Marine in Ramadi: “I got a quote…for Harry Reid.” (with video of Marines in Fallujah) Update: Dollard gets more Marine email

posted at 4:15 pm on April 23, 2007 by Bryan
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Cpl Tyler Rock sent the email to Pat Dollard, whose site is now down, and that’s probably due to the Drudge link that the email attracted.

these families need us here. obviously he has never been in iraq. or atleast the area worth seeing. the parts where insurgency is rampant and the buildings are blown to pieces. we need to stay here and help rebuild. if iraq didnt want us here then why do we have IP’s voluntering everyday to rebuild their cities. and working directly with us too. same with the IA’s. it sucks that iraqi’s have more patriotism for a country that has turned to complete shit more than the people in america who drink starbucks everyday. we could leave this place and say we are sorry to the terrorists. and then we could wait for 3,000 more american civilians to die before we say “hey thats not nice” again. and the sad thing is after we WIN this war. people like him will say he was there for us the whole time.

That part comes after Cpl Rock, who belongs to the 1/6 in Ramadi, details quite a bit of progress he has seen over the year he has been living in an outpost in downtown Ramadi.

i spent my christmas holidays covered in ash from the mortar fire and the IED’s, sleeping under a dirty rug i found in the house. everyone was sleeping way to close for comfort just to stay warm. anyways. a family was there and they obviously didnt want us there. atleast at first. the daughters were very sick so our corpsman treated them. they didnt have electricity so we got them a generator for power, they were cold so we got them gas heaters, we got them food and water and then we gave them $500. by the end of the week long visit with them we were drinking tea with them. when we left we cleaned their house better than it was when we got there. i even have pictures with the family. they told us that they liked marines and they would help us as much as they could and they gave us some information on the insurgents in the area. we ended up catching a HUGE target down the road from there house because of it.

Cpl Rock sounds like the Marines we featured in Vent a couple of weeks ago. They’re in Fallujah, but they’re reporting similar progress. Click to play the videos.

And…

What if we won the war, but no one noticed because the Democrats were too busy skipping briefings to realize it?

Update: Pat’s site is back up and he has posted another great email from Marine 1Lt Matthew McGirr in Ramadi.

That Cpl is correct in his assessment. I am also back in Ar Ramadi, and I have a basis for a comparison of the current situation based on my experiences in this town two years ago as well as today, April 24, 2007. As you know this war torn city was once the worst city in Iraq. Today, the citizens of this city are taking a stand against those extremists and foreign
fighters who are focused only on destroying any chance at a secure and stable future. Those Iraqis who once fought against us are now joining the ranks of the Iraqi Police forces. They are taking up arms against the foreign fighters. They are cleaning up their streets and making an attempt at forming a structured government. They have come to see us as facilitators of peace and allies in the defense of their streets. Because of this they have become targets for the
insurgents, yet they continue to show resolve in the face of terrorism. We are gaining ground. This city is undergoing a sea change. To pull stakes now will cause this city, the Al Anbar Province, and all of Iraq to fall into the hands of thugs and terrorists….

To echo the sentiments of my fellow Marine in 1/6, the reality of what is happening on the ground in places like Ramadi is not being reported to the American public. The pundits and politicians on both sides do not fully grasp the conditions on the ground here. They are arrogantly and irresponsibly using this war and the troops who fight in it for political gain and election currency. They manipulate the truth or do not care enough to seek it out. At least I know where I stand with the citizens of Ar Ramadi.

I know that we have some Hot Air readers among the military in Iraq. If any of you have anything to add to what Cpl Rock and 1Lt McGirr have said, email me at bryan — at — hotair — dot — com.

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