The First Casualty

bash · Post by **bash** » Thu Apr 29, 2004 7:34 am

Letter from Iraq:

Hello Everyone, I am taking time to ask you all for your help.

First off, I'd like to say that this is not a political message. I'm not concerned about domestic politics right now. We have much bigger things to deal with, and we need your help.

It seems that despite the tremendous and heroic efforts of the men and women serving here in Iraq to bring much needed peace and stability to this region, we are losing the war of perception with the media and American people. Our enemy has learned that the key to defeating the mighty American military is by swaying public opinion at home and abroad. We are a people that cherish the democratic system of government and therefore hold the will of the people in the highest regard. We love to criticize ourselves almost to an endless degree, because we care what others think. Our enemies see this as a weakness and are trying to exploit it.

When we ask ourselves questions like, "Why do they hate us?" or "What did we do wrong?" we are playing into our enemies' hands. Our natural tendency to question ourselves is being used against us to undermine our effort to do good in the world. How far would we have gotten if after the surprise attacks on December 7, 1941 at Pearl Harbor, we would have asked, "Why do the Japanese hate us so much?" or "How can we change ourselves so that they won't do that again?" Here in Iraq the enemy is trying very hard to portray our efforts as failing and fruitless. They kill innocents and desecrate their bodies in hopes that the people back home will lose the will to fight for liberty. They are betting on our perceived weakness as a thoughtful, considerate people. Unfortunately our media only serves to further their cause.

In an industry that feeds on ratings and bad news, a failure in Iraq would be a goldmine. When our so-called "trusted" American media takes a quote from an Iraqi doctor as the gospel truth over that of the men and women that are daily fighting to protect the right to freedom of press, you know something is wrong. That doctor claimed that out of 600 Iraqis, that were casualties of the fighting, the vast majority of them were women, children and the elderly. This is totally absurd. In the history of man, no one has spent more time and effort, often to the detriment of our own mission, to be more discriminate in our targeting of the enemy than the American military. The Marines and Soldiers serving in Iraq have gone through extensive training in order to limit the amount of innocent casualties and collateral damage.

Yet, despite all of this, our media consistently sides with those who openly lie and directly challenge the honor of our brave heroes fighting for liberty and peace. What we have to remember is that peace is not defined as an absence of war. It is the presence of liberty, stability, and prosperity. In the face of the horrendous tyranny of the former Iraqi regime, the only way true peace was able to come to this region was through force. That is what the American Revolution was all about. Have we forgotten? Freedom is not free and "peace" without principle is not peace. The peace that so-called "peace advocates" support can only be brought to Iraq through the military. And we are doing it, if only the world will let us! If the American people believe we are failing, even if we are not, then we will ultimately fail.

That is why I am asking for your support. Become a voice of truth in your community. Wherever you are fight the lies of the enemy. Don't buy into the pessimism and apathy that says, "It's hopeless," "They hate us too much," "That part of the world is just too messed up," "It's our fault anyway," "We're to blame," and so forth. Whether you're in middle school, working at a 9-5 job, retired, or a stay-at-home mom you can make a huge difference! There is nothing more powerful than the truth. So, when you watch the news and see doomsday predictions and spiteful opinions on our efforts over here, you can refute them by knowing that we are doing a tremendous amount of good. Spread the word. No one is poised to make such an amazing contribution to the everyday lives of Iraqis and the rest of the Arab world than the American Armed Forces. By making this a place where liberty can finally grow, we are making the whole world safer. Your efforts at home are directly tied to our success. You are the soldiers at home fighting the war of perception. So I'm asking you as a fellow fighting man: Do your duty. Stop the attempts of the enemy wherever you are. You are a mighty force for good, because truth is on your side. Together we will win this fight and ensure a better world for the future.

God Bless and Semper Fidelis, 1st Lt. Robert L. Nofsinger USMC Ramadi, Iraq

roid · Post by **roid** » Thu Apr 29, 2004 7:50 am

lol "thinking is the enemy".

Bold Deceiver · Post by **Bold Deceiver** » Thu Apr 29, 2004 7:53 am

A well-written letter, with an important message. Thanks Bash. Keep up the good work.

