I'm not sure if this is

a good idea or not, but I'm posting a letter I just received from

my brother who is currently in Iraq. It's nice to hear how soldiers

feel over there, and it gives us a little glance into the reality of what's

happening in Iraq.

Yanni, hey, bro, how's

everything going there in LA-LA land? Sorry I haven't written in

a while, but it's been pretty busy around here, especially after

we captured that dirty bum, Saddam.

Everything here is shaping

up pretty well, not that you would hear that on the news. It's pretty

routine here now. The schools are getting built, the roads are getting

fixed and new ones are being built. It's nice to see the reactions

of the Iraqi people when another project is finished.

I've made some great friends

in the different cities we've worked in, but it's hard when

you have to move on and say goodbye. The kids here are terrific. I didn't

expect to find the little ones with so much life and energy in them. Some

of them actually speak English and it's great to talk to them and

be thanked by them and their families.

It's really driving many

of us nuts that none of the news sources are reporting the great things

that are going on over here. Even Fox News, who we all expected to shoot

straight, isn't even reporting the correct way. All anyone reports

is when there is an attack.

Trust me, it's only about

3-to-5 percent of the population that is striking out at us. But like

you always said, "Anchors only report the drama." I'm glad

that you are smart enough to see through the lies and know what's

really going on. Many of the guys here are really ill at heart about the

way that much of the U.S. is lashing out at the government and us.

We ALL know that no government

is always right all the time. But I'm more than happy to have the

leadership we have now. Do I like being here? Not really. But I see that

we're doing the right thing. It would be a shame to pull out right

now and make the rest of the world think that we're pussies and we

bow to the unreasonable people who protest us back home.

Speaking of which: I heard

that you're no longer a Democrat. I actually heard you switched a

while ago, but I hadn't had the chance to say anything as of yet.

I know that Pop is pretty happy

about it. He was surprised when I did it as well.

Speaking of Pop: I haven't

seen him in about three months, but I get to talk to him on the radio

everyday if I want. He's just north of Baghdad right now. I know

he's been able to see the friends that we made here in 1984. He's

taken the responsibility to make sure that they are taken care of right

now. I'm not sure if that's a good decision right now, to get

personally involved, but you know how he is. These people were great to

us when we were here back then, so it's nice to return the favor.

Do you remember when you were

8 years old and we were here? Pop gave you that digital watch for Christmas

with the digital thermometer on it. One of the kids that you played with

here found Pop on the field. I forget his name (and it's hard to

pronounce) but he was the one who put your watch in the oven to see how

accurate the thermometer was.

It's strange being back

here in Iraq. As many times as we have all been here over the years, this

nation never ceases to amaze me. I know Mom never wants to come back until

this country is fixed, but if Pop and I are here for another year or so

and civilians are allowed back in, it would be great to see you here again.

So how are things there in

LA? Anymore protests going on or are the people there finally going to

support us a bit. We've seen the reports of how they say, "We

support the troops." But to us, it's no better than Hitler saying

he wouldn't invade France.

I used to really respect those

people until I saw them blocking our shipments in Oakland, Calif., and

being violent against the police and stuff. Why would they block our shipments

and then say they support us? That was our food on those ships. That was

our water. Those were supplies to keep us alive.

There were two sides to this

conflict. They supported one side and opposed the other. The side they

opposed was the U.S. That's like someone starving their child, then

saying that they love their child. Again, that was our food and water

on those ships.

There are hundreds of guys

here who had no problem with the protests and protesters until they came

here. Now that they see the real story instead of the one being made up

Not that they blame ALL Americans, but they know who supports them, compared

to those who claim to support them. It's all politics with those

people anyway.

Just like the protesters in

WWII who protested for the appeasement of Hitler, these traitors will

get bit in the a- as well.

Oh, before I forget: we've

all heard the new rumor about the Kurds capturing Saddam, then drugging

him and leaving him for U.S. forces. Who started this b.s., and are there

people in the U.S. that are truly dumb enough to believe it?

If the Kurds would have captured

Saddam, they would have cut his a- into a million pieces and fed

him to the birds. This rumor was probably started by the far Left in the

U.S. Why would they do this? This is nothing but a slap in the face to

all U.S. service men and women who are fighting for our nation. It's

like calling all of us liars and thieves.

Why do these people even stay

in a nation that they hate so much? Are they too scared to leave? Or too

poor to pack up and move on? It's easy for them to bash the ones

who fight for their freedom, because we have fought and died to give them

the freedom to bash us. It's a cycle of stupidity.

For them to say, "We want

to bring the troops home," isn't them saying that they care

about our safety. It's another way for them to win their war on the

U.S. and even on us, the soldiers. If we are pulled out right now, we

have failed. They know this, and want this to happen.

You wouldn't believe the

sheer hatred you see here. Not hatred for Iraqis, not hatred from the

Iraqis to us, but hatred of those people who were supposed to be Americans

back home. Sorry to rant and rave, but it angers me. It angered almost

every soldier in Iraq with me.

Anytime any news source interviews

one of us, we try to say how we feel about these protesters, but they

edit it out. They say it will create more hatred for the troops by the

Left. Many Democrats like you and I have had a rude awakening here in

Iraq. Thousands of us will no longer be voting for a Democrat. If a Democrat

gets into office, America loses this war. You and I both know he will

pull us out, and the turmoil in this nation will start up again.

Before I go, I wanted to ask

you, do you remember Manny? He was in my graduating class and I brought

him to the house for Thanksgiving a few years ago. He was one of the ones

to uncover one of the mass graves. I wasn't there, but he e-mailed

me a couple days after. He said he still pukes when he sees it in his

mind. There were children in the graves grabbing their parents. The news

didn't go into detail, since it was a bit graphic, but he filled

me in as much as he could. I think the guy was going to have a breakdown.

He said his hand wiped the dirt off a child still holding what looked

to be a doll or something. He couldn't tell if it was a little boy

or girl because of the decomposition. He's one of the ones who really

didn't support this war until they saw things like that. He became

a Bush supporter within minutes. The guy is pretty gung-ho now.

Well, bro, take care of yourself,

and don't do anything stupid when you encounter these people who

spit on our names. They really aren't intelligent enough to know

any better. Just walk away from them, there is no educating these people.

Pop talks about you every time

I talk to him. He's very proud of what you've done there, but

he questions your latest decision to leave what you love doing so much.

I'm not going to lecture you on it, but think about this one. You're

doing what you always said you would do. That says a lot about a person.

Don't ever feel weird

about leaving the Marines. Pop knows that was the best decision for you.

Remember that he did the same thing so that he could go to college as

well. The only difference is that he came back in. The military was right

for him. He's a leader that many people need in the Corps. You're

more creative, and you need to be able to bring things to life.

If anything would ever happen

to me here, remember that I love you and I died doing what was right.

No matter how hard this is on me and the rest of the guys, it's the

right thing to do. Many people choose to do the easy things, and then

bash those who take on the hard tasks. This is right. The people are thankful

here and I will NOT leave them.

Give mom a hug and kiss for

me, and tell her she is missed. God willing, I'll be home in the

near future and I'll come to LA to see you. Maybe we can egg some

protesters or something, lol. Just kidding.

I love you.

Steve