The October Surprise- A vote for John Kerry is a vote AGAINST the U.S. military personnel who liberated Iraq -- those Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines -- who are now on the frontline defending our critical national interests in the region against Jihadi terrorists. It is also a vote against those who have already provided the last measure on that front in service to our great nation. Indeed, there is a direct correlation between Kerry's efforts to politicize dissent against U.S. resolve in the war against terrorism -- specifically on the Iraqi warfront -- and American and Allied causalities on that front. Those forces, including countless Iraqis, are being injured and killed in ever-increasing numbers because of the political discord Kerry and his ilk are fomenting. If you think there is not a connection between Kerry's campaign rhetoric and U.S. casualties, read on.... Kerry has reduced the war to liberate Iraq to nothing more than political fodder, which has emboldened our Jihadi enemies. As noted recently by Professor Mohammad Amin Bashar at Baghdad's Islamic University, "If the U.S. Army suffered numerous humiliating losses, Kerry would emerge as the superman of the American people." To that end, Abu Jalal, an influential Iraqi resistance leader, said last month, "American elections and Iraq are linked tightly together. We've got to work to change the election, and we've done so. With our strikes, we've dragged Bush into the mud." The net effect of Kerry's dissention can certainly be felt in terms of increased numbers of American and Allied casualties. A few weeks ago, John Edwards unwittingly provided the evidence for this very correlation: "We lost more troops in September than we lost in August; lost more in August than we lost in July; lost more in July than we lost in June." This was, and remains, the unavoidable consequence of Kerry's reckless campaign rhetoric. The blood of those American Patriots (like the blood of his "brothers" in Vietnam, after he used that war as fodder for his 1972 congressional campaign), is on John Kerry's hands. To be sure, this is the harshest of all condemnations. But it is also the truth. Now, Osama bin Laden, who planned the 9/11 attack killing 3,000 of our countrymen -- men, women and children -- has emerged from his rat hole, and issued a statement which is, unquestionably, timed to support John Kerry. In that light, the most challenging question that can be asked on this, the eve of the 2004 Presidential Election, is not so much, "For whom will you vote?" but "With whom will you vote?" Will you vote with Osama bin Laden, Abu Jalal, Saddam Hussein and Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi? How about Kim Jong-Il, Mohammad Khatami, Moammar al-Ghadafi and Hu Jingtao. All of these tyrants support John Kerry. or... Will you vote with America's fighting forces, who, according to a just- published Army Times poll, overwhelmingly support President George W. Bush. In fact, 82 percent of our Armed Forces said they do not want John Kerry as their Commander in Chief. On Tuesday, SUPPORT OUR TROOPS -- VOTE FOR GEORGE W. BUSH!

A PILOT EDITORIAL-- "YOU WORRY ME." ***************************************************************************** I've been trying to say this since 9-11. I guess I will be labeled as a bigoted American. By: American Airlines Pilot - Captain John Maniscalco

