Still alive

I'm still here, it's everything I thought it would be and worse. I won't blog much about what happens here, but I will say this...

If the Dems block these troops, we're screwed. We need them. We are as effective as we can be right now, but with more personnel we could be doing a lot more. They are doing it for political reasons and I hope it bites them in the ass come election time, because if they win it is definitely going to bite me in the ass here. Support the commander in chief. He is doing the right thing, against all odds and against teh public opinion polls. There's a good reason I don't run my Platoon by public opinion. If I did we would probably spend our time here living inside the wire. Not because my Soldiers are afraid, or unpatriotic, or weak, or anything else... I have some of the best Soldiers I've ever seen and they do incredibly courageous things routinely, but because getting shot at and having things explode around you is UNPLEASANT. Trust me... I know. The majority would probably rather not do it if they had a choice. And then we would accomplish nothing and leave this place worse than we found it.

Believe it or not, there are some good people here in Iraq. Even in this shithole city. If we pull out, they are SCREWED. And by screwed, I mostly mean dead.

Also, anyone who tries to tell you AQ isn't here in Iraq is full of shit. I've fought them. They fight hard. They're good at what they do. They're not just good fighters, although they are that, they're good at intimidation and murder and extortion and propaganda and organized crime and smuggling and brutality and organizing locals into little baby AQ cells that quickly grow unless stomped on.

"Support the troops" can mean a lot of things.
I appreciate everyone's support.

But support the mission and we'll win.