My answer to Staff Sergeant Ellifritt
Dear Mr. Ellifritt (if this is your real name, one never knows)!

I was very delighted to see your long and in depth comment here on my page. So I decided to give you an answer that fits to your work. But don`t be missled- I use clear and harsh language, not to offend but to make my point. This is nothing personal, but a political debate. Lets roll:

“I first came across your views via a "Soldiers Blog," where you have seemed to attempt to sway some strong opinions. Most noticeably directed towards "Kevin."“

Thank you for contributing here, it is such a rare thing!

„You bring up some interesting arguments ie: CIA level of involvement, and the Allawi/CPA government contract links.“

There is so much more that makes one VERY suspecious to the US- govs declarations about freedom and democracy… Just think of all the lies that were told about „collateral damage“… I just want to mention one, the famous killing of up to 40 „insurgents“ last year near the syrian border… Mark Kimmitt and other mouthpieces declared it a „mayor hit to insurgent transport networks“… but some days later, AP came out with a video obtained from a cameraman killed in the bombing. The material showed – a wedding party! There were children and women all arround and it looked like a tribal marriage, but not like an „insurgent meeting“. The only answer Kimmit gave to the video was: „Bad people have parties too.“ What shall I think of a military and a government that acts so unbelievable cynical, that lies when ever possible? Should I really believe their speeches about „freedom“, while they sponser iraqi militias and hitman from Saddams mukhabarat, bring forward BIG contracts with an iraqi „gov“ that depends on US firepower or just hinder the iraqi forces to buy heavy equipment in larger quantities? All this hints only in one direction: The US- gov plans to stay in iraq with their military (just think of bases like camp vitory- do you want to tell me that these fortresses are NOT permanent), their intelligence services and their friends in the US business like Halliburton, Bechtel or on the side of the hired guns, Blackwater. The war you were fighting (and will possibly fight again in) is an imperial project with the intention to controll THE MAIN oil hub of the planet. Do you know that the US sucks up 25% of world oil production? Are you familar wih the concept of „oil peak“? Do you know that main powers like china and india are heavily modernizing, bringing them in dependence of middle eastern oil? THESE are the reasons for the war and you can believe me- if there would have been no resistance (or insurgency, if you want) in iraq, Rummie and his buddies would have implemented Chalabi and his „Free iraqi forces“ as the new secular rulers of iraq. This was only prohibited by the anti- US fighters and the cleverness of the shiit clerics (main person here: Ayatollah Sistani). Did you know that Paul Bremer was against „one person one vote“ elections for iraq/2004? He said it would be nearly impossible to do so and had plans to implement „councils“ that would be announced and not directly voted for…

„But as a recently returned soldier, I want you to know that you are no where near the truth in reference to the insurgency and their tactics or the involvement of Al-Jazzeera. First, the insurgency's tactics are based on blind suicidal attacks with no sort of military tactic whatesoever (for the most part ... there are the occasional vet's from Chechnyia who can actually fight).“

I guess you were missled by the same propaganda I see every day… It is a FACT that the most attacks on US- forces are NOT suicidal, but of military stile, like exploding IEDs with remote controlers, lobbing mortars and rockets, firing RPGs or small arms fire from sniper lookouts and so on. There is no need of a greater tactic if you have a group of 5 to 10 people, just lay a trap, hit and run. Thats classical guerillia warfare man. I thougth you would know that as a soldier. Just one question: If the main body of the resistance (sunni nationalists/ pan arabs, former baathists) are „suicidal“, why can they still go on fighting? I guess you overestimate the role that Al Qaida and other islamist extremists play in iraq… thats the US- gov line tho show the public that iraq is part of the war on terror, but in every expertise about the insurgency you can read that those rarely trained, martyrdom seeking al Zarkawie people are a MINORITY, maybe numbering just up to a few thousands of an insurgency that is estimated by the US- military to have a size of up to 20.000 fighters.

