>From the Orlando Sentinel...
FRIDAY FORUM Today's topic: Was the war in Iraq worth it? By John Matthews | My Word Posted March 26, 2004 Was the war in Iraq worth it? It depends on whom you ask. I'm a soldier, not a politician. This is from my perspective as someone who spent the last 12 months with his boots on the ground in Iraq. If you were to ask an American soldier's parent or family member who has lost a son, daughter, father or sister over there, then of course the war was not worth it. I can't imagine their pain and sorrow. My heart goes out to them. If you were to ask an Iraqi parent or other family member who has gained back a son, daughter, father or sister from having to serve and die under Saddam's army or "service" his henchmen's wants and perversions, and now has their family whole again with a chance to live and pursue happiness, then, of course, the war was worth it. Wars are like that. You don't win a war. What I'd hope you'd understand is that this isn't about winning. It's about doing what is right. This war was worth it. I was a truck battalion XO and had more that 1,500 brave and competent soldiers traveling the entire north/south highways in Iraq. Think of driving from Miami to Savannah every day, every week for a year, with 40 pounds of gear and 130-degree heat during the summer. You feel and see everything in these convoys. Good and bad. Recently I traveled to an orphanage in Nasiriyah, the Iraqi town where Jessica Lynch's team were ambushed. It is a different town now. I traded cigars with some of the local police force, played patty-cake with the kids, showed off pictures of my family to the local teens who insisted that I allow them to marry my teenage daughter. We played a game of soccer (soldiers against kids; we lost). Folks, take a deep breath, they're better off over there now than they were before. Sorry to burst your bubble, but it is the truth. Their newfound freedom shows and multiplies every day. Shops are selling us colas, ice, flags and other items. Families get to keep their crops, herds, water and electricity instead of Saddam taking a percentage. We've got their electric and sewage running decades better than it used to. The insurgents blow it up to promote "instability." Kids are going to new schools and playing soccer instead of throwing rocks at convoys or learning how to turn a coke can into an improvised explosive device. They are interested in us and we are interested in them. Bottom line, rubber meeting the road and all that . . . honest. That Miami-to-Savannah trip I mentioned earlier: Most of the ambushes are occurring only in an area the size of Jacksonville. The media -- and therefore, YOU -- are focusing on the tree instead of the forest. >From what I've seen in the papers and on cable, you'd think that we've made no progress over there at all and blame politicians. But this isn't politics to those Iraqi survivors or my soldiers. We have made progress by leaps and bounds. There are setbacks and finger-pointing at levels way above my pay grade, but in the end Iraq is better off. The Iraqi minister of tourism isn't getting too many calls, but it'll happen. If "Friday Forum" is still around in 10 years, look for my letter. The Middle East has been given a wake-up call: We'll bring the fight to you, to protect our freedom and our way of life. Give me proactive over re-active any day of the week. I don't want to be sitting in my office building in Orlando saying, "Hey, that plane's flying kind of low . . . ." John Matthews, a major in the Army Reserves, lives in Clermont. ______________________________________________________ RollTideFan - The University of Alabama Athletics Discussion List "Welcome to RollTideFan! Wear a cup!" To join or leave the list or to make changes to your subscription visit http://listinfo.rolltidefan.net