"You worry me. I wish you didn't. I wish when I walked down the streets of this country that I love, that your color and culture still blended with the beautiful human landscape we enjoy in this country. But you don't blend in anymore. I notice you, and it worries me. I notice you because I can't help it anymore. People from your homelands, professing to be Muslims, have been attacking and killing my fellow citizens and our friends for more than 20 years now. I don't fully understand their grievances and hate, but I know that nothing can justify the inhumanity of their attacks. On September 11, nineteen ARAB-MUSLIMS hijacked four jetliners in my country. They cut the throats of women in front of children and brutally stabbed to death others. They took control of those planes and crashed them into buildings killing thousands of proud fathers, loving sons, wise grandparents, elegant daughters, best friends, favorite coaches, fearless public servants, and children's mothers. So I notice you now. I don't want to be worried. I don't want to be consumed by the same rage and hate and prejudice that has destroyed the soul of these terrorists. But I need your help. As a rational American, trying to protect my country and family in an irrational and unsafe world, I must know how to tell the difference between you, and the Arab/Muslim terrorist. How do I differentiate between the true Arab-Muslim-Americans and the Arab-Muslims in our communities who are attending our schools, enjoying our parks, and living in OUR communities under the protection of OUR constitution, while they plot the next attack that will slaughter those very same good neighbors and children? The events of September 11th changed the answer. It is not my responsibility to determine which of you embraces our great country, with ALL of it's religions, with ALL of it's different citizens, with all of it's faults. It is time for every Arab-Muslim in this country to determine it for me. I want to know, I demand to know, and I have a right to know whether or not you love America. Do you pledge allegiance to it's flag? Do you proudly display it in front of your house, or on your car? Do you pray in your many daily prayers that Allah will bless this nation? That He will protect and prosper it? Or do you pray that Allah with destroy it in one of your "Jihads"? Are you thankful for the freedom that only this nation affords? A freedom that was paid for by the blood of hundreds of thousands of patriots who gave their lives for this country? Are you willing to preserve this freedom by paying the ultimate sacrifice? Do you love America? If this is your commitment, then I need YOU to start letting ME know about it. Your Muslim leaders in this nation should be flooding the media at this time with hard facts on your faith, and what hard actions you are taking as a community and as a religion to protect the United States of America. Please, no more benign overtures of regret for the death of the innocent because I worry about who you regard as innocent. And no more benign overtures of condemnation for the unprovoked attacks because I worry about what is unprovoked to you. I am not interested in any more sympathy...I am only interested in action. What will you do for America - our great country -- at this time of crisis, at this time of war? I want to see Arab-Muslims waving the AMERICAN flag in the streets. I want to hear you chanting "Allah Bless America." I want to see young Arab-Muslim men enlisting in the military. I want to see a commitment of money, time, and emotion to the victims of this butchering and to this nation as a whole. The FBI has a list of over 400 people they want to talk to regarding the WTC attack. Many of these people live and socialize in Muslim communities. You know them. You know where they are. Hand them over to us, now! But I have seen little even approaching this sort of action. Instead I have seen an already closed and secretive community close even tighter. You have disappeared from the streets. You have posted armed security guards at your facilities. You have threatened lawsuits. You have screamed for protection from reprisals. The very few Arab-Muslim representatives that HAVE appeared in the media were defensive and equivocating. They seemed more concerned with making sure that the United States prove who was responsible before taking action. They seemed more concerned with protecting their fellow Muslims from violence directed towards them in the United States and abroad than they did with supporting our country and denouncing "leaders" like Khadafi, Hussein, Farrakhan, and Arafat. If the true teachings of Islam proclaim tolerance and peace and love for all people then I want chapter and verse from the Koran and statements from popular Muslim leaders to back it up. What good is it if the teachings in the Koran are good and pure and true when your "leaders" are teaching fanatical interpretations, terrorism, and intolerance. It matters little how good Islam SHOULD BE if large numbers of the world's Muslims interpret the teachings of Mohammed incorrectly and adhere to a degenerative form of the religion. A form that has been demonstrated to us over and over again. A form whose structure is built upon a foundation of violence, death, and suicide. A form whose members are recruited from the prisons around the world. A form whose members defended Johnny Cochran and O. J. Simpson after the latter butchered his wife and murdered an innocent friend. A form whose members (some as young as five years old) are seen day after day, week in and week out, year after year, marching in the streets around the world, burning effigies of our presidents, burning the American flag, shooting weapons into the air. A form whose members convert from a peaceful religion, only to take up arms against the great United States of America, the country of their birth. A form whose rules are so twisted, that their traveling members refuse to show their faces at airport security checkpoints, in the name of Islam. Do you and your fellow Muslims hate us because our women proudly show their faces in public rather than cover up like a shameful whore? Do you and your fellow Muslims hate us because we drink wine with dinner, or celebrate Christmas? Do you and your fellow Muslims hate us because we have befriended Israel, the ONLY civilized democratic nation in the entire middle-east? And if you and your fellow Muslims hate us, then why in the world are you even here? Are you here to take our money? Are you here to undermine our peace and stability? Are you here to destroy us? If so, I want you to leave. I want you to go back to your desert sandpit where women are treated like rats and dogs. I want you to take your religion, your friends, and your family back to your Islamic extremists, and STAY THERE! We will NEVER give in to your influence, your retarded mentality, your twisted, violent, intolerant religion. We will NEVER allow the attacks of September 11, or any others for that matter, to take away that which is so precious to us: Our rights under the greatest constitution in the world. I want to know where every Arab-Muslim in this country stands and I think it is my right and the right of every true citizen of this country to demand it. A right paid for by the blood of thousands of my brothers and sisters who died protecting the very constitution that is protecting you and your family. I am pleading with you to let me know. I want you here as my brother, my neighbor, my friend, as a fellow American. But there can be no gray areas or ambivalence regarding your allegiance and it is up to YOU, to show ME, where YOU stand." "Until then ... you worry me."

