back from Iraq

The United States continues to fight a war in Iraq. A war, that in my opinion was and is imperative to the preservation of American life. With every day it seems that the main stream media, critics and politicos, endlessly attempt to wage their own war against American efforts in Iraq.

When I talk to people about Iraq, their complete ignorance on the subject is discomforting. Watching CNN for a few minutes or listening to whack jobs like Scott Ritter isn’t an education, and certainly doesn’t give anyone the credentials to walk around repeating the anti-Bush/anti-war sound bytes and slogans. Just because some jerk on TV spits out some numbers doesn’t mean they are true or that he is an expert on the subject. But try telling that to kids my age.

This is a problem, a big one, and it needs to be addressed. American’s have a responsibility to educate themselves on the situation in Iraq. If we prematurely leave Iraq the results will be catastrophic. Not only for the people of Iraq, but for the United States of America.

With every passing day it becomes clearer and clearer that the insurgency in Iraq has realized that their biggest advantage is an American population with dwindling support for the occupation, thus providing the insurgency a light at the end of the tunnel. We need to crush that tunnel.

I had initially planned on posting my assessment of the situation in Iraq on the 31st. It however is nowhere near ready. I am going to try and get it finished and posted within the next few days. Perhaps I will just post portions at a time. We’ll see.

It has been two months since my last post. A lot has happened and my transition from American combatant to civilian has gone relatively well. I can’t imagine how horrible it must have been for the guys coming back during Vietnam. Today we are given so much respect and support. I would like to thank my friends and family for their patience and help throughout this readjustment period.

I have been working on a couple of projects that I am really excited about. One is the Boots In Baghdad Scholarship Fund that will provide money to reservist veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan. Unlike active duty veterans, reservists do not get full GI Bill benefits. Our GI bill is far less than our active duty counterparts.

The Boots In Baghdad Scholarship Fund will help compensate cost of living expenses for reservist veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan who are going to school full time, helping to fill the void between reserve GI Bill and Active Duty GI Bill. I would also like to see the Boots In Baghdad Scholarship Fund lobby both State and National legislators to improve education benefits for veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Once everything is up and running I will certainly let you all know... and then ask for your money.

Another project I am really excited about is with Cliff Knizley. I introduced you to Cliff in early August. He is a musician from Florida who wrote some great music and has teamed up with me to help raise some money for various military charities. You will be hearing more about this within the next four weeks. If you would like to hear one of his songs click here and scroll down toward the bottom.

I will be adding lots of pictures and video to Boots In Baghdad Photographs and Films this week, so make sure you check back.

And last but certainly not least, my Mom has set up an online store… so, check it out: Pineapple Hill

Send comments to BootsInBaghdad@yahoo.com