. Germany has been his point of station since November of 2001.
October 8, 2007
COP Monti
Asmar, Afghanistan
Hi Guys!
I hope this email finds you all doing well! Sorry it took me a little longer to write, but we have been busy in spurts, and it’s hard to sit and start something without getting interrupted in between.
All is going as ok here as ok can be, I suppose. We are at the tail end of Ramadan and the Taliban and Qaeda losers are gaining some steam and doing their best to make happy folks unhappy. This year has been the most violent year since the invasion 6 years ago, and it seems that recruits for their worthless cause are in never ending supply, with most of them being trained and supplied in Pakistan, which is only a mere 6 miles away from my present position and (unfortunately!) off-limits to us.
Up here in the poor, tribal border lands, there isn’t much to look forward to in the eyes of a young man between the ages of 17 and 25. There is no real industry or sources of employment and the radical Mullahs of the Taliban are reaping a good harvest of uneducated and disgruntled young men who fall for the “martyr” ploy, with promises of everlasting bliss in paradise with the killing of anyone who does not fall in line with their brand of Islamic law (known as Sheriah law).
These are laws that most in the Muslim world do not recognize as legitimate to Islam, and it would be very unfair to characterize all Muslims, most of whom are true to their faith, as fanatical Islamic extremists.
These laws force women out of jobs and schools and into Burkahs, and force women to be non-entities within society. Women are strictly for breeding. They are subject to beatings and rape or, if it is deemed “appropriate to the crime” by the Radical Mullah, are stoned to death in a public forum.
Sports, music, dancing, movies, kite flying and most other forms of entertainment are forbidden and punishable by imprisonment if caught. Men must wear a beard that falls two hand widths from the chin and may not cut their hair short. Barbers are outlawed.
Oh, and the destruction of the Jewish state and of Western civilization is the duty of all “true” Muslims everywhere, according to al-Qaeda and the Taliban. Total Jihad. The 9-11 attacks were planned and coordinated from this very backwater area of the world, (when I look around me, this fact blows my mind) and when we have run into these terrorists, the hate in their glare when they look at you is seething. I have not seen this degree of hatred in the eyes of anyone anywhere else that I have been in this world. It’s a burning hate for us like no other. And they mean business.
I guess my lamenting here is leading to a point; my point is that the world has not seen this kind of hate that is this encompassing since Hitler, where a whole population was targeted for destruction. These men who push the above ethos as a model for the Muslim world, while at the same time call for the destruction of the rest of the world, are not men, but animals of a kind that harbor nothing but hatred for all but themselves. They would devour all that is good and right and moral and spit it back out in the form of themselves.
I truly believe that this is only the beginning of a very long and difficult event that the world will have to struggle through. It has become ideologically and economically motivated, which is a lethal and terrifying combination.
I have looked at my country from the outside for a few years now and I am not pleased with much of what I see. But, I would not trade our way of life or the true nature of our character as a nation for anything that any other country has to offer. Americans, I believe, have a deep sense of compassion for just about everybody who is the underdog, and we seem to have a great sense of need to help where it is needed most. I believe that most Americans, the every day Americans, try to help when they can. I see it here every day. I see it during natural disasters and I see it among neighbors when one or the other is down and out. No agendas and no fanfare...people do it because it feels good.
Our medics received an Afghan kid today who fell from a tree and cut his chin wide open...they didn’t have to treat him, but Doc Forsythe said after he stitched the kid up that it felt good to help. The father was truly grateful. It feels good.
We pass out humanitarian aid now and then, and to be honest, it feels good. A jacket here and some rice there. They smile and it feels good.
I have been to Bosnia, Iraq, and now, Afghanistan. I have seen cruelty and suffering as a result of mad men who did nothing more than benefit themselves at the expense of others, to an extent that would make the average American cringe in horror.
America has one great fault that could truly be her undoing...she is naïve. She is so naïve at times that it can be truly embarrassing when seen from a distance. And she is naïve because she is sheltered by two oceans and a single language. She is a huge island. I have a very difficult time keeping my patience when it comes to listening to an average conversation in my country...it tends to be a conversation filled with the most trivial of issues...almost petty, in a sense. I have become the worst cynic!
In a sad sense, what I have seen and experienced in the past 25 years has severely trivialized many things that are deemed important by others. Issues to most are non-issues to me and I usually just become irritated. So, politics and religion are no longer a part of my diet! Although, the ironic thing is that my livelihood is a direct result of the extremes of both! Oh yeah, and failed diplomacy. And, not to forget, truly evil people who manipulate the good in life.
If you would like to know what I think right looks like when it comes down to it, watch the movie “Kingdom of Heaven” with Liam Neeson. He is a Knight during the Crusades and in the movie, his son is a character that I can relate to and would even venture to say am close to in thought and action. And most of the boys here are of the same mould and strive to be just and fair and desire to protect those who cannot protect themselves. By doing these things, we are true to ourselves and our country and our people. We are doing our best to represent what is best about America and Americans. The British, German, Canadian, and Italian soldiers here are equal partners in the same desire.
Just to let you all know, the people in Bosnia, Iraq, and Afghanistan (the every day people) have been, and are, truly grateful to America and her people, and her allies for the help and security they receive now and have received in the past.
You will not hear it or see it in the news or media because that kind of news just isn’t as exciting as the news generated by suicide bombers and fanatical religious groups, with guns, who try to bend the will of decent people to their own. It’s just not sensational enough. Or, they dwell on the idiocy of the majority in the Congress and the White House, who can’t seem to shift focus to the issues that matter, instead of focusing on them selves and on how wonderful they want us to believe them to be.
I will go out on a limb to say that there is an underlying current of goodness in this world that, for all the static noise of badness, cannot be extinguished. We could say it is God or the best in human nature or the soft purr of a cat. Whatever you identify it as, it is with us, constantly humming. The bad guys know it exists as well, and they will do everything in their power to snuff it out.
It will be our job here to snuff them out. And through this end, hopefully, we will find the means to let the hum of God or Goodness, the soft purr of a cat, or whatever you choose to call it, dub out the static noise of badness.
For the rest of my days, I will find a moment in each, to quietly reflect on those Soldiers who paid the ultimate sacrifice on the Terror War battlefields. They are unsung in the freshness of this struggle, but will never be forgotten. I will not allow that to happen as long as I breathe. And to their families, with deepest respect to their loss, I can only say thank you. They are Brothers and Sisters all.
I believe my time here in Afghanistan really puts a cap on all my experiences thus far. I am a tired old Soldier and really don’t wish to travel to any more hot spots. I need to digest it all and I think retirement will gladly fit the bill for me. I want to spend my days with Sandra and visit with my family and for once, just be quiet. No more big deals. I want to “call it a day”, so to speak!
I hope you guys don’t mind that I filled this letter with all of this...it just poured out. When I read the news I just get sick about it all, because for one, you guys don’t get a complete picture of what is being accomplished outside of the casualty count, talking head opinions, and think tank analysis’ on network news. They only tell you and show you what they want you to hear and see. Those folks don’t live it, and all of their jaw jacking does a great injustice to the names that fill the casualty list and only gives more power to the losers who want nothing more than to see free people enslaved or dead.
I love you guys very much! I hope that you all are in good health and spirits. I am doing ok and you need not worry. Please say hello to everyone and enjoy the autumn...I can imagine that the colors are looking good.
Over here it is starting to cool down and by November, winter should be in full swing. I have to say that northeastern Afghanistan is truly beautiful with her mountains and that mighty river. But, not quite as beautiful as Bavaria or Northern Michigan!
Take good care and my love to you all!
Brian