Think of the conflict of interest a President would have who's wife owns business interests in all of these countries.... I don't think John Kerry's Vietnam service is going to make people look the other way on this stuff. John Kerry says he is going to stop American jobs from going overseas -- Don't count on it!Teresa Heinz Kerry owns: HEINZ JAPAN LTD - Tokyo, Japan HEINZ-UFE LTD. - Guangzhou, People's Republic of China HEINZ COSCO - Qingdao, People's Republic of China HEINZ KOREA LTD. - Inchon, South Korea HEINZ WIN CHANCE LTD. - Bangkok, Thailand HEINZ INDIA PRIVATE LIMITED - Mumbai, India PT HEINZ ABC INDONESIA - Jakarta, Indonesia PT HEINZ SUPRAMA - Surabaya, Indonesia HEINZ UFC PHILIPPINES - Manila, the Philippines HEINZ HONG KONG LIMITED - Wanchai, Hong Kong H. J. HEINZ (Botswana) (Proprietary) LTD. - Gaborone, Botswana KGALAGADI SOAP INDUSTRIES (Pty) LTD. - Gaborone, Botswana REFINED OIL PRODUCTS (Pty) LTD. - Gaborone, Botswana OLIVINE INDUSTRIES (Private) LIMITED - Harare, Zimbabwe CHEGUTU CANNERS (Pvt) LTD. - Chegutu, Zimbabwe HEINZ SOUTH AFRICA (PTY) LTD. - Johannesburg, South Africa HEINZ WELLINGTON'S (PTY) LTD. - Wellington, South Africa HEINZ EUROPE - Hayes, Middlesex, England H. J. HEINZ COMPANY LIMITED - Hayes Park, Hayes, Middlesex, England H. J. HEINZ COMPANY LIMITED - Rovereto, Italy H. J. HEINZ COMPANY LIMITED - Telford, England JOHN WEST FOODS LIMITED - Liverpool, England H. J. HEINZ FROZEN & CHILLED FOODS LIMITED - Hayes, Middlesex, England H. J. HEINZ COMPANY (IRELAND) LIMITED - Dublin, Ireland H.J. HEINZ COMPANY OF CANADA LTD - North York, Ontario, Canada OMSTEAD FOODS LIMITED - Wheatley, Ontario, Canada ALIMENTOS HEINZ C.A. - Caracas, Venezuela DISTRIBUIDORA BANQUETE, S.A. - San Jose, Costa Rica HEINZ ITALIA S.r.l. - Milan, Italy FATTORIA SCALDASOLE, S.p.a. - Monguzzo, Italy COPAIS FOOD AND BEVERAGE COMPANY, S.A. - Athens, Greece HEINZ POLSKA Sp. Z.O.O. - Warsaw, Poland PUDLISZKI S.A. - Pudliszki, Poland WODZISLAW, S.A. - Wodzislaw, Poland ETS. PAULET S.A. - Douarnenez, France H. J. HEINZ FROZEN S.A.R.L. - Paris, France HEINZ IBERICA S.A. - Madrid, Spain IDAL (Industrias de Alimentacã, Lda.) - Lisbon, Portugal MIEDZYCHOD S.A. - Miedzychod, Poland HEINZ C.I.S. - Moscow, Russia HEINZ GEORGIEVSK - Georgievsk, Russia CAIRO FOOD INDUSTRIES SAE - Cairo, Egypt HEINZ REMEDIA LIMITED - Tel Aviv, Israel STAR-KIST FOOD D�,'OR LIMITED - Haifa, Israel H. J. HEINZ GMBH - D��" ��"¥ldorf, Germany SONNEN BASSERMANN - Seesen, Germany KONINKLIJKE DE RUIJTER BV - The Netherlands HAK BV - The Netherlands FOODMARK - The Netherlands HONIG MERKARTIKELEN BV - The Netherlands DRUKKERIJ DE GROENBOER - The Netherlands H. J. HEINZ B.V. - Elst, The Netherlands H. J. HEINZ BELGIUM S.A. - Brussels, Belgium SERV-A-PORTION - Turnhout, Belgium Arimpex Industrie Alimentari S.R.L. - Rovereto, Italy Comexo S.A. - Chateaurenard, France HEINZ EUROPE - UK and IRELAND - Factories: Chorley, Fakenham, Grimsby, Kendal, Kitt Green, Leaminton, Luton, Okehampton, Telford, Westwick

