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Army Steve's Wife, Michelle

The Stories We Need to Hear

With all of the hullabaloo in the last couple of weeks over prisoner treatment in Iraq, some very important stories have been missed.

One such story is that of Fatemah Hassan, an 8 month old Iraqi girl with an unusual growth on her neck.  If left untreated, it could be fatal.  Her desperate parents took her to a U.S. miltary base in her homeland for treatment, but the doctors there decided she needed more specialized care.  So, with the intervention of two lawmakers, some dedicated doctors, and the U.S. military, Fatemah is in Columbus, Ohio to get the help that she needs.

Sure, its not as scandalous as the prison abuse.  Nope, it isn't something eye-catching, with explosions and flames and sirens.  But it is critically important, for this one family and for our entire country.  We need to remember the true nature of our men and women in uniform - and of all Americans - who will go above and beyond to help one small child.  And not for fame or glory, but because it is the right thing to do.

Published Friday, May 21, 2004 1:57 AM by msmith

Comments

 

msmith said:

From Dr. George Grant's Blog
http://www.kingsmeadow.com/blogger.html

5.12.04

What America Is Really Doing in Iraq

While accounts of isolated abuses by a handful of prison MPs continues to send shivers of hope through the ranks of the political shaman class in Washington and New York, the real story about what America is doing in Iraq is all but ignored. Ray Reynolds, is nearing the end of his tour of duty in Baghdad with the Iowa Army National Guard, 234th Signal Battalion. According to SFC Reynolds, here is what we've actually been up to in the year since the war in Iraq toppled Saddam:

Over 400,000 Iraqi children now have up-to-date immunizations.
School attendance is up 80% from levels prior to the war.
Over 1,500 schools have been renovated and cleared of weapons previously stored there.
The port of Uhm Qasar has been refurbished so grain can be off-loaded from ships faster.
The country has begun exporting oil again--some 2 billion barrels a month.
Over 4.5 million people now have clean drinking water for the first time ever.
The country now produces 2 times the electrical power it did before the war.
100% of the hospitals are open and fully staffed, compared to only 35% before the war.
Elections have taken place in every major city, and city councils are now in place.
Sewer and water lines have been 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
An interim constitution has been signed by every major faction of Iraqi society and culture.
Girls are allowed to attend school throughout the country.
Textbooks that don't lionize Saddam are in the schools for the first time in 30 years.
Ideas of freedom, opportunity, and hope are the new currency of the land despite the best efforts of al-Qaeda to instill tyranny, oppression, and fear.

May 21, 2004 9:48 AM
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