Here I am, one of those unfortunate people who can see both sides of an issue. Sometimes I envy my conservative friends - everything is black or white, right or wrong, moral or immoral. I think life must be easier when it's all laid out so clearly.
For instance, take The War. As I've said in this space several times already, I think this war is the result of extreme diplomatic ineptitude and misplaced righteousness. If Bush was not so arrogant and more world aware he could have achieved the removal of Saddam through peaceful means. But, he's a go it alone type of guy. Afterall God is on his side.
That being said, I really want our troops to do well and be safe. And in that vein, I've excerpted some tidbits from an e-mail from the front sent to a co-worker buddy of mine who is a former Navy fighter pilot who has spent much time over Iraq.
Speaking of which, the real danger over here is driving. We've had quite a few people killed in accidents. It was the same way during the gulf war. Driving is a lot more dangerous than combat.There have been times where I've been driving at night with no lights, wearing NODs, in conditions so dusty that I couldn't see the IR tail lights of the vehicle three feet in front of me. There are vehicles turned over on either side of the road, which has steep drop-offs on either side, every few miles the whole way up here.
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I have respect for the Iraqis. There is, I think, an increasing realization that a bunch of guys a lot like us are sitting in headquarters a lot like ours trying to figure out how to beat us with a lot fewer guys and a lot older equipment. They feel like they are protecting their country from an invader (and they are) and are doing their best to mount a decent defense in depth. They're doing what they can with limited resources and desperate tactics. They're actually making a go of it, and trying to go down with a fight rather than rolling over, and as a professional soldier, you at least have to respect that. From what we've seen of the Medina, they're professionals, and don't act like the untrained kids with guns that we've seen so far. They're not rushing into things and are trying to set themselves up as well as they can. As those of us who have played WarCraft have seen, you're always better off in the defense when you have the option. It's too bad we're going to have to send them through the Air Force blender on Puree'. War is never pleasant, and rarely makes sense as we now see.
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Well, we're all fine here. Just dirty. Very dirty. I haven't taken a shower since the war started. Food consists of MREs and bottled water, which is a little bland, but MREs have gotten a lot better in the past few years, and like I've always said, the taste quality of the MRE is directly proportional to how hungry and tired you are. We're moving too fast for mail, but once things slow down I'll get everything so
keep sending stuff. I'll probably get a huge stack when we finally stop.
9:42:47 PM 
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