Guess who is for Kerry? This is not an urban legend. I checked. When I received this, I thought that it couldn't be true so I checked it out. After visiting the communist party's web site, www.cpusa.org it appears that it is true. The entire site is dedicated to the defeat of George Bush. If this was the only piece of information I knew about the two candidates, it would cause me to vote for Bush, for I will never be guilty of assisting communists to achieve their goals. The Communist Party of The United States of America, CPUSA, is publicly supporting the election of John Kerry. No, this is not a typo... you read it correctly. The CPUSA has made available on its Web site, www.cpusa.org , an advertisement entitled Top Ten Reasons To Defeat Bush. This advertisement can be downloaded. The communist party urges readers to place this ad in local newspapers throughout the country to defeat President Bush. Remarkably, the "Top Ten Reasons" of the Communist party are identical to those of the Democratic Party; out-sourcing, homosexual rights, abortion and the like. At first, it was thought, "this was only a coincidence." The Democratic party of the United States couldn't be in lock step with the Marxists! So, the originator of this email wrote to a spokesman of the CPUSA in Georgia and here is part of the spokesman's letter: "The CPUSA supports the John Kerry campaign with donations and volunteer effort. We believe that defeating George Bush is the single most important issue this November" **Next, it was discovered that one of Kerry's campaign themes is "Let America be America Again." This slogan was borrowed from a Communist poet, Langston Hughes. This is not common knowledge to the average American. "Let America be America Again" sounds good but is a rambling, gloomy poem. Interestingly, another poem by Langston goes as follows; "Goodbye, Christ Jesus, Lord, God, Jehovah, Beat it on away from here now. Make way for a new guy with no religion at all -- A real guy named Marx, communist, Lenin, Peasant, Stalin, Worker, ME -- I said, ME!" Then, if this was not convincing enough that the Democratic Party has lost it, a third discovery! **A Vietnam vet group took a trip to Communist Hanoi to investigate a report that John Kerry was in the "Hanoi! Hall of Fame." Yes, there is a museum in Hanoi with a section dedicated to foreign activists who help defeat the United States Military in Vietnam. Of course, you would expect Jane Fonda's picture to be there. But, alas, there is John Kerry's picture shaking the hand of a communist official. Never has there been such a tragedy! Never has there been such a threat to America! Has the Democratic Party has been taken over by the far, far left? Then we have the ACLU running to a federal activist judge with every piece of legislation that doesn't fit into their leftist agenda. They support every Democratic socialist whim. The removal of the Ten Commandments is their top priority! Don't trust this message for the truth -- visit the CPUSA website at www.cpusa.org -- read the articles, and then decide for yourself. So... whom will you vote for during the next Presidential Election?

