Remembrance!
Current mood: sad
Category: News and Politics

Yesterday was kind of a sad day I'm sure for all of us, but even though I didn't know anyone very well that died that day, 9/11 was the day that changed my life forever! For the first time since I was a child I balled my eyes out, 9/11 will forever hold a significance in my life! The main reason is obvious but after that day I decided to enlist in the Marine Corps, I can't even believe it's been 7 years, I remember it as though it were yesterday! And my 6 years in the Marines have flown by too. I had a chance to visit ground zero a week before I left for Iraq and it was the most eerily sobering experience of my life, I didn't have any memories to compare to what I saw as I had never before been to New York, but as I looked into that massive hole in the ground I felt all the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, I looked over and saw a woman with her hand on the fence that surrounded it and she was crying, as I slowly walked around staring in the hole I noticed a crayon drawing of a child, a picture of his dad holding him and it read "I miss you daddy" the emotions began to all come back and when I noticed the thousands of other crayon drawings along side it, it all hit me and I collapsed to the ground and started weeping out loud! And so it is almost ironic that the day I stepped foot into Iraq for the first time was also 9/11!

Semper Fi

Sgt Miller, USMC

6:12 AM - 9 Comments - 18 Kudos - Add Comment

Al Anbar’s importance in the Iraq war!
Category: News and Politics

With all of the election news lately there has not been a lot of coverage on the success of the Iraq war. So in case you've all missed it control of the Al Anbar Province of Iraq was just turned back over to the Iraqi people and to the governor of the province governor Ma'moon. And just so that you all know the significance of this and to put it into perspective:

When I spent 7 months in Ramadi, the Provincial Capitol of Al Anbar nearly a year and a half ago, Ramadi was considered by the U.S. State Department to be the most contentious city in all of Iraq. The building I lived in (the Government Center) averaged 5 attacks or more a day, if you were to stay in one spot in the city for an average of 8 minutes you were nearly guaranteed to get hit, Governor Ma'moon whose security detail I was a part of which was in charge of transporting him to and from his house and the Government Center and anywhere else he needed to go, the governor had over 30 attempts on his life in just 9 months and was considered one of the most marked men in his country. The violence started to turn around towards the end of my deployment and now fast forwarded to today, Ramadi is one of the most peaceful cities in Iraq, much of the violence in the whole of Al Anbar has ceased, the turning point in the province started in Ramadi! This was a city that was so dangerous that we took regular sniper fire whenever we set foot outdoors, now many of the Marines can walk around out in the city during daylight hours and talk to the locals without worrying about sniper fire, governor Ma'moon is now able to walk around his capitol city among his people without the protection of Marines! The turn over of this once violent and turbulent province is a sign of the successes of the Marines and of America in this war! It is a step towards the end but we can't get ahead of ourselves and think it's all over, we may have turned the province over but our job is not yet done, it doesn't mean that we just send everyone home with a pat on the back. Now our job and role in Al Anbar is to sit in the back seat for a while, provide advice, support, and assistance whenever it's needed and to continue to train and strengthen the Iraqi Forces! Keep in mind this is a new government for Iraq, it's taken us hundreds of years and we still can't claim that we've got democracy nailed down, Iraq has a long and tough road ahead of them but the turnover of Al Anbar is a big step not only for us, but for Iraq!!! Keep them in your thoughts and prayers as they give democracy it's beginnings and chance to thrive in Al Anbar!

Here is a letter from a friend and government employee of Al Anbar!

We ready for tomorrow of opening the great party for  US forces will hand over control of Anbar province to Iraqi troops on tomorrow morning .. everyone they will coming tomorrow .. the  premier Mr. ALMALIKY and the al anbar US commander jeneral POST and of course the governor Maa'moon and the IP chief jeneral tarik and the Chief of the al anbar council  DR. abed alsalam and every one and tomorrow is will be very big day i will take some pictures for send to you i'm pray to the lord for save everybody and do you know ??? tomorrow  is the first day of  Ramadan ! i hope everything is be all right  Inshallah ... please sir say hi for me to everyone know me .. and please keep on touch with me about anything new of my case .

THANK YOU VERY MICH SIR

I TALK TO YOU TOMORROW

HAVE NICE DAY

YOUR FRIEND

(And for the record even with the start of Ramadan the turnover went without any violence and was a day of celebration for both the U.S. Forces and for Iraq!)