BD

Zuruck · Post by **Zuruck** » Thu Apr 29, 2004 7:55 am

bash i like you but you gotta realize something. i don't think there is one person, liberal or not on this board that doesn't support the soldiers putting their lives on the line. Some may not support the war overall, but there is nobody here that believes the soldiers are babykillers or bad people.

how has the media put the soldier in bad light? not the war, the soldier. Enlighten me please. I had a long night filled with Jack Daniels.

Zuruck · Post by **Zuruck** » Thu Apr 29, 2004 7:57 am

alright i just read it a little closer and i guess i got the wrong message from it. i hate the media too, what is their saying "bad news sells"...every day I open the Chicago Sun Times and it's something terrible on the front. I'm still waiting to open the paper and see some happy. Will it happen? I dont think so, it seems as if there are quite a few that enjoy reading others' plights. I do not.

roid · Post by **roid** » Thu Apr 29, 2004 8:08 am

o_O uh... wtf?
ok this isn't making sense, i just gotta bite:

you do realise that this letter is just saying the typical "you are working against america if you question... well, uh, ANYTHING" right?

ok there, i took the bait. what happens now.

Kyouryuu · Post by **Kyouryuu** » Thu Apr 29, 2004 8:19 am

I'm still not really sure how the news benefits from a failure in Iraq. Then there is no more war to cover, only secret meetings and tales of conspirac...

Oh, I get it.

woodchip · Post by **woodchip** » Thu Apr 29, 2004 5:10 pm

roid wrote:o_O uh... wtf?
you do realise that this letter is just saying the typical "you are working against america if you question... well, uh, ANYTHING" right?

ok there, i took the bait. what happens now.

Got it wrong again, huh Roid? Intent of letter is...stop focusing on the bad exclusively. If the news would report on the good with equal asperity, the insurgents may more quickly realize their cause is hopeless and go elsewhere.

Kyouryuu · Post by **Kyouryuu** » Thu Apr 29, 2004 9:37 pm

I think this is definitely true. While I wouldn't snub the deaths of soldiers, I'm tired of the media dwelling on the stalemate in Falluja, or "ten soldiers died here," "twenty soldiers died here," "Al Sadr ramps up his rhetoric" negativity. And the obligatory stupid Iraqi man who masturbates over the car bombing and, interpreted with broken English, says "This is all ze Americans fault, ze devil should rot in the bowels of Hell for messing with ze proud people of Falluja!"

Let's talk about what we have accomplished. Never forget that mainstream Iraq sees Al Sadr as a punk riding on the coattails of his father's fame (or infamy) and sees the Coalition as having done a good thing. I firmly believe we will establish a democratic government in Iraq and stability will come to exist there.

The lingering question in my mind is if, at the end of the day, it would have been worth the cost we have already endured. But, let's get to our goal first instead of second guessing ourselves prematurely.

roid · Post by **roid** » Thu Apr 29, 2004 10:48 pm

ahhhh righto i understand.

and i agree.

my perfect news station would tell me what's going on in timeline point form. and show where we are going.
i don't ever just want today's news, i always want to know how it fits in with yesterday's news, last month's news, and last years news.
i like SBS's world news' simple ad slogan: it shows a flurry of videoclips from various news issues getting faster and faster, then stops, goes black, you see a black and white earth spinning in space in the distance, then a voiceover says "...what's going on?"

i too don't like this dumb reactionary "argh this is terrible".. and 5 mins later... "oh this is terrible too! check it out". that's stupid, it doesn't teach you what's going on, you learn almost nothing from it other than some basic emergency trauma tips ("when a person's arm is badly burnt, it's good to keep it wrapped in a wet clean cloth until you get to hospital" etc).
i don't want to see tryhard emotional trash trying to pass itself off as "news". i want to know what's going on.

Birdseye · Post by **Birdseye** » Fri Apr 30, 2004 12:18 am

Edit: Whoops, for some reason the new DBB quoting font is like size 7 for me, and I missed the 1st LT. part. lol.