Kerry and Edwards are taking a stroll around Capitol Hill when he meets a little girl carrying a small basket with a blanket over it. Curiously, Kerry asks the girl, "What's in the basket?" She replies, "New baby kittens," and she opens the basket to show him. "How nice" says Kerry. "What kind are they?" The little girl says, "Democrats." Kerry smiles and pats the little girl on the head, and they continue on. About three weeks later, Kerry, walking around Capitol Hill with another Congressional colleague, sees the same little girl again with the same basket. Kerry says to his colleague, "Watch this; it's very cute". As they approach the little girl. Kerry asks the girl, "How are the kittens?" She says, "Fine." He then asks, "Again, what kind of kittens are they?" This time she replies, "Republicans." Somewhat abashed, Kerry says, "Three weeks ago you said they were Democrats!" "I know," she says, "But now their eyes are open."

In a stunning October surprise, the Kerry-Edwards campaign has given Dan Rather some documents signed by Noah, which prove that Ezekial Bush, an ancestor of George W. Bush (who has friends in the oil industry), was responsible for the 40 days and nights of rain which resulted in the Great Flood. The documents also show that Ararat Arks, a subsidiary of Halliburton, made excessive profits by building Noah's Ark on a no-bid contract. Because of these excess profits, the ark was built too small so the last two dragons, unicorns, and patriotic liberals, were left behind to drown. Dan Rather admitted that while the documents may be forgeries the facts aren't as important as the intent. Enraged environmentalists across the country have parked their Volvos and gone on hunger strikes, vowing to eat only Camembert cheese and tofu until John F. Kerry (who was awarded three Purple Hearts in Viet Nam) is elected President. CNN (the Clinton News Network) also ran a story showing that the Titanic and the Hindenburg had both been manufactured by subsidiaries of Halliburton. John Edwards immediately took time off from the campaign trail to file a class-action lawsuit against Halliburton, Dick Cheney, the city of Elmhurst, and all icebergs in the North Atlantic. Jesse Jackson was heard to react by saying "Their boat didn't float, and their blimp went limp." Michael Moore is producing a mockumentary showing that because of close family ties to Emperor Hirohito, George H. W. Bush had been personally informed in advance that Pearl Harbor was going to be attacked, thus giving him time to get the family yacht, named "Obscene Oil Profits", out of the harbor before the bombing began. Howard Dean's voice is being used to dub in the screams during the attack scenes in the movie. The Ninth Circus Court in California has just ruled that since citizenship status is not a constitutionally valid criteria for eligibility to vote, illegal aliens are to be allowed to vote one time for each different Social Security card that they have, provided that the addresses are different. They excepted families in which the parents and children all have the same last name as being too Americanized to be allowed this special non-citizen privilege. Senator Hillary Clinton immediately clarified that the ruling only applies to illegal aliens who are on welfare, and who vote for John F. Kerry (who was awarded three Purple Hearts in Viet Nam). Jimmy Carter announced that since only fraudulent voting practices could possibly elect George Bush (who has friends in the oil industry), he will invite France, North Korea, and Iran to oversee the nationwide vote re-count if John F. Kerry (who was awarded three Purple Hearts in Viet Nam) is not elected. Ralph Nader was allegedly seen last night wandering the streets of downtown Biloxi muttering "What about me? What about me? What about me?" Peter Jennings announced today that he has DNA evidence that Pontius Pilate was a direct ancestor of George W. Bush (who has friends in the oil industry). He also has papers showing that Dick Cheney still receives an annuity from the company that manufactured the nails used in the Crucifixion. John Kerry told a cheering crowd of morons that he had a plan to prevent future crucifixions of saviors, but that his plan was a secret. The anti-business wing of the democratic party praised his secret plan in the hopes that he would increase taxes on nail companies until they move to China. And last but not least, MoveOn.org has a story on its website which claims that the Republican Party, guided over the centuries by ancestors of Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan, is in reality a secret society which has been working to undermine world equality by planning and creating the Great Plague, World War One, the Depression, the Holocaust, World War Two, the Korean War, the Vietnam War (in case you didn't know, John F. Kerry was awarded three Purple Hearts in Viet Nam)-11, the death of Lacy Peterson, Michael Jackson's face, AIDS, and the pending implosion of Social Security. Spontaneous demonstrations are planned for the weekend preceding the election. Charles Rangel and Nancy Pelosi have called for an independent investigation to be completed by Al Gore as soon as he gets back on his medications.

