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Michael Yon is headed to Basra to report how things are going since the withdrawal of the British. He has his thoughts on that and has high hopes for Iraq
He landed in Baghdad this morning
Michael also talks about an extraordinary man, CSM James Pippin who was shot in the tibia, shattered his tibia only four months ago, and he’s already returning to Mosul. Michael's first mission with James Pippin can be found here.
In February, CSM James Pippin wrote an open letter to the American people. It was shortly after that when Pippin was shot in the leg.
We win every time whenever they stay and fight. But mostly, they hit us, then run away and blend into the crowd. We’re winning a day at a time. And we are taking the fight to them.I would rather fight them where they live as opposed to quit the fight here only to have it come back to my home. I also realize we may very well get attacked on our own soil while we fight here. That, I believe is imminent. But as long as we continue to stay engaged with terrorists in their home countries, we remain proactive instead of totally reactive.
Most Americans say, “I support the troops.” “Supporting the troops” is far more than sending a care package, or shaking a service member’s hand, or tying a ribbon on their lapel. Supporting the troops should also be backing our mission.
People back home may not realize how effective this enemy is using the media as a weapon. Every time some talking head gets on the TV and shouts anything negative about this war, it motivates our enemy, who interprets dissent as weakness and who uses our free press against us. That is exactly how “the terrorists” win. For the Terrorist does not have to defeat us, he just has to outlast us.
I am disappointed in the way the American people in general seem to have lost their resolve since 9-11. When I hear that over half of America’s citizens believe this war is a lost cause, I think that is a tragedy. Less than 2/100ths of 1 percent of our own citizens have ever served in the armed forces, which means most Americans don’t have a clue about our military.
The media does not tell all the good things happening in Iraq. They rarely, if ever, report the successes of our Armed Forces. This causes our citizens, most of whom will never cross an ocean in their life, let alone fight in this or any war, to think we are losing and to believe we can’t win.
In case you missed it the first time around you can read full letter here