Still, the following holds:

Funny, if someone posted the exact *opposite* letter on this board, you'd see all sorts of people demanding to see some proof. Shame, I think there is a lot of standards bending here because the data simply fits in with personal opinions. We can't proove anything he said, nothing really except hearsay.

roid · Post by **roid** » Fri Apr 30, 2004 12:46 am

Birdseye wrote:I truly hope that this very small (1 person) statistical sample is a reflection of the vast majority of Iraqi sentiment.

he's not iraqi he's an american soldier.

bash · Post by **bash** » Fri Apr 30, 2004 1:01 am

Birds, find the opposite and post it then. Calling into question the truthfulness of someone who is there and is asking for your support seems to me to simply be your brain trying to squirm away from something it doesn't want to believe. I get the impression recently you would much rather believe the negative lunacy that the US Marines completely ignored the folks firing at them and instead went after 600 children, women and elderly because they would be easier to hit.

Before casting doubt on what's plainly in front of your nose, consider that it's much more of a tenuous stretch on reality to believe the opposite.

Birdseye · Post by **Birdseye** » Fri Apr 30, 2004 1:05 am

Hey, you know a link to CNN or whatever is all I'm asking. How do I know you didn't get this from some internet mailing list that has no real public checks?

bash · Post by **bash** » Fri Apr 30, 2004 1:09 am

http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Re ... p?ID=13152

That's where I got it. It's the online presence of David Horowitz http://www.frontpagemag.com/AboutHorowitz/index.asp Let us know what 1st Lt. Robert L. Nofsinger USMC Ramadi, Iraq, says when you contact him.

Birdseye · Post by **Birdseye** » Fri Apr 30, 2004 1:20 am

Thanks, that's really what I wanted. Still, it really is a political message without really any facts in it, other than a singular opinion and experience.

But, don't count me out bash. I truly hope we're doing the right thing, Iraq stabalizes, and democracy flows.

bash · Post by **bash** » Fri Apr 30, 2004 1:26 am

It wasn't posted as a news story. Honestly, I prefer my *spin* up front to the deceitful censorship of what most mass media claims is objective reporting. Read Horowitz' bio. You may find it illuminating before writing off his site as just a conservative bastion. That's one of the things that bothers me about the little leftists these days pretending it's the '60s all over again. It isn't and some of the brightest leftist minds from that era are now conservatives.

Birdseye · Post by **Birdseye** » Fri Apr 30, 2004 1:27 am

Oh, I did and it was quite interesting, especially the Black Panther stuff.. I hope he's right, but it'll take more than one to convince me of the whole.

Even if it wasn't posted as a news story, I'm sorry but you can't just post things without references.

bash · Post by **bash** » Fri Apr 30, 2004 1:36 am

Frankly I wanted the content to be considered and not the source. The message was too important to give people who don't want to believe the content the opening to shoot the messenger and ignore the message. I generally do link to things if I think someone will try to discredit it.

woodchip · Post by **woodchip** » Fri Apr 30, 2004 5:58 am

Finding good news report aren't terribly difficult to find. Go to any of the military service web sites for starters. Too bad the big news outlets aren't as balanced:

Recent graduates from Al Qaim Police Academy's first class conducted a week-long on-the-job training program. The police patrolled the streets with Marines from Company K, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment.
http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000. ... endocument

More than 20 private contractors, all workers of Muslim faith, teamed up with Lance Cpl. Mohammad U. Qayyum, security augment to Charlie Company, 3rd Low Altitude Air Defense Battalion, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, to restore the mosque in order to afford Muslims living and working here a place to worship.
http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000. ... endocument

Helping to pave the way for a self-governing Iraq, Marines armed with dump trucks and other construction equipment recently repaired rough roads around an infantry outpost on the edge of Fallujah, Iraq, that will soon be home to a battalion of the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps.
http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000. ... endocument

Alive and well in Fallujah

Tuesday's Journal Star featured an Associated Press photograph of an Iraqi citizen kissing Joe on the hand after Marines gave the man a supply of food and water in Fallujah the day before. The snapshot was a far cry from the other furious battle images coming back from the city, one of the strongholds of the Sunni-led insurgency that for months has plagued U.S. forces across central and northern Iraq.

http://www.pjstar.com/news/topnews/b2qsitil031.html

The First Casualty

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