September 11th.....2006, 2010

Four years ago today I was in Iraq and at the end of my initial enlistment in the Army.  Despite being disillusioned with why we even there in the first place, I decided to reenlist.  Among the many reasons why, was that even though I disagreed with the reasons presented for conducting Operation Iraqi Freedom, I believed we had a chance to help a country shed the shackles of an oppressive dictator (Saddam Hussein) and provide them with the stability and security needed to progress as a nation.  Four years later I am in Iraq again ( a little bit older, and maybe wiser ; ), and from my perspective it seems to have digressed.  The government is more focused on individual and sect power (i.e. Sunni vs. Shiite vs. Kurdish) than it is on unifying as a country.  Likewise the people here simply complain about how bad it is, and how the U.S. should do this, or that for them, instead of doing it themselves.  Corruption, backstabbing, and hoarding of resources is rampant, especially in the police force.  I know this exist in America as well, but at least the police help the citizens as well...this is rarely the case here.  Just recently an Iraqi policeman coordinated a complex attack on American Soldiers that resulted in multiple wounded and two deaths.  It is such a contradiction from the cries of "help us" that it makes me want us (all foreign military) just pick up and leave and say FUCK YOU, here's our bill....we'll take that in oil for the next oh say 100 years (this is based on the average price of a barrel of crude of $66 multiplied by the average U.S. consumption of WAY TO FUCKING MUCH, divided by like a GAZILLION DOLLARS) [sorry for the rant inside of a rant].  I am glad we are leaving, and though I know we as a country will never be repaid for liberating the Iraqi's, I hope that when we are gone and things really get bad they will realize they should have seized the opportunity to take control of their country when they had the chance.  Now I am simply biding my time till I get the chance to head over to Afghanistan and face those who perpetuate the ideology held by those who killed over 3,000 people 9 years ago. 

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