Devildog News Service Comment: This letter was written by Lt. Kevin Brown, USMC, a Marine Cobra pilot and 2001 graduate of the United States Naval Academy. He expresses a basic thought that is becoming a common thread in emails sent by those serving in Iraq.

Those who are serving there are smart enough to detect a basic fallacy in the words of many. Simply stated, one cannot say that one is supporting the troops in Iraq while saying that one does not support what they are doing. In the words of Lieutenant Brown, "you cannot both support the troops and protest their mission".

What they see coming is another version of Vietnam...eventually the charade will be played to its natural conclusion and neither the troops nor what they are doing will be supported. With the rug pulled out, they will then become a latter day version of the Vietnam Veteran. Those who had the Vietnam experience know exactly what I mean. It is our duty to do our best to make certain that it doesn't happen to our successors. Which, of course, is why this email, one that was provided by a major retired Marine circuit, is forwarded to so many.

What they are also seeing is that a large segment of the public has forgotten who attacked whom on 9/11 and who suffered more casualties that day than were suffered on 7 December 1941. JDL

----------------------------------------------Original---------------------- --------------- Dad, you asked me what I would say to America from Iraq on 9/11 if I had a podium and a microphone. I have thought about it, and here is my response. Your Son, Kevin

September 11, 2004 Dear America,

"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." -George Orwell

The Marine Corps is tired. I guess I should not say that, as I have no authority or responsibility to speak for the Marine Corps as a whole, and my opinions are mine alone. I will rephrase: this Marine is tired. I write this piece from the sands of Iraq, west of Baghdad, at three a.m., but I am not tired of the sand. I am neither tired of long days, nor of flying and fighting. I am not tired of the food, though it does not taste quite right. I am not tired of the heat; I am not tried of the mortars that occasionally fall on my base. I am not tired of Marines dying, though all Marines, past and present, mourn the loss of every brother and sister that is killed; death is a part of combat and every warrior knows that going into battle. One dead Marine is too many, but we give more than we take, and unlike our enemies, we fight with honor. I am not tired of the missions or the people; I have only been here a month, after all. I am, however, tired of the hypocrisy and short-sightedness that seems to have gripped so many of my countrymen and the media. I am tired of political rhetoric that misses the point, and mostly I am tired of people "not getting it." Three years ago I was sitting in a classroom at Quantico, Virginia, while attending the Marine Corps Basic Officer Course, learning about the finer points of land navigation. Our Commanding Officer interrupted the class to inform us that some planes had crashed in New York and Washington D.C., and that he would return when he knew more. Tears welled in the eyes of the Lieutenant on my right while class continued, albeit with an audience that was not very focused; his sister lived in New York and worked at the World Trade Center. We broke for lunch, though instead of going to the chow hall proceeded to a small pizza and sub joint which had a television. Slices of pizza sat cold in front of us as we watched the same vivid images that you watched on September 11, 2001. I look back on that moment now and realize even then I grasped, at some level, that the events of that day would alter both my military career and my country forever. Though I did not know that three years later, to the day, I would be flying combat missions in Iraq as an AH-1W Super Cobra pilot, I did understand that a war had just begun, on television for the world to see, and that my classmates and I would fight that war. After lunch we were told to go to our rooms, clean our weapons and pack our gear for possible deployment to the Pentagon to augment perimeter security. The parting words of the order were to make sure we packed gloves, in case we had to handle bodies. The first Marine killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom was in my company at The Basic School, and was sitting in that land navigation class on September 11. He fought bravely, led from the front, and was killed seizing an oil refinery on the opening day of the war. His heroism made my emergency procedure memorization for the T-34 primary flight school trainer seem quite insignificant. This feeling of frustration was shared by all of the student pilots, but we continued to press on. As one instructor pointed out to us, "You will fight this war, not me. Make sure that you are prepared when you get there." He was right; my classmates from Pensacola are here beside me, flying every day in support of the Marines on the ground. That instructor has since retired, but I believe he has retired knowing that he made a contribution to the greatest country in the history of the