„I have been involved in multiple close quarter fights with the enemy. It wasn't air suppuriority, or a heavy-handed tank that won the battle, but the ability to actually hit what I was aiming at with my M-4 rifle.“

And I bet you would run into such dogfights without the knowledge that the „enemy“ (the real enemy are the US- fores in iraq, THEY are alien there) could operate in a free way because there is no air support or heavy fire support… lol It maybe true that you faught against unskilled jihadis, but these guys are not more than canon fodder in the eyes of the militarily skilled personal under the surface. These are former iraqi professional soldiers and they are the ones hitting the US hard. Or do you think a jihadi from saudi- arabia or afghanistan would know where and how to obtain all the material in need to run a working IED manufacturing side in a country that was controlled until April 2003 by a secular regime? Would they know where to place the IEDs to get maximal effect? Just compare the warfare in iraq and afghanistan and you know that the much more skilled and professional trained „insurgents“ are in iraq. Just because these are former iraqi army or rep. Guard guys.

„The majority of the enemy couldn't hit the broadside of a barn to save their lives, I know from experience as I have had numerous RPG-7 rounds fly over my head instead of impact on the intended target ... me.“

I would like to know how many times US soldiers hit nothing or the wrong target… If I conclude from the damage done to cities like Falludscha or the center of Najaf, I would asume MANY times…

„I know for fact based on inteligence from the "street," that one of the enemies tactical procedures was to wrap their RPG-7 rounds with plastic and dip it in mud, to enable the round to penetrate a HMMWV's "forcefield." Does that type of thinking sound like it would come from an intelligent group of people that are fighting for the greater good?“

It would be good if you could explain me how the use of improvised material tells you anything about the „greater good“ of any action… I suggest that you think the other way round: What does the use of cluster bombs, Napalm (no called Mark- 77), DU ammo, white phosphor or tactics like indiscrimate raids, unrightfull detention and torture tells us about the „greater good“ behind US actions in iraq?!

„Yes, we have a technical and tactical superiority over the enemy, any fighting force that wants to succeed must have those things to win. But, without inteligent and masterful soldiers to operate that equipment, perform those manuever's, or fire those weapons ... we wouldn't get very far.“

And as I see it right, you didn`t get very far… Just remember general John Sattler, claiming that the (criminal) attack against Falludscha has „broken the back of the insurgency“… That was in November 2004 and in May 2005, 80 US- soldiers were killed in iraq… The skills of many US- soldiers are perfect in one way: Provoking the iraqi population with „collateral damage“, rude behaviour and constant raids netting the wrong people up and detaining them for an unknown time.

“2nd, as far as Al-Jazeera ... I have personaly been witness to observing them waiting idly-by anxiously awaiting a coalition convoy to come rolling into an ambush. Their only objective ... to get good video footage to sell to the masses.“

I said it before in Kevins blog: Al Jazeera is BANNED from working in iraq. There are no Al Jazeera jurnos there and sure as hell they don`t travel arround in trucks marked with „Al Jazeera“… Maybe you saw that before Al Jazeera was finaly banned in August 2004?

„I have watched them video tape one of my fellow soldiers of my Infantry Battalion burn to death in a HMMWV that was disabled in an ambush. Where is their humanity?“

It is the job of a jurno to cover things man. If you can`t handle that, it`s your prob. And I am really not sure that insurgents are dull enough to tip Al Jazeera of any attacks, cause you can be sure as hell that CIA/ NSA is checking their communications all the time, at least since the war in Afghanistan. Remember: The resistance has their own cameraman, as you could check if you visit pages like www.globalterroralert.com and similar ones.

