Letter in Local Paper

[GiovanniC]

Another one of those "the media never reports all the good stuff happening in Iraq" letters from the military. Not sure if this is legit or not. Couldn't find anything about it anywhere else.


Report from Fallujah

IRAQ -- This past September my unit, 6th ESB (Engineer Support Battalion) from Battle Creek, and I embarked to the Anbar Province, located in southwestern Iraq. I have had a few opportunities to watch news coverage of the war. All I hear is about the atrocities. I never hear about the things I have been involved in.

I spent two months in Fallujah cleaning up the city we took in a four-day siege to retake the once-proud city back from insurgents. During our stay, my platoon cleared trash and removed tons upon tons of rubble from the streets. We also built three humanitarian sites (Jolan Park, Dave's Field and Bromo Ranch) in the city. In a humanitarian site, a local national may receive medical attention, food, water, kerosene heaters and blankets. Other operations that we took part in were fixing the streets that were flooded by insurgents.

We were in the city when we opened it back to citizens of Fallujah. I never saw video of the Iraqis giving us thumbs-up or cheering as we rolled by in Humvees.

I wonder: Why do CNN and other networks only show death and turmoil? Why do they not show a Marine giving kids food and water? Why does CNN not tell how we hired a local national to work on base while his daughter received care from the Navy's medical officers? Or how we paid him $7 a day, a king's ransom there?

Do you think Ted Turner told his colleagues not to cover stories on how the military is teaching Iraqi citizens the proper way to purify drinking water and the water they use to cook? Why?

I can tell you why: It's all about the almighty American dollar and ratings. This is why they choose to look the other way when they receive a news lead about all the good things we are doing here.

Cpl. Shane A. Calkins U.S.M.C.

Camp Taqqadum, Iraq

(Shane Calkins is a resident of Grass Lake, a 1996 graduate of Grass Lake High School, and the son of Shane and Denise Calkins.)

[sniffa]

1. did he cLean up the body parts?

http://www.undermars.com/gallery54.html

[CindyDale]

2. Not legit, IMO

Ted Turner doesn't own CNN.

And how can CNN journalists be expected to report fairly if they think their journalists are getting assassinated?