world, the United States of America. Many of you will read that statement and balk at its apparently presumptuous and arrogant nature, and perhaps be tempted to stop reading right here. I would ask that you keep going, for I did not say that Americans are better than anyone else, for I do not believe that to be the case. I did not say that our country, its leaders, military or intelligence services are perfect or have never made mistakes, because throughout history they have, and will continue to do so, despite their best efforts. The Nation is more than the sum of its citizens and leaders, more than its history, present, or future; a nation has contemporary values which change as its leaders change, but it also has timeless character, ideals forged with the blood and courage of patriots. To quote the Pledge of Allegiance, our nation was founded "under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." As Americans, we have more freedom than we can handle sometimes. If you are an atheist you might have a problem with that whole "under God" part; if you are against liberating the people of Iraq, Afghanistan, Asia, all of Europe (twice), and the former Soviet bloc, then perhaps the "liberty and justice for all" section might leave you fuming. Our Nation, throughout its history, has watered the seeds of democracy on many continents, with blood, even when the country was in disagreement about those decisions. Disagreement is a wonderful thing. To disagree with your neighbors and your government is at the very heart of freedom. Citizens have disagreed about every important and controversial decision made by their leaders throughout history. Truman had the courage to drop two nuclear weapons in order to end the largest war in history, and then, by his actions, prevented the Soviets from extinguishing the light of democracy in Eastern Europe, Berlin. Lincoln preserved our country through civil war; Reagan knew in his heart that freedom is a more powerful weapon than oppression. Leaders are paid to make difficult, sometimes controversial decisions. History will judge the success of their actions and the purity of their intent in a way that is impossible at the present moment. In your disagreement and debate about the current conflict, however, be very careful that you do not jeopardize your nation or those who serve. The best time to use your freedom of speech to debate difficult decisions is before they are made, not when the lives of your countrymen are on the line. Cherish your civil rights; I know that after having been in Iraq for only one month I have a new appreciation for mine. You have the right to say that you "support the troops" but oppose the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. You have the right to vote for Senator John Kerry because you believe that he has an exit strategy for Iraq, or because you just cannot stand President Bush. You have the right to vote for President George W. Bush if you believe that he has done a good job over the last four years. You might even decide that you do not want to vote at all and would rather avoid the issues as much as possible. That is certainly your option, and doing nothing is the only option for many people in this world. It is not my place, nor am I allowed by the Uniformed Code of Military Justice, to tell you how to vote. But I can explain to you the truth about what is going on around you. We know, and have known from the beginning, that the ultimate success or failure of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as the future of those countries, rests solely on the shoulders of the Iraqi and Afghani people. If someone complains that we should not have gone to war with Saddam Hussein, that our intelligence was bad, that President Bush's motives were impure, then take the appropriate action. Exercise your right to vote for Senator Kerry, but please stop complaining about something that happened over a year ago. The decision to deploy our military in Iraq and Afghanistan is in the past, and while I believe that it is important to the democratic process for our nation to analyze the decisions of our leadership in order to avoid repeating mistakes, it is far more important to focus on the future. The question of which candidate will "get us out of Iraq sooner" should not be a consideration in your mind. YOU SHOULD NOT WANT US OUT OF IRAQ OR AFGHANISTAN SOONER. There is only one coherent exit strategy that will make our time here worthwhile and validate the sacrifice of so many of our countrymen. There is only one strategy that has a chance of promoting peace and stabilizing the Middle East. It is the exit strategy of both candidates, though voiced with varying volumes and differing degrees of clarity. I will speak of Iraq because that is where I am, though I feel the underlying principle applies to both Iraq and Afghanistan. The American military must continue to help train and support the Iraqi Police, National Guard, and Armed Forces. We must continue to give them both responsibility and the authority with which to carry out those responsibilities, so that they eventually can kill or capture the former regime elements and foreign terrorists that