Christmas Greetings From Iraq

Jeff Madlock posted an email he received at Christmas from his best friend, who is a Major (and a public school teacher) serving in Iraq, on his site, Convoginators. He describes a dinner he shared with a group of Iraqis in honor of an Iraqi translator who was kidnapped and held for ransom, and then murdered after the ransom was paid. It’s a touching email; read it all. This is just one brief excerpt that is timely at the moment:

Soldiers in Iraq are not perfect, but we continually strive in the face of danger to maintain the moral high ground. Detainees ask to be turned over to Americans from the Iraqis because they know we will treat them more humanely. We are criticized by Iraqis for being too soft often times and that we should make more examples out of some. We strike with incredible lethality and force when need be but we continually strive to solve problems through rebuilding infrastructure and provide security for a new government constantly attacked by terrorists.
I certainly would like nothing more than to be with my family this Christmas, but I’m proud to be here serving a higher purpose. Thank you to everyone back home, who prays, sends packages, mails letters, and continues to support our soldiers.

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