2:38 PM - 6 Comments - 16 Kudos - Add Comment

What makes an American?
Category: News and Politics

I wrote this blog because I've had lot's of people not only from our great nation but from all over thank me for my service to our country!

I have had people from all walks of life, from all sorts of different countries tell me that I am appreciated, and it does mean a lot to me and the others in the military to hear that. A lot of us may act tough and pretend that nothing effects us and on some levels that's because we have learned to deal and cope with a lot of things so then even when we hear the positive things we forget that it's OK to express our gratitude to you! So thanks to everybody, all of my fellow Americans and fellow citizens of the world! And your more than welcome, my service in the Marine Corps has been my pleasure!!!

But some of these people that are from Germany, Canada, South Africa, Mexico, England, Ireland, Australia, Egypt, France ( believe it or not, yes there are still some decent people "from" France, [just kidding in case any of my French friends read this]) who are now living in the United States have said to me "thank you for serving this country even though it isn't my own". Some of these people have lived here longer than they have lived in their native countries, some of these people do more for America, than some of the natively born Americans... So it got me thinking, what is it that makes an American, an American?

Some of these people have been out-casted and branded as non-American by others who were born here and because of that have not let themselves consider themselves as American, but I beg to differ! What exactly is an American? Can you pin one down and classify an American by race, religion, ethnic background, or ones heritage? NO you can't, America is the one country in the world where you will have Blacks, Whites, Asians, Indians, Germans, Scotts, Irish, English, Italian, Russians, Mexicans, French, Spanish and so on and so forth, all living together calling themselves Americans, this doesn't mean that you have to forget where you came from or what your heritage is. My grandfather was born in Scotland but he came to America and he fought for America in WWII, and the day he died if you asked him he would have told you that he's an American! America is a country of mutts! America's motto "E PLURIBUS UNUM" a Latin phrase meaning "Out of many, one"... America is a nation born from the sons and daughters of many nations coming into one! And an American is someone who loves this country and is willing to sacrifice for it if need be... So it doesn't matter where your from, you can still love this country and call yourself an American! Just as my grandfather, even though he was proud of his Scottish heritage and passed down that pride to me, he loved this country enough to call himself American!!! So if you love this country whether you were born here or immigrated here (legally) be proud to call yourself American! And don't let anyone tell you your not!

In the Marine Corps I even have some close brothers who are not yet citizens of the U.S. but they stood by my side in Iraq wearing the uniform that proudly says "U.S. Marine" over their left chest pocket!!! I personally know and served with one Marine from Mexico (who is not yet a citizen), two from South Africa (one of them is still working on obtaining his citizenship), and one from Ukraine (who just got his citizenship after we returned from Iraq)... These people have done more for this country than most Americans, let me hear someone tell them they're not American!

(UPDATE)...

This is a story I forgot to mention, but it's very important! While I was in Iraq my team had a total of 4 interpreters, I have many stories about all of them but this story is about a man (who's name I will not disclose for security reasons, but let's just call him Tom) who was originally from Egypt, and was former Egyptian Special Forces. But Tom had spent the last 20 years of his life living in America, New York City of all places. Tom was a husband and a father, he was very involved in his community in NY and was an excellent soccer coach. Tom was only blocks away from the trade towers when they were hit, and on 9/12 he went into the local FBI offices and asked how he could help! And that is how he came to be our interpreter in Iraq. From 2001 till present Tom has served the country he has come to call home, America, spending 7 to 10 months out of every year away from his family in Iraq, he does this voluntarily! During my time spent with him I learned to respect this man immensely, he put his life in our hands to protect him and on several occasions I had to put my life in his, and I did so without hesitation! But here's the sad part of the story that infuriates me beyond what I can possibly put into words... During our time spent together serving our country, he received word from home (NY) that his oldest son who was an American born 18 year old, had been hospitalized, beaten to a pulp! All because a group of high school punks didn't like his that he was of Arab decent, they mocked him and beat the crap out of him calling him a terrorist... Here's a group of American born high schoolers who haven't done (pardon my language) shit for the country that they live in, and then there's the son of a man who has sacrificed more than they could comprehend, after we heard about this we naturally offered to let Tom go home to his son, we also offered to come with him so that we could teach the punks a lesson, that's the last thing these punks would want a squad of PISSED OFF Marines after them! But Tom as sad as he was refused to leave us, because he knew we needed him! I am a white protestant Christian and maybe I don't agree with Tom's Muslim faith but I loved the man and trusted him 110%, and our differences in faith are no reason for hatred, because that makes these high school idiots no better than the terrorists or insurgents we fight!!! Despite Tom being born in Egypt he is an American Hero!!! Tom now works for the CIA (which is why I cannot tell you his real name) and has done a lot of good for America and Iraq!

