memories

This story caught my eye by the headline. I couldn't help but wonder if they were talking about an assault on the base where I was, or one of the other bases in the area. It wouldn't be the first time terrorist thugs had tried to storm in and take over. It happened at least three times while we were there. A couple of Marines and officers have been nominated for medals for valor because of their conduct during those attacks, too. Oh, there was a story a few months ago about this "huge protest" in the streets of Ramadi demanding that America leave Iraq forever. To tell the truth about that one; it was about 40-50 bad guys grouped in front of cameras to make the "crowd" seem much bigger than it was and as soon as Humm-Vee's rolled up to the scene, they scattered and seemingly vanished. Yeah, tough dudes alright. It's not the truth when you hear stories about American troops losing control of the city or being overrun by "insurgents" as they are often called. What's true is that sometimes the terrorists get a little too big for their britches and pick a fight with us-a fight they never win, by the way. Actually, that's a good thing. That's why we're there... flush out bad guys and bring them to justice, either through capture or death. We'd rather they tried to pick on us than the truly civilian population that just wants to be left alone to live their own lives. Hey, come to think of it, isn't that what freedom really is?