MichaelMoore.com

"...I knew we were doing a good thing for the people of Iraq..."

From: Stephan Ward

Date: Wednesday, July 14, 2004

Subject: From an Iraq War Vet

Mike,

I am a veteran of the war in Iraq, and I wanted to write to thank you for making a film that I believe has opened many eyes in this country to things they were once blind to. When I was deployed to Iraq, I knew we were doing a good thing for the people of Iraq; tyranny and totalitarianism had to be wiped off the slate of progress in Iraq and we were the ones to do it. But after that proverbial eraser comprised of U.S. and coalition forces liberated Iraq, we wondered, "What next?" We also wondered, "Where are all the terrorists? The al Qaeda operatives? The Syrians?" We knew that despite our noble act of freeing the oppressed peoples of Iraq, so many false guises were still being put forth as to other reasons WHY we were there in the first place. Upon hearing of the fall of Saddam Hussein's statue while I was on patrol in southern Iraq, I couldn't help but think "What next? Where do we go from here?" The tyrant had been deposed, the people liberated, but did anyone RE ALLY have any clue as to the next step? Unfortunately for the troops like myself and my brothers-in-arms still serving over there, no one did.

It was as if it was a movie playing out with an open ending; would it be drama, action, or heartbreaking despair? Where was the crescendo, the climax, and most importantly, the stereotypical part in every movie where the loose ends are wrapped up and the story comes to a neat close? I was under the impression that the Bush administration seemed to have a great idea for every single step of the way during Operation Iraqi Freedom, but as to whether I actually believed that a war without a plan would work, no. No way in hell. And while I gained an incredible life experience out of it, I don't know how much I will have to show for it in ten years when it comes to W's "mission accomplished" claim. Will it be another Vietnam, perhaps? Somalia? I wonder whether it will be yet another neo-imperialist action that ends totally in tragedy. At the same time, I see that the aforementioned tragedy has no foreseeable end and is nothing but a long, continuing scene in the "reality T V war" that is being played out before our very eyes.

Sincerely and respectfully,

SPC Stephen Ward