Semper Fi
Sgt Miller

7:51 PM - 12 Comments - 16 Kudos - Add Comment

Veterans against Obama! (Updated)
Current mood: confident
Category: News and Politics

This is why most military will not vote for Obama, with every rule there is an exception but I personally know that the majority of the military will never vote for someone like him!

Because he is too inexperienced, and unfit to be the commander in chief of the Military! His stance on foreign policy terrifies me! He preaches change, but never says what that change will entail, but if you look at his record you can deduce that the change he talks about is a dumbed down version socialism, which sounds nice on paper but never works! I'd much rather have a Commander in Chief who's been in the military and one who knows what war is like, and McCain has 2 sons who are both in the Marine Corps and have fought in Iraq... I'm sick of people telling me that they need to pull the troops out, when I am trying as hard as I can to rehabilitate and get back out there to finish the job! pulling us out would undo everything that we've worked for, everything that I sweat and bled for out there, everything that some very dear friends have died for! And by pulling us out you'd be saying that what we did didn't amount to anything, and those lives lost were in vein.

There is a responsible way of pulling the troops out and there is an irresponsible way. If we just got pulled out of there then there would be a vacuum effect that would turn Iraq into more of a terrorist breeding ground than it ever was before, more so than even Afghanistan. And that would undo everything that we worked so hard to accomplish!!! I have been for this war from the very beginning, and even after facing death, being shot, and having all the surgeries I've had since I've been home I believe in the cause now more than ever. But even if you opposed the war to begin with we can't abandon those people now it would be selfish, reckless, and utterly irresponsible to do so and would actually make things much worse for us in the long run. We first need to be sure that the Iraqi Government can stand on it's own, and that the Iraqi people have faith in their own elected government to let them govern. Only then can we start to gradually pull troops out and eventually just leave a small force to act only as a supporting force for the Iraqi military and police.

I'm not the biggest McCain supporter there are many issues I don't agree with him on but he at least understands all of this, he understands what we are going through over there, he understands combat, and he understands what is at stake in this war that the American people have seemingly abandoned and forgotten, not only our future but the future of an entire nation of people is at risk if we give in and pull out!

Some people don't think it's our responsibility to fight for other countries and stabilize their governments but as I've said before in previous blogs "It's a good thing France didn't have that attitude during our revolution, otherwise we never would have won our own Independence!!!"

OK... Not to bash anyones service, but there are those who enlist for the wrong reasons (educational benefits, health insurance, job security, and surly no one joins for the money cuz the money in the military is not anything to brag about!!!) and when their time is done they can't wait to get out! But then there are those of us who join more because we are called to it, it's who we are!!! And we're what you might call the lifers, we're in for the long haul! The only reason people like us join is because we have a need to serve the country we love, and if needed we're the ones who will give our lives for our country without hesitation!

Now I can't possibly throw out statistics and percentages without taking some kind of poll, but I can tell you that I guarantee almost anyone who joins for the "right reasons" anyone who is called to it, could not possibly vote for anyone like Obama!!! Now you can tell me you know this person or that person that is a veteran and they are voting for Obama, but I'd be willing to bet that most of those people are either no longer serving or have no plans on re-enlisting because they are the ones who most likely joined not thinking they would ever see combat! Once again, there are exceptions, I do have a few friends who don't agree with my politics and still say they would vote for Obama, but they are a few out of hundreds (and let me throw this out there, even though we disagree, I would die for them in a heartbeat and I have every bit of faith that they would do the same for me!!!)

