Got this at work today, from a Navy PAO. I can't vouch for the source - who Bill S. or Jack B. are, or if the letter was indeed written by Kevin Brown from Iraq. Either way, the sentiment is what's important and it's very well written.

From the net...courtesy of Bill S. and Jack B...



Dad, you asked me what I would say to America from Iraq on 9/11 if I had a
podium and a microphone. I have thought about it, and here is my response.
Your Son,
Kevin

(Kevin Brown, USNA 2001)

September 11, 2004
Dear America,

"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand
ready to do violence on their behalf." -George Orwell

The Marine Corps is tired. I guess I should not say that, as I have no
authority or responsibility to speak for the Marine Corps as a whole, and my
opinions are mine alone. I will rephrase: this Marine is tired. I write
this piece from the sands of Iraq, west of Baghdad, at three a.m., but I am
not tired of the sand. I am neither tired of long days, nor of flying and
fighting. I am not tired of the food, though it does not taste quite right.
I am not tired of the heat; I am not tried of the mortars that
occasionally fall on my base. I am not tired of Marines dying, though all
Marines, past and present, mourn the loss of every brother and sister that
is killed; death is a part of combat and every warrior knows that going into
battle. One dead Marine is too many, but we give more than we take, and
unlike our enemies, we fight with honor. I am not tired of the missions or
the people; I have only been here a month, after all. I am, however, tired
of the hypocrisy and shortsightedness that seems to have gripped so many of
my countrymen and the media. I am tired of political rhetoric that misses
the point, and mostly I am tired of people "not getting it."

Three years ago I was sitting in a classroom at Quantico, Virginia, while
attending the Marine Corps Basic Officer Course, learning about the finer
points of land navigation. Our Commanding Officer interrupted the class to
inform us that some planes had crashed in New York and Washington DC, and
that he would return when he knew more. Tears welled in the eyes of the
Lieutenant on my right while class continued, albeit with an audience that
was not very focused; his sister lived in New York and worked at the World
Trade Center. We broke for lunch, though instead of going to the chow hall
proceeded to a small pizza and sub joint which had a television. Slices of
pizza sat cold in front of us as we watched the same vivid images that you
watched on September 11, 2001. I look back on that moment now and realize
even then I grasped, at some level, that the events of that day would alter
both my military career and my country forever. Though I did not know that
three years later, to the day, I would be flying combat missions in Iraq as
an AH-1W Super Cobra pilot, I did understand that a war had just begun, on
television for the world to see, and that my classmates and I would fight
that war. After lunch we were told to go to our rooms, clean our weapons
and pack our gear for possible deployment to the Pentagon to augment
perimeter security. The parting words of the order were to make sure we
packed gloves, in case we had to handle bodies.

The first Marine killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom was in my company at The
Basic School, and was sitting in that land navigation class on September 11.
He fought bravely, led from the front, and was killed seizing an oil
refinery on the opening day of the war. His heroism made my emergency
procedure memorization for the T-34 primary flight school trainer seem quite
insignificant. This feeling of frustration was shared by all of the student
pilots, but we continued to press on. As one instructor pointed out to us,
"You will fight this war, not me. Make sure that you are prepared when you
get there." He was right; my classmates from Pensacola are here beside me,
flying every day in support of the Marines on the ground. That instructor
has since retired, but I believe he has retired knowing that he made a
contribution to the greatest country in the history of the world, the United
States of America.

Many of you will read that statement and balk at its apparently presumptuous
and arrogant nature, and perhaps be tempted to stop reading right here. I
would ask that you keep going, for I did not say that Americans are better
than anyone else, for I do not believe that to be the case. I did not say
that our country, its leaders, military or intelligence services are perfect
or have never made mistakes, because throughout history they have, and will
continue to do so, despite their best efforts. The Nation is more than the
sum of its citizens and leaders, more than its history, present, or future;
a nation has contemporary values which change as its leaders change, but it
also has timeless character, ideals forged with the blood and courage of
patriots. To quote the Pledge of Allegiance, our nation was founded "under
God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." As Americans, we have
more freedom than we can handle sometimes.

If you are an atheist you might have a problem with that whole "under God"
part; if you are against liberating the people of Iraq, Afghanistan, Asia,
all of Europe (twice), and the former Soviet bloc, then perhaps the "liberty
and justice for all" section might leave you fuming. Our Nation, throughout
its history, has watered the seeds of democracy on many continents, with
blood, even when the country was in disagreement about those decisions.
Disagreement is a wonderful thing. To disagree with your neighbors and your
government is at the very heart of freedom. Citizens have disagreed about
every important and controversial decision made by their leaders throughout
history. Truman had the courage to drop two nuclear weapons in order to end
the largest war in history, and then, by his actions, prevented the Soviets
from extinguishing the light of democracy in Eastern Europe, Berlin.
Lincoln preserved our country through civil war; Reagan knew in his heart
that freedom is a more powerful weapon than oppression. Leaders are paid to
make difficult, sometimes controversial decisions. History will judge the
success of their actions and the purity of their intent in a way that is
impossible at the present moment. In your disagreement and debate about the
current conflict, however, be very careful that you do not jeopardize your
nation or those who serve. The best time to use your freedom of speech to
debate difficult decisions is before they are made, not when the lives of
your countrymen are on the line.

Cherish your civil rights; I know that after having been in Iraq for only
one month I have a new appreciation for mine. You have the right to say
that you "support the troops" but oppose the war in Iraq and Afghanistan.
You have the right to vote for Senator John Kerry because you believe that
he has an exit strategy for Iraq, or because you just cannot stand President
Bush. You have the right to vote for President George W. Bush if you believe
that he has done a good job over the last four years. You might even decide
that you do not want to vote at all and would rather avoid the issues as
much as possible. That is certainly your option, and doing nothing is the
only option for many people in this world.

