Army Recall of 5,600 Troops

by Cassiline 24 Replies latest social current

• 

  Yerusalyim

  Here's some of what these troops have helped accomplish.

  Check it out on SNOPES http://www.snopes.com/politics/war/reynolds.asp

  This is a letter from Ray Reynolds, a medic in the Iowa Army National Guard, serving in Iraq:
  
  As I head off to Baghdad for the final weeks of my stay in Iraq, I wanted to say thanks to all of you who did not believe the media. They have done a very poor job of covering everything that has happened. I am sorry that I have not been able to visit all of you during my two week leave back home. And just so you can rest at night knowing something is happening in Iraq that is noteworthy, I thought I would pass this on to you. This is the list of things that has happened in Iraq recently:
  
  (Please share it with your friends and compare it to the version that your paper is producing.)
  
  * Over 400,000 kids have up-to-date immunizations.
  * School attendance is up 80% from levels before the war.
  * Over 1,500 schools have been renovated and rid of the weapons stored there so education can occur.
  * The port of Uhm Qasar was renovated so grain can be off-loaded from ships faster.
  * The country had its first 2 billion barrel export of oil in August.
  * Over 4.5 million people have clean drinking water for the first time ever in Iraq.
  * The country now receives 2 times the electrical power it did before the war.
  * 100% of the hospitals are open and fully staffed, compared to 35% before the war.
  * Elections are taking place in every major city, and city councils are in place.
  * Sewer and water lines are installed in every major city.
  * Over 60,000 police are patrolling the streets.
  * Over 100,000 Iraqi civil defense police are securing the country.
  * Over 80,000 Iraqi soldiers are patrolling the streets side by side with US soldiers.
  * Over 400,000 people have telephones for the first time ever.
  * Students are taught field sanitation and hand washing techniques to prevent the spread of germs.
  * An interim constitution has been signed.
  * Girls are allowed to attend school.
  * Textbooks that don't mention Saddam are in the schools for the first time in 30 years.
  
  Don't believe for one second that these people do not want us there. I have met many, many people from Iraq that want us there, and in a bad way. They say they will never see the freedoms we talk about but they hope their children will. We are doing a good job in Iraq and I challenge anyone, anywhere to dispute me on these facts. So If you happen to run into John Kerry, be sure to give him my email address and send him to Denison, Iowa. This soldier will set him straight. If you are like me and very disgusted with how this period of rebuilding has been portrayed, e-mail this to a friend and let them know there are good things happening.
  
  Ray Reynolds, SFC
  Iowa Army National Guard
  234th Signal Battalion"
• 

  Simon

  Yeru. I think this propaganda has already been discussed, both on this forum and elsewhere:

  http://urbanlegends.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.orwelliantimes.com/2004/04/26.html

  http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/bl_ray_reynolds.htm

  http://www.snopes.com/politics/war/reynolds.asp

  http://www.breakthechain.org/exclusives/rayreynolds.html

  It seems that some people go off the assumption that if they keep repeating things enough that people will start to believe it, whether it's true or not. That is what propaganda is - half-truths and lies masquerading as and portreyed as facts.

  You know the saying - "don't assume, it makes an ass out of you and me" (ass, u & me)
• 

  Larry

  Wow - thanks for the scoops Simon - Urban Legends strike again.

  Peace -LL :)
• 

  Yerusalyim

  Simon, So, assumming the sites you list are to be believed...most of what Reynolds is saying IS true..and it matches the other stories I hear of first hand from my students...why doesn't the media report any of this?
• 

  Simon

  They have reported it. Maybe it's just your media that is crap or you just have such a biased view that you want to have nothing but 100% of things that you agree with and want to champion.

  However true *some* of the bits are, the fact that so many of them are blantant lies does kind of diminish whatever message you thought it provided though, wouldn't you agree?
• 

  Yerusalyim

  Actually, I didn't see any blatant lies, I saw things that were exaggerated, and things that were unverifiable, but not many blatant lies. An Army Sergeant First Class had exactly what reason to lie? My guess, this is what he saw, this is what he believed. Simon, point to the news stories in the press that talk about the good things happening over there please.
• 

  roybatty

  Remind me never to enlist

  Simon as a private in the army, Yeru as his CO. Now that would be a reality show I'd watch every week! lol
• 

  Simon

  Inaccurate

  • The country had its first 2 billion barrel export of oil in August.
    (Oil Production hit 2 million barrells a day in April, 2004)
    

  • Over 4.5 million people have clean drinking water for the first time ever in Iraq.
    (While some treatment facilities needed repair, clean drinking water is not a new thing in Iraq)
    

  • The country now receives 2 times the electrical power it did before the war.
    (Electricity production is only slightly higher than pre-war levels)
    

  • Elections are taking place in every major city, and city councils are in place.
    (Elections remain a point of contention and have been suspended in some cities)

  Unproven or misleading

  • Sewer and water lines are installed in every major city.
    (Work is still underway)
    

  • Over 60,000 police are patrolling the streets.
    (The goal is to train and implement 35 - 50 thousand. The first class of 400 graduated in January, 2004)
    

  • Over 100,000 Iraqi civil defense police are securing the country.
    (About 25,000 were hired and trained as of February 2004)
    

  • Over 80,000 Iraqi soldiers are patrolling the streets side by side with US soldiers.
    (Only 2,000 were operational as of February 2004)
    

  • Over 400,000 people have telephones for the first time ever.
    (Most of the post-war work on the telephone system has focused on restoring service lost or damaged during the war)
    

  • Girls are allowed to attend school.
    (Girls have been allowed to attend school since 1970, more boys than girls typically enrolled)

  No news reports are going to paint a picture that everything is hunkey dorey because frankly, it isn't, and claiming that wonderful progress is being made when hundreds of people are being blown up would be a lie wouldn't it?

  From what I have seen, the press report the facts and yes, add their opinions and analysis. I cannot comment on the press that you watch but over here we get pretty in-depth coverage of world events that consists of more than just big flashing headlines and actually contain detail, both good and bad.

  For example:

  http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3854651.stm
• 

  jwsons

  Another Vietnam Memorial Black Wall.

  One or two or three live-chopped heads on TV makes people shock. But 40 innocent Iraqian died (sometimes in horrible condition, can not collect the whole body) and Forty of them Died Daily. It's not shock at all

  jwsons
• 

  jwsons

  And mind you: We heard from media the terrorists used car-bomb, or sometimes a truck full of explosive. Who the hell of those terrorists. In a country with thousands of check-points everywhere that even an Iraqian with a half-pound of explosive can not trespass. Who those terrorists came from ? Unbelievable!!

  jwsons