Obama is not a competent Commander in Chief! You tell me what exactly he stands for???????? CHANGE? what the hell is he gonna change? HOPE? what kind of hope? are you kidding me? he never says what the hell he's talking about, he just throws out what people want to hear but never provides a solution!!! Most people I talk to that say they're gonna vote for him can't even answer those questions, but they're gonna vote for him because someone they know and respect says they are gonna vote for him! Why don't you at least look into it yourself and make an educated decision! I can at least respect that! But that doesn't seem to be the case in most people I've come across.

I've also heard people say that they want to vote for him to be a part of history... That has to be the worst reason I have ever heard, ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS!!! And nothing makes me more pissed off than to hear that! Vote for the man, not the color! Some have even had the balls to call me racist because I won't vote for Obama, ALSO RIDICULOUS!!! If it were a Colon Powell, Clarence Thomas, or Condoleezza Rice I wouldn't even have to think about who I'm gonna vote for, any one of those would be qualified no brainers for me!

Another type of person who will vote for Obama is the socialist minded person. Someone who wants to take money from those who work hard for what they have, and give it to the people who don't. I'm talking about welfare, whatever happened to personal responsibility, whatever happened to working hard to achieve your dreams, The American dream is about a strong work ethic, working hard toward your goals, it was never about having other people work hard so that you can live off of them! No one ever said the American dream was easy, but they did say that with hard work you can achieve anything! I've had poor people tell me that I don't know what it's like and I don't know where they're coming from... maybe your right but my grandfather sure as hell knew all about poverty and overcoming diversity! everything my parents have and I have is because of his hard work, and the work ethic that he passed down to my dad, and my dad passed down to me!!!

I still keep in touch with a few of the Iraqi people I worked with during my tour and I just received a lengthy e-mail from one man named Mustafa, the following is an excerpt from his letter:

the Iraqi forces and police they still need the support from the U.S military forces and they not ready  yet  to collecting to hold the reins of government …

3:42 PM - 78 Comments - 127 Kudos - Add Comment

Memorial Day!
Category: News and Politics

Just a few quotes for Memorial Day!

"War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature, and has no chance of being free unless made or kept so by the exertions of better men than himself."              

 - John Stuart Mill"

"Every man's life ends the same way. It is only the details of how he lived and how he died that distinguish one man from another."

- Ernest Hemingway

"Cowards die many times before their deaths; The valiant never taste of death but once."

 - William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar

"All that is necessary for evil to succeed is for good men to do nothing." 

- Edmund Burke, British statesman and philosopher

"Safeguarding the rights of others is the most noble and beautiful end of a human being."

- Kahlil Gibran, "The Voice of the Poet

"Better to fight for something than live for nothing"
- General George S. Patton
 
 
"Those who have long enjoyed such privileges as we enjoy forget in time that men have died to win them."  
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
 
  
 
Remember what we have, then remember what it cost us,
remember who paid it and gave everything they had to see it through!!!
Semper Fidelis, and happy Memorial Day!!!

12:57 AM - 8 Comments - 18 Kudos - Add Comment

Life for-granted! (It’s in the details)
Current mood: sad
Category: Life

So much of life is in the details... These days we tend to get caught up in the fast pace of the modern technical world, that we miss the richness of life and overlook the simple things, or maybe we're just too glued to the TV to care! You know in 28 years of life I never took the time to let the snow or the rain just fall on my face, or to pick a single blade of grass and just examine the things that are often missed when looking at the whole field, these things sound so stupid and I can't help but laugh at what I've just said. It's difficult for me to explain where I'm coming from, if you haven't seen the world through my eyes, the eyes of a combat vet, then you may never even stop to think about these funny little things...

While in Iraq and on post, during the very few occasions where there would be a break in the constant drone of machine gun fire and mortar explosions, I would briefly close my eyes to try and forget where I was, I could hear birds chirping, dogs barking, and even the UAV's (Unmanned Areal Vehicle's, or spy planes) flying overhead sounded like a distant neighbor mowing his lawn, and for that brief moment I was home! Even though this only ever lasted seconds before another fire fight would break out and reality slapped me across the face, I would think of all the things I was gonna do when I got home and the recurring day dream would consist of me just lying in the grassy field at the park a block away from the house I grew up in with my eyes closed and my arms and legs sprawled out as if I was making a snow angel... The simple details!

As a man I've never been one to bare my feelings or let tears fall lightly, but now I seem to cry all the time, often crying myself to sleep at night, and I'm not even ashamed of it any more, lol... I mean what is life if you go through it without ever feeling it?

