Letter From Iraq

image credit: Jeremy Botter

A letter written home by an anonymous Marine officer that has been circulating for the past month, recently published by TIME Magazine.

Most Profound Man in Iraq — an unidentified farmer in a fairly remote area who, after being asked by Reconnaissance Marines if he had seen any foreign fighters in the area replied ‘Yes, you.’ (…)

Biggest Hassle — High-ranking visitors. More disruptive to work than a rocket attack. VIPs demand briefs and “battlefield” tours (we take them to quiet sections of Fallujah, which is plenty scary for them). Our briefs and commentary seem to have no affect on their preconceived notions of what’s going on in Iraq. Their trips allow them to say that they’ve been to Fallujah, which gives them an unfortunate degree of credibility in perpetuating their fantasies about the insurgency here. Biggest Outrage — Practically anything said by talking heads on TV about the war in Iraq, not that I get to watch much TV. Their thoughts are consistently both grossly simplistic and politically slanted. (…)

Only Thing Better in Iraq Than in the U.S. — Sunsets. Spectacular. It’s from all the dust in the air.

The Conversation {3 comments}

  1. Trina 07 October, 06 @ 2:48 pm

    WOW! Amazing what we back home miss and don’t hear on the news. I know in the back of my mind that there is so much more going on than what we see here at home. All those “Talking Heads” sure do use politics to voice their so called opinions about the Iraq War when they haven’t even walked in these soldiers boots! Bravo to our Men and Women in Uniform!

  2. Erik 21 March, 07 @ 11:04 am

    Comment removed. (Ed.)

  3. Justin Ruckman 21 March, 07 @ 1:54 pm

    Erik dude, trying to make a point by trash-talking other commenters was a weak strategy. Sacrificing civility to the rhetoric gods isn’t allowed round these parts.

Leave Your Own Comment

You can follow any responses to this entry via its RSS comments feed. You can also leave a trackback if the inclination is there.

  • Recent Comments

  • Archives

  • Last.fm

  • FFFFOUND!

    friedman.jpg (Image JPEG, 250x315 pixels)Fictional radio-spaces · Touch12-Way Intersection // Centripetal NotionNomad Yurt: Eco-Friendly Nomadic Shelter With A Modern Twist - EcofriendArchinect : Features : Delirious MoscowArchinect : Features : Delirious Moscow
  • If you're looking for something specific then give the search form below a try:

    Justin Ruckman