„3rd, the majority of the Iraqi people do have a voice. I was there for the elections, in Sadr City. I saw the looks on their faces, the smiles, the cheers, the jubilation. I had an elderly Shiite female come running out of her house with a child in her arms screaming with tears running down her face, only wanting to hug me and kiss my face. Apparently she was a little over-joyed with the reality that for the first time in her life she actually did have a voice.“

Very nice, but it would be amusing to see the reaction of this women today… They voted for an end of the occupation: NADA. They voted for an end of violence: NADA. They voted for an improvement of their life: NADA. Btw. Did this women know for what politicans she was voting? Because the names on the lists were witheld until the last minutes… And what would you think of an US- election if some group, may it be the blacks or the hispanos, was excluded to vote because the security in their communities was so BAD that it wasn`t even possible to open the poll stations? And what is the use of an „elected“ government, when it is in fact not much more than a puppet, depending on US funding, US security, US advisers, US contractors, US intelligence and US training of its troops? The Bush gov has no intention to file a withdrawing plan for iraq and just after the elections the iraqi parties demanding such a thing closed their big mouthes and bagged for a longer time frame of „Multi national forces assistance“…lol That is a „independent“ gov, legitimated by iraqis? Don`t try to fool me.

„I could write for hours about the hundreds of encounters that I had with Iraqi's, real Iraqi's ... not the biased version of what the media would have you believe; and their love for America and what it stands for.“

I guess you are the victim of self-deception … The last polls I saw showed that 70% of the iraqis wanted an end of the occupation as fast as possible. At least since Abu Ghraib, no one in iraq but your translators and quislings like those assheads from „Iraq the modell“ (I bet you think they are representative?) have any feeling like „love“ for you. More than half of the sunni population of iraq (2 million people) think that attacks against US- troops are justified. And MANY schiits think this too, thanks to the heavy handed tactics used against as Sadr.

„Most of all, their love for American soldiers who have given them something that they never had before, a chance of having a say in their own future.“

The US decided to invade without asking and now they install a „democracy“ heavily dependend on US „aid“. Don`t assume that you can trick the majority of iraqis with this talk about „having a say in their future“… Its Bush and his cronies who have the say and this will never change until they are kicked out of the country. Just remember Afghanistan… Karzai the puppet was in Washington a few days ago and he demanded more control of his gov for the movements of US- forces in the country he „governs“… Guess what Bushs answer was? Same with iraq- or was the iraqi gov asked if the US was permitted to do the last offensive against Al Qaim and other Anbar regions and villages? Man, the iraqi „gov“ would be slaugthered in 2 months if there wouldn`t be such a thing as the „green zone“ and the US- soldiers doing indirect bodyguard jobs for them.

„Not being oppressed under a tyrant who tortured and murdered whenever he or his sons wanted to, I have seen that evidence also.“

And I have seen the avidence of torture from the new „democratic“ government of iraq in the TV- show „Terrorism in the hands of justice“… Do you know that program? Ever heard of their methods? And this is what the iraqi quisling forces are doing regularly to people they detain, as HRW and other organisations stated a few months ago. Not to speak about the US arrest centers like Abu Ghraib… In the behalf of Saddam and his henchman: Yeah, he was an evil asshole. But in the last years of his reign, he was not more brutal as many other regimes arround the world about which the US is doing nothing about. It is illegal to invade a country without UNSC permission and this has good reasons. The US gov thougth they could ignore all the warnings from all over the world and now their troops are bogged in a mud that they will never come out victorious. The invasion and the war of occupation killed tens of thousands of people, a report in "The Lancet" said up to 100.000. And before you attack this study now, inform yourself about their methods- these were exactly the same as were used to extrapolate the number of victims in Kosovo and other regions. In that circumstances, no US- „patriot“ had any problems with such reports… but when you are confronted with the thousands of innoncent victims of your actions, you try to play it down or ignore it totaly. Just one question, what do you think: How many people died in vietnam while the US was fighting its „just“ war over there?

