Letter from Iraq


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 have 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, email this to a friend and let them know there are good
things happening.

Ray Reynolds, SFC
Iowa Army National Guard
234th Signal Battalion

If you see a bomb technician running,
try to keep up with him."