I only wish that it didn't take the experience, the hell that is war to understand all of this!!! Because now the things I've seen that haunt me, the things I've had to do to ensure that I lived another day all too often get stuck in an endless loop as I dream, and now it's the details of horror, the lifeless mutilated bodies, the pain, the smells oh my God the smell the stench of death, and the feeling of sheer terror, helplessness, and loss as I see a brother fall to the ground, his warm blood running through my fingers will never wash off no matter how hard I scrub them... It's these details that I see every time I close my eyes, every blink... It's been over 40 hours since I've slept, and not for a lack of trying, but sometimes I feel like I avoid sleeping, or avoid closing my eyes. And it's funny because as a Marine I naively wanted to be in combat, I built it up to be so glorious like in the movies. And if I'm gonna be completely honest with you then I'd have to tell you that as soon as the bullets started whizzing past my head my absolute first thought was "fuck yeah!!!" but that all ended when those around me started dropping to the ground. The guilt set in, I let that feeling the adrenaline that burst through my veins take control to soon, and now the price of war had been paid, blood had been spilt, the excitement had gone, and I was left feeling empty...

So take what you can from me, don't let life pass you by, people are always saying "take a step back and look at the big picture" but sometimes, every once in a while you may need to take that step forward, maybe even two steps and see the picture up close, use your sight, your hearing, your sense of smell, and sense of touch, and see, hear, smell, and feel the details in everyday life! Don't take it for-granted, don't sleep in out of laziness but wake up early and watch the sunrise! Stay up late and watch it set, but when it does pause for a moment and take it in. If a ladybug lands on your face don't swat it away but take it in your hand and watch it as it gently crawls across your skin. When it rains don't run for shelter but look to the sky and with your arms outstretched and your mouth open feel the rain run down your cheek and drip onto your clothes who cares if you get soaked! 

I mean even now as I write all of this I'll admit that I'm drenched in my own tears, partly because of painful memories being vividly rehashed as I write, but also because I feel it's too late for me to experience life in this way, and it took looking death in the face to realize what I've been missing, what's been in front of me all along...

Currently listening : American IV: The Man Comes Around By Johnny Cash Release date: 05 November, 2002

3:34 AM - 16 Comments - 34 Kudos - Add Comment

Why Iraqi Freedom! (UPDATED)
Category: News and Politics

The news these days is flooded with bitching over the war! The other night I watched a movie by the name of "Hotel Rwanda" a true story about the genocide that was going on during the mid 90's in Rwanda. In that movie while the innocent people were left to fend for themselves against atrocities on both sides of the so called revolution. The main character a man named Paul (played by Don Cheadle) thanks a UN Colonel for helping them and the Colonel emotionally replies "you should spit in my face" Paul was stunned by this, the Colonel then says "We think you (the Rwandans) are dirt Paul, the West, the Superpowers they think you're dirt... Worthless" he goes on to explain that the U.N. will not be staying to help because the "West" just doesn't care enough. The U.N. then leaves evacuating all the Whites, and leaving the Black Rwandans to themselves. And there was a media cameraman that filmed some of the massacring that was going on and upon seeing it Paul asked "how could they (the U.S. the U.K. and the rest of the world's Superpowers) not intervene when they've witnessed such atrocities", The cameraman says "I think if people see this footage they'll say, OH MY GOD THAT'S HORRIBLE, and then go on eating their dinners". So then what does this have to do with Iraq? OK, let's say that Saddam didn't have weapons of mass destruction, which he did, nothing nuclear maybe (although he was working on it) but he had chemical and your proof is the 100,000 dead Kurds that somehow manage to get swept under the rug whenever the topic is brought up. But for God's sake the man was a weapon of mass destruction in his own right! His hero whom he had portraits of on his palace walls was Joseph Stalin! And since our invasion we've found over 270 mass graves containing the remains of over 400,000 people! That's at least half of a million people that we know of. So hearing this may cause you to say "OH MY GOD THAT'S HORRIBLE" but then you fail to act, you fail to see that it's about more than politics, it's about life, it's about freedom for all mankind, freedom from tyranny, freedom from fear and oppression! But you over look all of that and you overlook what America is all about! And don't use myself and the others in the military as your excuse to be against it, it's not your life on the line it's ours, and just because you're too selfish to give yourself to a cause doesn't mean that you can be selfish with our lives as well!!! So then who cares? Let me tell you something I care, and so do the rest of the military, that's why we signed the line, to make a difference! Ronald Reagan once said "Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference, the Marines don't have that problem". And you can politicize this war and make it to be about whatever the hell you wish, but when it comes down to it, if you pull us out and abandon those people you're no better than Saddam himself, because your indifference is a greater sin! And to those who ask why we're fighting someone else's war? Try asking the French why they helped us gain our Independence!

