The muqtar of the village of Changalawa greets Lt. Naum with a kiss at the recent "neighborhood watch" meeting. On the first day they met, Captain Bumgardner explained that Lt. Naum would help the village with important projects, like finishing their well. The muqtar responded by calling Lt. Naum "my brother," and began his tradition of greeting him with a kiss. I have been to many villages in the Sunni Triangle, and I have been on patrols of suburbs of Baghdad. This kind of exuberant response by locals happy to see American soldiers is common; the decision to cover it is not.
Dear Robert,
Dear Robert,
I can’t begin to thank you enough for what you’re doing. My son is at Bernstein. Spc. David T. James. and I know for a fact that the type of media coverage (present company excluded), can really have a negative affect on the morale of our troops. Who can I contact re: the unbalanced media coverage of the situation over there? It’s obvious that most of the Iraqi people want our help and appreciate it. We need to let everyone know the positive things that are happening, not just the negatives. Again I thank you. Because of you, I don’t feel so far away from my son. God Bless you and our troops.
Jean James