Word from Iraq

Dear Editor,

This morning I received an encouraging e-mail from someone I hadn't heard from in over six months. He is an Iraqi citizen who is working now as an engineer on a big water project in Iraq.

Over the last 15 years the infrastructure has been allowed to deteriorate to the point of utter disrepair. The people we interacted with there lacked basic sanitation, running water, electricity, even gasoline. So I was excited to hear that things are getting rebuilt.

During my time in the sandbox, this gentleman worked for us as an interpreter during our patrols, house searches, and in particular as we trained the Iraqi Army.

His life and the lives of his family were always in danger, lest his identity be discovered, and his help to us was invaluable.

Now that he is an engineer instead of a translater, he and his family are much safer. 

Anyway, he wrote simply to thank us again for all we have done for his country, for our bravery, for our work at restoring order. He has high hopes for Iraq, and wants to remind us that his optimism is largely due to our sacrifices.

In a day and time where the only news from the desert is the names of the fallen; in a day and time where much of the Arab world holds a deep-seated hostility to the "imperial" actions of the U.S.; it is heart-lifting to know that, in the lives of those we inter-acted with personally, there is an honest gratitude and love for American troops, and a genuine belief that the coming years for their country hold hope and promise. 

**Jeff Tidyman,

McCook