are trying to create a radical, oppressive state. We must continue to repair the infrastructure that we damaged during the conflict, and improve the infrastructure that was insufficient when Saddam was in power. We should welcome and encourage partners in the coalition but recognize that many will choose the path of least resistance and opt out; many of our traditional allies have been doing this for years and it should not surprise us. We must respect the citizens of Iraq and help them to understand the meaning of basic human rights, for those are something the average Iraqi has never experienced. We must be respectful of our cultural and religious differences. We must help the Iraqis develop national pride, and most importantly, we must leave this country better than we found it, at the right time, with a chance of success so that its people will have an opportunity to forge their own destiny. We must do all of these things as quickly and efficiently as possible so that we are not seen as occupiers, but rather liberators and helpers. We must communicate this to the world as clearly and frequently as possible, both with words and actions. If we leave before these things are done, then Iraq will fall into anarchy and possibly plunge the Middle East into another war. The ability of the United States to conduct foreign policy will be severely, and perhaps permanently, degraded. Terrorism will increase, both in America and around the world, as America will have demonstrated that it is not interested in building and helping, only destroying. If we run or exit early, we prove to our enemies that terror is more powerful and potent than freedom. Many nations, like Spain, have already affirmed this in the minds of the terrorists. Our failure, and its consequences, will be squarely on our shoulders as a nation. It will be our fault. If we stay the course and Iraq or Afghanistan falls into civil war on its own, then our hands are clean. As a citizen of the United States and a U.S. Marine, I will be able to sleep at night with nothing on my conscience, for I know that I, and my country, have done as much as we could for these people. If we leave early, I will not be able to live with myself, and neither should you. The blood will be on our hands, the failure on our watch. The bottom line is this: Republican or Democrat, approve or disapprove of the decision to go to war, you need to support our efforts here. You cannot both support the troops and protest their mission. Every time the parent of a fallen Marine gets on CNN with a photo, accusing President Bush of murdering his son, the enemy wins a strategic victory. I cannot begin to comprehend the grief he feels at the death of his son, but he dishonors the memory of my brave brother who paid the ultimate price. That Marine volunteered to serve, just like the rest of us. No one here was drafted. I am proud of my service and that of my peers. I am ashamed of that parent's actions, and I pray to God that if I am killed my parents will stand with pride before the cameras and reaffirm their belief that my life and sacrifice mattered; they loved me dearly and they firmly support the military and its mission in Iraq and Afghanistan. With that statement, they communicate very clearly to our enemies around the world that America is united, that we cannot be intimidated by kidnappings, decapitations and torture, and that we care enough about the Afghani and Iraqi people to give them a chance at democracy and basic human rights. Do not support those that seek failure for us, or seek to trivialize the sacrifices made here. Do not make the deaths of your countrymen be in vain. Communicate to your media and elected officials that you are behind us and our mission. Send letters and encouragement to those who are deployed. When you meet a person that serves you, whether in the armed forces, police, or fire department, show them respect. Thank the spouses around you every day, raising children alone, whose loved ones are deployed. Remember not only those that have paid the ultimate price, but the veterans that bear the physical and emotional scars of defending your freedom. At the very least, follow your mother's advice. "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all." Do not give the enemy a foothold in our Nation's public opinion. He rejoices at Fahrenheit 9/11 and applauds every time an American slams our efforts. The military can succeed here so long as American citizens support us wholeheartedly. Sleep well on this third anniversary of 9/11, America. Rough men are standing ready to do violence on your behalf. Many of your sons and daughters volunteered to stand watch for you. Not just rough men- the infantry, the Marine grunts, the Special Operations Forces- but lots of eighteen and nineteen year old kids, teenagers, who are far away from home, serving as drivers, supply clerks, analysts, and mechanics. They all have stories, families, and dreams. They miss you, love you, and are putting their lives on the line for you. Do not make their time here, their sacrifice, a waste. Support them, and their mission.

IRAQ - VERY INTERESTING - DID YOU KNOW?

1. The garden of Eden was in Iraq.