An explanation of a previous blog...

I genuinely feel like I need to explain my blog from the other day. Some people have read it and say it comes across as angry and aggressive. Following this blog I will post a letter that I wrote to my family some time ago. Hopefully that will help some understand my frame of mind.

The day I wrote the ‘Agro Blog’ as I now call it, I went “outside the wire” for the first time in two months. I rode in a convoy to the local airport. Mind you, this is less than 30 miles, but typically takes just over an hour. The day after my trip, an IED – improvised explosive device – was detonated along “route blue” the same route we’d just traveled. I can honestly say this sent chills down my spine. At the time I wrote the blog I had no idea that this would occur, but it only served to reinforce my belief in what we are doing here.

I took some pictures during the convoy, as well as some video. I also thought a lot along the way, about what it was exactly that we are doing over here. My “opinion” is that our goal here is to assist the Afghanis establish a central government, a national security force, local police forces, eliminate the corruption that seems to be at every level, to build infrastructure, schools and medical facilities, but more than anything else, to give these people hope.

While I drove thru downtown MeS, I thought it probably looked like Tijuana Mexico back in the 70s. There were kids with sheep, men riding donkeys, come to think of it, Tijuana was probably more advanced in the 70s… The people move slowly, kind of in a trance. Lethargic. Autos are being worked on up on planks across the ditch – probably just draining the oil, radiator, power steering (if they have it…) and brake fluids, right into the ditches along the side of the street. The only thing that was appealing to the eye was the brand new High School, which I think we built – and the Blue Mosque, pictured in an earlier blog. EVERYTHING else was dirty, depressing, old, dilapidated and just simply sad. More than anything, these people need hope.

At one or two dollars a day (the average annual income is between $350 and $400 US), it is pretty easy to understand how the Taliban and/or Al Qaeda can recruit the poor locals by offering a hundred or two hundred dollars for information, to build a bomb, to plant a bomb, to kill an American or Coalition soldier, etc. However, it is painfully obvious by the waves from children and adults that they like us, want us here and appreciate the job we’re doing.

Now let me get political for a bit. When friends, family, strangers or whomever, begin talking about politics I tend to get frustrated because far too much credit or blame gets assessed to the President. For example, when my relative made the comment about “hating Bush for six years” for this war, is that fair? If I remember correctly, Congress was almost unanimous in the vote to go to war in Afghanistan. The majority of the country wanted retribution. How is this Bush’s fault? The administration was fed bogus information from the CIA about Iraq, was that Bush’s fault?

Military planners assured the Administration this would be quick and decisive. Well, the battle was. The occupation, not so much… Is that Bush’s fault? I don’t believe it is. Why is that? Well, one reason has to do specifically with Clinton’s military cutbacks. His reduction in force has significantly impacted the Army’s ability to do the job they’ve been asked to do, and more specifically, why Air Force and Navy personnel are being pulled to fill supporting roles, and very specifically, why I am sitting here writing this from Afghanistan and not on US soil.

Clinton got a lot of credit for the great economy during his administration. I think Bill GATES, not Bill Clinton deserves that credit… Bill GATES, Paul Allen, Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos, and all of the tens of thousands that took gambles in small start-up companies deserve the credit for our “internet revolution” and the economy that followed. But then Bush gets blamed for the economic downturn in the early 2000s. Isn’t that really more of a failure on the part of Greenspan for not putting the breaks on a rapidly expanding and overly inflated economy? By not increasing interest rates high enough, nor fast enough? The failure, during the Clinton years, to put the breaks on this locomotive resulted in the “runaway train” that ensued. This was neither Clintons fault, not Bush’s. Nor was the superb economy in the 90’s Clinton’s doing.

In my humble opinion, the American people should focus more on the government as a whole entity, and assign credit and blame a bit more rationally. More importantly, I believe that Americans, with regard to this war, need to present a united front. Publicly, we should support our government – our elected officials – and show the world that we support this war, the commitment our government has made to the Afghani and Iraqi people, and to fight terrorists and insurgents.

Why is this important? To begin with, it is important that the American Soldiers, Sailors and Marines believe that their country is behind them and supports them. Not just supporting on an individual level, but in the job that we’ve been asked to do, and the rationale behind it. If we don’t feel that America, as a whole, is supportive of what we’re doing, then why are we over here doing it? More importantly, it is imperative that the Afghani and Iraqi people believe that the American government won’t withdraw prematurely, AGAIN... If Taliban, Al Queda and Iraqi insurgents know that Americans will leave before the mission is accomplished they know, as well as the general populous, that eventually things will go back to the way they were. Or maybe even worse! How can we expect local nationals to believe and support us if the people back home won’t?

Why should they, the local nationals, commit to supporting the US troops if they know that we will leave before we’ve accomplished what we’ve set out to do? The Taliban is notorious for killing and mutilating US supporters. Why would that change? I also think that it is important on a Worldwide level that we establish governments and security forces here in an already unstable region. Economically it is important that we show the world that we follow through on our commitments.

Considering that we are the world’s largest debtor nation, and cannot currently afford to pay back our debts, what would happen if the majority of the world lost faith in the US government? There is more at stake here than just the support and belief we hope to provide to Afghans and Iraqis. We need to reinforce the belief worldwide that America follows through with its commitments.

I can’t quote him exactly, but Pat Conroy – a favorite author of mine – once said something he’d realized after spending the night at his old teammates house some years later. They had played together on the basketball team at the Citadel, Conroy turned down his commission and went on to publicly protest the war with vigor. His friend became a pilot, was shot down and spent some time in Hanoi Hilton. After reuniting and talking at length about their experiences, Pat lay awake that night thinking. The epiphany he had was something like this: “Right or wrong, we – as Americans – should support our government and country, for it is the greatest country on Earth.”

I have huge problems with what the media has done back home, aside from turning this into another “Viet Nam” but the one sided and unfair reporting is not representative of the feelings, beliefs or commitments of those of us over here making the sacrifices. Nor do they fairly represent the positive side to what we are doing. All I saw prior to my deployment was every negative aspect of this war. Constant reporting about bombings, fire fights, suicide bombers, IEDs, deaths of US, Coalition forces and local nationals. Periodic interviews with distraught or disheartened soldiers, interviews with families who have lost loved ones – and who’s privacy should be respected…

Let me first say that they, the distraught and disheartened soldiers are the exception, not the rule. Not once have I seen reporting of the majority here that believe in what we’re doing. Not once have I seen pictures, video or interviews of local nationals, reporting about the opening of a school, a brand new orphanage being built (I will post pictures of the Orphanage my group recently completed), video of soldiers handing out school or medical supplies, soccer balls by the car load, small bags of candy. I guess what I’m trying to say is – Please don’t believe what you see on TV or in the news. The media is only presenting an unfair and one-sided perspective of this war.

I guess that’s all for now…

Murph, out.