But in case you won't accept my word on this, perhaps others have already said it best:

Is true Freedom but to break

Fetters for own dear sake,

And, with leathern hearts, forget

That we owe mankind a debt?

No! True Freedom is to share

All the chains our brothers wear,

And, with heart and mind, to be

Earnest to make others free!

(James Russell Lowell)

"Your Freedom and mine cannot be separated." (Nelson Mandela)

"Freedom comes at a price, and tragically, sometimes that price is the commitment to defend freedom by arms. No matter how painful, America understands its obligations to its citizens, and the citizens of the world. America has been, is and always will be willing to do its duty, to sacrifice even its own blood so that people everywhere can live as individuals, responsible for their own destinies." (Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg)

"I have sworn upon the altar of God, eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man." (Thomas Jefferson)

"If men and women are in chains anywhere in the world, then Freedom is endangered everywhere." (John F. Kennedy)

"Those who deny Freedom to others, deserves it not for themselves" (Abraham Lincoln)

And if you think the Iraqi's don't want us there, then I urge you to listen to the story of one Iraqi civilian, he wasn't an Iraqi Policeman nor was he in the Iraqi Army, he was a common citizen of his country… but when a suicide bomber charged at a group of U.S. Army Soldiers the man intercepted him and pushed him away as the bomb went off, saving the lives of the 4 U.S. Soldiers. The father of the man then stated "I have no remorse in my son's death because he died saving American Soldiers."

I developed personal friendships with many of the local Iraqis, I had a conversation with one man who broke down crying and in his very broken English he said "I love my America friends!" he went on to tell me of his dream of a peaceful Ramadi, where his "America friends" can come stay in his home and feast with his family without fear of their own lives, a Ramadi where we could walk the streets together without the need to wear the body armor. This man could hardly provide enough food for his family, but still his wife would cook us traditional Iraqi meals that he would bring to us in the Government Center..... A few months before we left, this man disappeared and a week or so later his head showed up on a pole as a warning to his neighbors not to be friendly to the Americans… He was my friend, and that was his only crime!

(UPDATE)…

I still keep in touch with a few of the Iraqi people I worked with during my tour and I just received a lengthy e-mail from one man named Mustafa, the following is an excerpt from his letter:

"the Iraqi forces and police they still need the support from the U.S military forces and they not ready  yet  to collecting to hold the reins of government … "

His whole e-mail was in very broken English, but I think we can all get the point of what he was trying to say! The Iraqi government isn't ready for us to leave yet! Mustafa and most of the Iraqi people are thankful for their new freedoms. When the polls opened for their first free election, The Iraqi people had a higher turnout percentage than we have in our own elections despite all the threats from the insurgent groups telling them that if anyone showed up to vote they would be killed, and some were killed but it didn't stop them from showing up!

And since I first started to write this coalition forces have found 500 tons of Uranium in a warehouse in Baghdad, and yet the media has widely refused to report on it! After all of our reasons for invading Iraq the media had decided to latch onto the WMD's or weapons of mass destruction and for years after our initial invasion they have been bitching non-stop about there being no WMD's, and they've accused President Bush of lying about it, for one thing even if they never did find the uranium, President Bush went off of the intelligence that he was given, so even if it was wrong (which it turns out it wasn't) lying is a whole lot different than being misinformed! But besides the 500 tons of uranium it's been known all along that Saddam had WMD's. During my tour in Iraq in '06 - '07 we had one mustard gas attack, and thank God no one was killed, but one Army soldier was severely blistered by it and luckily had a full recovery. We have already found Mustard Gas and Sarin Gas, and once again the media refused to report on it, maybe they thought the amounts that we found weren't enough for them to consider it a "stockpile" of WMD's so they just left it out. But if 500 tons of uranium isn't a stockpile, and isn't considered dangerous in the hands of a man like Saddam then I don't know what could be!? Let me put it into perspective for you, how much uranium does it take to build one nuclear weapon? 25 kilograms. So then how many nuclear bombs can be made out of 500 tons of uranium? 142!!! You tell me whether the thought of Saddam having 142 nuclear weapons scares you or not? Maybe your OK with it, but I'm not! So why isn't the media reporting this? It's almost as though they've forgotten 9/11!!! 9/11 for some reason was too long ago for them to remember that anything like that could happen to us again! Well we better remember before it's too late, because Iran is well on their way to picking up where Saddam left off and if we let our guard down now we'll have another 9/11 on our hands in no time, with only ourselves to blame!