“The WMD subject was wrong, a mistake was made. We believed one thing but found out that that wasn't true.“

Yeah, killed thousands of people for a „mistake“… lol Ever heard of the Downing street memo published some weeks ago by the british Sunday Times? It was written by an expert in B.Liars gov and it proofed that „the facts were fixed arround the policy“… Could you please tell me, why the Bush admin was so eager to attack, that they couldn`t await the end results of the weapons inspectors? I tell you they KNEW that Saddam had no WMD tech that was any thread to the US or any other country. In the mentioned memo, they even say that Saddam has LESS WMD than Lybia! It was all a geostrategical action and the WMD case was, as Wolfowitz stated, the thing on that everybody could agree as reason for a war. Your president is lying in your face and you suck it all up man… He was lying about the time he decided to attack, he was lying about the reasons for the war, he was lying about the „Al Qaida“ links between Saddams regime and Osama… And today he is lying all the way though the war, telling you that an increase in insurgent attacks are a sign that they are „desparate“… Bush came to iraq and served the troops a plastic turkey, he told you „mission accomplished“ while the war was going on, he praised the corrupt criminal, former baath hitman Allawi, who is alleged by an australian jurnos story to have killed 8 prisoners by his own hands… Your president is a criminal and you should come to terms with this FACT.

„But, we have still given the people of Iraq a voice, something that they haven't had in half a century.“

A great „voice“ that transits in the form of government I described above… If you were really caring what iraqis want, you would pay them 50 billion Dollars compensation for war, say sorry, go to the UNSC to recruit muslim troops for a security detachment and leave as soon as you could. But your president and his war criminal gov. love it to spend 4 billions of tax payer dollars per month for the occupation of iraq, while 35 million people in the US life under the poverty line… Think a moment, what would be the more rational choice: To give the 300 billion dollar this war has consumed to iraqis to make them the best friends the US will ever have or to bomb their cities to rubble, kill tens of thousands of iraqs people and make them the worst enemies since Charlie? Before you come back with the evil Saddam once again- what is with the fucking president of Uzbekistan, Islam Karimov, who ordered a mass murder last month that killed up to 500 peacefully demonstrading civilians? All that happended, while US- troops were in that country, doing their job for the supply of Afghanistan… Yes, before you ask- the german gov has troops there too and they did`t do more than „showing their unhappyness“ with Karimovs crimes. The hypocricy of the Schroeder gov. is a punch in the belly as it is the criminal energy of the Bush- junta.

„The news does not tell the whole truth, don't be afraid to listen to a subject matter expert.“

I doubt that US- soldiers in iraq are „experts“ on the matter of what is happening there. You have rarely contact with iraqis because you don`t speak arabic and most of them don`t speak english. Maybe you trust your translators but I bet they often don`t tell you what the iraqis on the street talk about you, because that could make you VERY angry. And in fact, you are not only seperated from the iraqi population, but you are bombarded with the typical brass- propaganda to hold up the moral of the troops. Why did the military block the access to pages like icasualties.org from the iraqi bases internet connections? Why do you hear all the pepp- up talk like that of the earlier mentioned General about „braking the back of the insurgency“? The military is a structure full of „patriots“ who will never dispute claims by their own „commander in chief“ if it is not 100% clear that they are wrong or outright lies… And that is exactly the structure you and Kevin are in… You should read this - cbftws blog ,not the last postings, but those from 2004… This guy is a hell of a reflected soldier and he got problems with his brass for talking the truth about some operation because he was angry that the major US- networks and the military just faked and manipulated news about a heavy fight he was in. Such manipulation and psy- Ops BS is going on all the time and you are, if not part, but victim of it.

To conclude, I would recommand you to develop a more balanced view of the „operation iraqi freedom“, the interests that stand behind it, the moral issues tightly connected with the question of war of aggression, the question who you fight over there (oh, I nearly forgot- look here and you will be surprised:
Good and honest iraqis fighting US!- General) and finanly the question why you are doing this at all. Become a conscientious objector and do the right thing!

Salvador
- posted by Salvador @ 2:07 PM