It is not my place, nor am I allowed by the Uniformed Code of Military
Justice, to tell you how to vote. But I can explain to you the truth about
what is going on around you. We know, and have known from the beginning,
that the ultimate success or failure of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, as
well as the future of those countries, rests solely on the shoulders of the
Iraqi and Afghani people. If someone complains that we should not have gone
to war with Saddam Hussein, that our intelligence was bad, that President
Bush's motives were impure, then take the appropriate action. Exercise your
right to vote for Senator Kerry, but please stop complaining about something
that happened over a year ago. The decision to deploy our military in Iraq
and Afghanistan is in the past, and while I believe that it is important to
the democratic process for our nation to analyze the decisions of our
leadership in order to avoid repeating mistakes, it is far more important to
focus on the future. The question of which candidate will "get us out of
Iraq sooner" should not be a consideration in your mind. YOU SHOULD NOT
WANT US OUT OF IRAQ OR AFGHANISTAN SOONER. There is only one coherent exit
strategy that will make our time here worthwhile and validate the sacrifice
of so many of our countrymen. There is only one strategy that has a chance
of promoting peace and stabilizing the Middle East. It is the exit strategy
of both candidates, though voiced with varying volumes and differing degrees
of clarity. I will speak of Iraq because that is where I am, though I feel
the underlying principle applies to both Iraq and Afghanistan.


(the rest in the next post...)

 

The American military must continue to help train and support the Iraqi
Police, National Guard, and Armed Forces. We must continue to give them
both responsibility and the authority with which to carry out those
responsibilities, so that they eventually can kill or capture the former
regime elements and foreign terrorists that are trying to create a radical,
oppressive state. We must continue to repair the infrastructure that we
damaged during the conflict, and improve the infrastructure that was
insufficient when Saddam was in power. We should welcome and encourage
partners in the coalition but recognize that many will choose the path of
least resistance and opt out; many of our traditional allies have been
doing this for years and it should not surprise us. We must respect the
citizens of Iraq and help them to understand the meaning of basic human
rights, for those are something the average Iraqi has never experienced. We
must be respectful of our cultural and religious differences. We must help
the Iraqis develop national pride, and most importantly, we must leave this
country better than we found it, at the right time, with a chance of success
so that its people will have an opportunity to forge their own destiny. We
must do all of these things as quickly and efficiently as possible so that
we are not seen as occupiers, but rather liberators and helpers. We must
communicate this to the world as clearly and frequently as possible, both
with words and actions.

If we leave before these things are done, then Iraq will fall into anarchy
and possibly plunge the Middle East into another war. The ability of the
United States to conduct foreign policy will be severely, and perhaps
permanently, degraded. Terrorism will increase, both in America and around
the world, as America will have demonstrated that it is not interested in
building and helping, only destroying. If we run or exit early, we prove to
our enemies that terror is more powerful and potent than freedom. Many
nations, like Spain, have already affirmed this in the minds of the
terrorists. Our failure, and its consequences, will be squarely on our
shoulders as a nation. It will be our fault. If we stay the course and
Iraq or Afghanistan falls into civil war on its own, then our hands are
clean. As a citizen of the United States and a U.S. Marine, I will be able
to sleep at night with nothing on my conscience, for I know that I, and my
country, have done as much as we could for these people. If we leave early,
I will not be able to live with myself, and neither should you. The blood
will be on our hands, the failure on our watch.

The bottom line is this: Republican or Democrat, approve or disapprove of
the decision to go to war, you need to support our efforts here. You cannot
both support the troops and protest their mission. Every time the parent of
a fallen Marine gets on CNN with a photo, accusing President Bush of
murdering his son, the enemy wins a strategic victory. I cannot begin to
comprehend the grief he feels at the death of his son, but he dishonors the
memory of my brave brother who paid the ultimate price. That Marine
volunteered to serve, just like the rest of us. No one here was drafted. I
am proud of my service and that of my peers. I am ashamed of that parent's
actions, and I pray to God that if I am killed my parents will stand with
pride before the cameras and reaffirm their belief that my life and
sacrifice mattered; they loved me dearly and they firmly support the
military and its mission in Iraq and Afghanistan. With that statement, they
communicate very clearly to our enemies around the world that America is
united, that we cannot be intimidated by kidnappings, decapitations and
torture, and that we care enough about the Afghani and Iraqi people to give
them a chance at democracy and basic human rights. Do not support those
that seek failure for us, or seek to trivialize the sacrifices made here.
Do not make the deaths of your countrymen be in vain. Communicate to your
media and elected officials that you are behind us and our mission. Send
letters and encouragement to those who are deployed. When you meet a person
that serves you, whether in the armed forces, police, or fire department,
show them respect. Thank the spouses around you every day, raising children
alone, whose loved ones are deployed. Remember not only those that have
paid the ultimate price, but the veterans that bear the physical and
emotional scars of defending your freedom. At the very least, follow your
mother's advice. "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at
all." Do not give the enemy a foothold in our Nation's public opinion. He
rejoices at Fahrenheit 9/11 and applauds every time an American slams our
efforts. The military can succeed here so long as American citizens support
us wholeheartedly.

Sleep well on this third anniversary of 9/11, America. Rough men are
standing ready to do violence on your behalf. Many of your sons and
daughters volunteered to stand watch for you. Not just rough men- the
infantry, the Marine grunts, the Special Operations Forces- but lots of
eighteen and nineteen year old kids, teenagers, who are far away from home,
serving as drivers, supply clerks, analysts, and mechanics. They all have
stories, families, and dreams. They miss you, love you, and are putting
their lives on the line for you. Do not make their time here, their
sacrifice, a waste. Support them, and their mission.