This is an email forward I received from a friend today that enraged me. 

-----Original Message-----
From: hf
Sent: Tuesday, April 01, 2003 2:26 PM
To: undisclosed
Subject: from my friend Donna

As some of you may already know, my cousin Dennis is a Major serving in the Army. He is a commander in the 101st Airborne group from Ft. Campbell, KY. He is currently in Iraq with his Brigade. He e-mails his wife and mother frequently and this is a quote from an e-mail that he sent last night. I thought it was interesting enough to share with you all.

"Did you know that this was once the most educated country in the world, with more PhDs per capita than any other country?  The last 03 years have taken their toll.  I have seen my share of what fascism and communism can do to a country and to a people.  The so-called "intellectuals" back home protesting the war are, in reality, some of the most ignorant people I can think of, and the fact that they live such cushy, sheltered lives under the blanket of freedom provided by the blood and sweat of 18 year-old American soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines disgusts me. They need to travel here for a couple of days and see the real deal."

So I responded:

This guy is an idiot slave. He thinks that it is only “intellectuals” that are protesting the fucking invasion/not war???? Has he no idea that the whole fucking world is protesting this atrocity? This isn't the fifties anymore. Since when have you seen an intellectual protesting a war? I have been to plenty of peace marches and anti-war rallies this year and I can tell you that it's a wide spectrum of all Americans who are against this invasion. 

We need to travel to Iraq to see the real deal? Why? We live in America idiot. So what? Then we will want to invade their country? Are we going to invade Venezuela next? Look at their plight. Cuba? Chechnya? For God sakes look at what they’ve been going through for two hundred years. It’s fucking genocide over there. And what about Palestine? Taking over other countries is not our business. Taking care of our country is our business. He is brainwashed. And fine let him be, in case we ever really need him for what he is supposed to be for—defending America. Not taking over some one else’s country. 

I am posting this bullshit to our website to show just what kind of brainwashed idiots bomb other people’s cities. And now I have a better understanding of why they are able to justify that in their minds. What he said made no actual sense. I read it ten times trying to decipher what he was really trying to say. Are we to blame that we chose cushy lives and he chose to join the army? I don't think so. Tell me that my country and my people are being attacked and I will be right next to him with a fucking bazooka and a pocket full of beef jerky fighting till my death or victory to defend this country. I love this country and I would fight till I died to defend it. I would live no where else in the world. 

But nineteen thousand bombs dropped on one city in ten days!!! Leaving the people there with no electricity, no phones, no place to go to work, thousands without homes now, no water lines left, no medicine, and barely any food. And now they are being bossed around by a bunch of these 18 year old Americans he mentions who have no business in their country in the first place. And then WE are going to pay to rebuild their whole country when our economy is falling down the toilet right before our eyes??!!! How dare he say a fucking thing. He should get his ass home and protect us from the hundreds more 9/11’s that are going to take place now that Bush fucked us.

Yesterday Egypt’s president warned that due to the invasion of Iraq, America should expect 100 more Osama Bin Ladens to show up against America. Well this is something we already knew would happen. The Bush admin went ahead with it anyway. I cannot believe that so few people in the last year and a half have been brave enough to speak up and ask the tough question of why 9/11 happened in the first place. Are people that asleep? They actually think this is going to prevent terrorism rather than cause it? is it really that easy to fool a whole nation of people. if you study history it seems that it has been very easy to fool whole nations of people. But now we are seeing it right before our eyes. I am afraid that it is that easy. And today as my friend Holly emailed me, “I am scared shitless now of more 9/11s and for the safety of my children.”   

I have been studying Iraq and the Saddam Hussein regime for a while now. and I have to admit that it is nauseating when you hear the stories of what life is like for these people. it's just truly horrifying what this man and his so called government have done to their people. it makes my stomach churn. And it makes me feel sick and scared and grateful to live in America. But I am smart enough to know that this is happening in a lot of other places around the world besides Iraq. And we aren't doing anything about it. and what's worse is that America supported sadaam Hussein for decades while he committed these atrocities and never said anything about it to the American people. so something is just not right. there are bigger reasons why Bush and his henchmen forced us into this battle. And I think that is the big question that these pansy assed drones on CNN need to be talking about, not interviewing another retired army general. You know even your friend Donna said “kind of puts things in a different perspective” meaning even she can tell and admit that America is not behind this invasion/not war. Iraq was seventh on our list of terror states. So now what are we going to go after the first six? It's for oil and for vengeance. It's called imperialism or colonialism. When a large country extends it's reaches by taking over a small one. the reason why the whole world is against us right now is because this doesn’t happen anymore. Were not supposed to be still doing this. it's against international law. It sets a precedent that tells every other country around the world, ‘well if you’re bigger and you think you can get away with it pretty quickly, go ahead and do it and fuck the UN.’

But thanks for sharing. Yes I am scared shitless now too for your children. And my own. I think it's bullshit to endanger our lives like this after what we saw with 9/11. 

All my love and respect and I do hope that Mark’s friends return home safely.