And I'll leave you with one final quote:

"War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature, and has no chance of being free unless made or kept so by the exertions of better men than himself."

- John Stuart Mill

Semper Fi

Sgt Miller, USMC

5:30 PM - 55 Comments - 68 Kudos - Add Comment

Why I’m a Marine!
Category: News and Politics

Most people don't understand Marines, and they don't understand why I volunteered to go to Iraq and why I wouldn't hesitate to go back after I was shot in the leg, lost a finger tip, and seriously injured both shoulders while trying to avoid getting shot again. "Isn't it dangerous?" (Obviously), "Do you want to die this time?", and my favorite "are you mentally deranged?"… These are common questions I get from people, and after hours of trying to explain myself to them I think I've come to an understanding myself and that is that the only ones that would understand are the ones doing it! And the people I'm trying to explain myself to will never get it or else they would be doing it themselves! So here are the reasons that people might want to hear, "I'm a Marine so it's my job and a cause I believe in!" And here are some reasons that people don't understand, and our parents definitely don't like to hear, "if not me then who?, if I don't go, who will be dieing in my place?" some people take this the wrong way, I don't want to die, but I also am not afraid to die for my family, friends, my country, and my beliefs! Most people don't have anything that they believe is worth the cost of their own life, and I think that's sad, cause if there is nothing worth dieing for then what really is worth living for? But what we don't like to hear is excuses like "oh I was almost a Marine once" I hear it all the time, but there is no such thing, you either are a Marine or you didn't have what it takes and your not. And don't tell us "I understand what you must have gone through" cause you don't, you don't know what it's like to be shot at or to shoot another living person, you don't know what a dead and mutilated corpse looks like unless you're twisted enough to look one up on the internet and even then it's the smell that really gets to you, you don't know what it's like to see your brothers fall to the ground, and you can't understand what it's like to wonder why your still alive, cause you know you shouldn't be. This list goes on but the point is that you don't understand what it is to be a United States Marine. But we all play our part, so you don't need to understand me, just be thankful that there are enough of us to keep the American dream alive! Semper Fi!

12:44 PM - 27 Comments - 52 Kudos - Add Comment

Today... 9/11
Category: News and Politics

Today is the day that made us feel loss

Today is the day that made us cry

Today is the day that brought us together (at least for a while)

Today we feel anger, despair, and resolution.

Today is the reason I feel alive

Today was the reason that I woke up. and found a calling

Today is why I enlisted

And a year ago today I set my boots in Iraq.

Today is why I fight

Why I bled

Why others have died

I remember the pain, the hate, the tears.

I remember the exact moment and what I was doing.

I remember 6 years ago as though it were Today.

I remember not only the thousands that died this day, but the thousands since.

I remember today.

And you better believe I will NEVER FORGET!!!

10:39 AM - 26 Comments - 42 Kudos - Add Comment

What is love?
Current mood: contemplative
Category: Romance and Relationships

(Most of this is based off of a journal entry of mine from years ago, now slightly edited and updated)

This is completely off topic from my usual blogs, but still something that is very important to me. This is not the most masculine of topics, I think most men try and hide behind the rough facade of cars, sports, professions, and anything else that better suits being a "man"… I've been playfully criticized by my fellow Marines for my abundance of time spent studying this topic, this question, this mystery…

Is love just a word, is it a feeling, is it an act, or is it an art?

In the English language we have but one word for the unexplainable, "love".

The Ancient Greeks had 4 different words to try and explain the different types of love, and in the Bible they are all translated into "love".

