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Many
of my friends, family and even strangers hitting my site are
emailing me wanting to know my thoughts on the war in Iraq,
the world since the September 11 attacks, and what I'm doing
here…as well as where I am. So…I thought I'd put up
this page.
I
am serving as an 88m, which in laymen's terms is a US Army truck
driver, stationed at LSA Adder, Iraq or better known by Tallil
Air Base.
Tallil
is located in Southern Iraq, only a few kilometers from the
city of Nasiriyah and on the historically famous Euphrates River.
I'm
in between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers in the heart of Mesopotamia,
the "Cradle of Life". It was here the world's first
documented civilization flourished. The land was then known
as Sumer and the people Sumerians. They were the ones who gave
us the first written language, glass, and the wheel.
I
am about 200 miles South and West of modern Baghdad, and about
100 miles South of the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon.
Things
are even worse right now because of this Constitution dispute.
If you're not following it, the problem is that the factions
here in Iraq can't agree. You have three factions, all Muslims
but very distinct. First there are the Shiites. They are the
vast majority of Iraqis, over 70% of the population. They are
a much more peaceful bunch and associate themselves with the
Iranians, which may become a problem later. They aren't that
mad at us for taking out Saddam, but they will be if we invade
Iran. Which is why I think we're not invading Iran yet? Next
are the Sunnis. They are much smaller in number, but far better
educated and wealthier and have been in complete power for over
40 years. They're far more radical and generally mean as Hell
towards Americans. When you hear the term 'Islamic Fundamentalist'…these
guys are the epitome of that. This is what Saddam was. Finally
you have the Kurds. They're not even Arabs as the previous two
groups, they're Ottoman, (Turkish). So the problem comes with
this democracy stuff we're trying to shove down their throats.
If this country does truly become a democratic society, the
leadership will be determined by common vote, just as in America.
Since the Shiites greatly outnumber the Sunnis, of course they'll
win every election and therefore receive all the power and wealth,
and the Sunnis simply will not stand for that, so their plan
is to disrupt the Constitution. They also refuse to give women
any rights, which of course is what we're pushing for. So…they've
really been hitting us hard these past two weeks as all this
is going on.
--Sergeant
S.W. Foster
US
Army Reserves Currently
Serving in Iraq
My
Personal Website
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