THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume VIII, Issue # 80, May 16, 2006
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
IRAQ'S BAND OF BROTHERS (& THEIR MOTHERS)
By Michael Fumento
ISLAMISM & THE TERROR WAR IN IRAQ: THE IRAQI INSURGENCY AS AN ISLAMIST JIHAD BEING WAGED AGAINST
THE U.S. MILITARY IN IRAQ -- THE TRUE NATURE OF THE JIHAD -- THE DANGERS FACED & HARDSHIPS ENDURED BY
AMERICAN TROOPS & THE IMPORTANCE OF THEIR LOVED ONES BEING MADE AWARE OF WHAT THE TROOPS ARE GOING
THROUGH
FULL STORY:
Since returning from my embed in the wild west Iraqi city of Ramadi at the end of April, 2006, I’ve gotten some wonderful
e-mails from relatives of the troops. I’d like to share a few of them.
First some background. Despite the constant flow of news out of Baghdad, which, to many reporters, is where Iraq begins and
ends, terrorist-infested Ramadi is probably, block-for-block, the meanest place in the country. Asked where in the city I wanted
to be embedded, I told the military, “The redder, the better.” (“Red” means hostile.) So they packed me off to Camp
Corregidor with the 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division – the “Band of Brothers” made famous by
author Stephen Ambrose and HBO.
Four minarets stand within sniping distance of the camp and the gentlemen in these erstwhile places of worship regularly
shoot at the observation posts and often into the camp itself. Huge 122-millimeter mortars explode in Corregidor, on average,
every other day. I photographed a crater where two men were blown up just before reaching shelter.
Because of the constant attacks, body armor is required whenever outside a protected building – something I’ve seen
nowhere else in Iraq. I went on two-day patrols and we were attacked in force both times. Improvised explosive devices
(IEDs) pop up like mushrooms.
One chilling statistic: Charlie Company arrived in January, 2006, with 132 men. By late April, it was down to about 100 from
deaths, wounds and injuries.
I described and photographed these horrors for my blogs from the camp, which many family members read. I discovered from
their letters that ignorance is not always bliss. Here are excerpts from two:
"Thank you so much for the excellent pictures of Ramadi. My son is in
Camp Corregidor and these are the first really decent pictures of the area
I have seen. It, at least, gives me an idea of what it is like. He doesn't say
much about the conditions, so I have to prowl the Internet to find what
I can. He doesn't want his mom and dad to worry more than we have to."
* * *
“My son is there at Camp Corregidor – an Army sniper with HHC 1/506th
– and, although he doesn’t tell the stories as well as you did, the firefight
you experienced is a daily event for them. I appreciate the fact that you
are not spinning the story to fit a personal agenda. We need more
articles like yours. Enjoy your time in Ramadi.”
Enjoy, huh?
Another told me:
“It's hard to talk [to my husband in 1st Battalion] on the phone and not be
able to know what he is doing or what all is happening. It always makes
me feel better when I know what’s happened, even if it is good news or
somewhat scary news. So what I am getting at is that I enjoyed reading
your articles and seeing the pictures. Just hearing what they are going
through for our country makes me so proud that I married into the
military!”
So, “No news is bad news.” Repeatedly, I found troops were trying to spare their parents, but the parents didn’t want to be
spared. One wrote: “As a mother, I need to know what he's going through – not to torment myself, but to better prepare for
his state of mind when he returns.”
Another said:
“[My son] can not say what he does. All I get is ‘I am good,’ but he
sounds tired. You gave me some insight into his life.”
It was signed, “Scared mom of Spc. [name omitted].”
Others were grateful the world was hearing of the men’s sacrifice. Predictably, not many reporters go to Corregidor, and
often they cut their trips short if they do. (One embed there was recently shot twice by a sniper.)
“Damn – at last!” read one of the e-mails.
“Someone finally went into Ramadi and stayed for more than 15
minutes to cover the real deal. I speak to [my brother] once or
twice a week and have heard only a little of what you observed.
The activity and hardship endured by these soldiers is
incredible – huh?”
Indeed.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Republished with Permission of
Michael Fumento
www.fumento.com
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
The Middle East & the Problem of Iraq
Page Two
Page One
The Problem of Rogue States:
Iraq as a Case History
National Strategy for Victory in Iraq
Middle East -- Arabs, Arab States,
& Their Middle Eastern Neighbors
Islamism & Jihadism -- The Threat of Radical Islam
Page Three
Page Two
Page One
War & Peace in the Real World
Page Two
Page One
Islamist Terrorist Attacks on the U.S.A.
Osama bin Laden & the Islamist Declaration of War
Against the U.S.A. & Western Civilization
Islamist International Terrorism &
U.S. Intelligence Agencies
Counterterrorism & U.S. National Security
U.S. National Security Strategy
Michael Fumento (Fumento@pobox.com) is a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, an associate of the Competitive
Enterprise Institute, a columnist syndicated by Scripps-Howard, and the author of numerous books, including
BioEvolution: How Biotechnology Is Changing the World. A former U.S. Army paratrooper, Fumento has been
embedded twice in the western Iraqi region of Al Anbar. His collected articles can be found at the following Internet
website address: www.fumento.com
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