Storge: Affection or fondness.

Philia: The love of a friend, or brotherly love.

Agape: A self sacrificing unconditional love.

Eros: Passionate, sensual, romantic love.

Aramaic (the language spoken by Jesus) had 6 specific words, none of which are entirely translatable, but none the less (and once again) in the Bible are all translated to the word "love". The nearest translations or explanations aren't easily understood.

Kenoota: The goal to discover and work towards whatever is Fairest-for-All in any situation.

Khooba: The active seeking to perceive the good in self, others, and Life.

Makikh: A mind-set to perceive truly and accurately the needs of others, to give service.

Abilii: The goal to be open to awareness of one's own errors. Compassionate self-correction of one's attitudes and goals.

Rukha: This word conveys more than just "peace of mind". To feel and to be in harmony with one's self and others, whatever the outer circumstances are doing.

Dadcean Libhoun: Seeing things Whole. A wide perspective. Inclusive perception, seeing connections not normally available on the ordinary level of awareness.

Many other cultures saw the complexities of love as well, and tried to give it a greater meaning.

So what is it? Is our lack of words for this a suggestion that we place less importance on love in our society? Or is it simply our way of saying that it can't be put into words?

Is it a feeling? Are the butterflies in your stomach, the shortness of breath, and the goose bumps on your arms love? If so what happens when they fade, are you out of love? Which then would suggest that love doesn't last? Or that love is not selfless, but is in fact a selfish act to "feel" better about yourself. If that is love then I don't want it! But the Latin origin of our word love, "lubere" means "to please" which would indicate selflessness.

Is love an emotion? The Bible speaks of love as a set of attitudes and actions that are far broader than the concept of love as an emotional attachment! Which might explain why love is so hard to find, hard to understand, or in this day in age, hard to keep. If it is an act or an attitude, then it is something that must be practiced, something that must be sought after, that must be continually renewed day to day, something that requires a personal effort to survive, and something that in laziness might crumble.

The Bible also states "God is love", which I think a lot of people take to simply mean that God loves… But if taken literally, in many ways makes sense more than any other explanation. God just like love cannot be explained or understood, proven or disproven, but those who have experienced God and experienced love, are left without a doubt of their existence!

It is my personal belief that to truly love another, you must first learn to love yourself. This almost sounds contradictory, but… this is not a conceded selfish self love. If you do not love yourself, then how can you comprehend the love for another? In loving yourself you can learn to give yourself, give yourself to the love of country, your fellow man, your family, and if you're lucky enough to find it, your one true love. The extent of which you love yourself directly reflects the extent of which you are capable of extending your love to others! Love is an art that requires patience, confidence, discipline, concentration, faith, and even daily practice. When men are interested in a woman, or are fresh in the dating aspect of a new relationship, they'll go out of their way to please that woman. Spontaneously surprise her with flowers on a day that holds no importance, no birthday or anniversary, just an act to let her know that he cares even on the uneventful days. You'll shower her with gifts, be courteous, and chivalrous, opening doors, and pulling out a chair for her. But all too often these days that spontaneity, that process in attraction is lost and forgotten once the goal is attained, "I have her, she's mine, now I can go back to living my life". But if you truly love her she is your life! In order to keep "love" in the relationship, to keep the relationship fresh, and exciting…. That spontaneity, and that drive you had to win her over, must not end once you believe that you have "won her over"… even in marriage the dating process, and the flattery should never end, if she's "yours" let her know it every day, and don't take her for granted! (This goes for you too ladies!)

I'm not a scholar or a philosopher, I'm not even a college graduate lol, so I don't even pretend to be an expert on this (as if one exist any way). I'm just a man who struggles to understand his broken heart, his lonely heart! And tries to understand life and the reasons for living it, and even the reasons for giving it!

But I think my main point in this is that love, whatever it is or however you see it, is something that you have to work at, it's not given to you...

If anyone disagrees or has a different point of view then by all means share it, this is a topic that I don't think any one person will ever nail down!

(I've read countless books on "love" over the years. And if you're searching like I am, then I would highly recommend the following: "The Art of Loving" by Erich Fromm. And "The Four Loves" by C.S. Lewis)

5:22 PM - 24 Comments - 45 Kudos - Add Comment