A Soldier’s Diary

Fox News.com has the diary of a soldier named CPT Dan Sukman. There is an interesting story about some of the soldiers and his Iraqi allies who are working side by side. The entry I read discusses a series of numbers and what significance they have. I will let you read the story to see what they all mean but the one number I focused on was 30. Here is what CPT Dan said about the number 30:

Thirty is the number of recruits who lasted five minutes in the exam. Thirty is the number of recruits who could not read or write, or fill out the forms to even start the process. Thirty out of 75, that’s 40 percent. I can understand the argument that some problems in Iraq were the result of us coming here, damaging infrastructure and such. I may disagree, but I can understand it.

I will never, however, accept that 30 of 75 Iraqi police recruits being unable to read or write is the fault of any soldier. Everyone should be required to see the palaces that Saddam and his cronies lived in and THEN talk with the 30 recruits who could not read or write. Forget schools in Iraq; Saddam needed another palace made completely of marble and gold. Never tell me that soldiers helping Iraqis build a school is not a strategy for victory in this country. Thirty — these guys never had a chance.

It is refreshing to get a perspective that is not the “so many people died” lead in of most news outlets. CPT Dan is right, these guys never had a chance and he also is right on the mark when he talks about building schools being a strategy for victory. Knowledge and education are very strong allies in the war on terror. The young people who are influenced by the Imams to become terrorists are not well educated and believe what they are told because they are starving for knowledge. An educated person knows how to question the sanity of strapping on bombs and blowing his body up. The uneducated believe the reasons they are given because they have never been taught any thing else.

G. Gordon Liddy once said that when he went to jail and had to fill out papers there was a small block to list education. The block was not large enough to list his extensive credits but he wrote it all down on that paper. He said that his educational credits gave the guards an uneasy feeling because those guards knew they could not push a man with that background around. He would not be easily misled. When we have 70 of 70 Iraqis able to read and write well enough to take a test and pass it we will have driven a stake in the heart of terrorism because we will have removed the ignorance so easily molded into a anti social behavior..

A Soldier’s Diary

[tags]Army, Iraq, Gordon Liddy, terrorist, Fox News[/tags]

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2 Responses to “A Soldier’s Diary”

  1. […] Big Dog presents an entry from a soldier’s diary. […]

  2. Bosun says:

    Thanks Big Dog. I posted a teaser to your web blog entry at Rosemary’s DOD Daily News and also at Rumors of War. Thank you for your service.

    Respectfully,
    Bos’un