Stop the hate...
Dear friends
On 20/8/2005 our house was inspected by the American forces , only one of the soldiers misbehaved, I wrote a letter about that to the hot line we have .This line receive any notification about terrorists or doubts in the neighborhood. But we don’t have any other addresses, for complaints.
My uncle advised me to write to the military forces , to the white House , to our government .But I don't have the addresses .
I thought it will be a good Idea to share me my anger &my letter to the hot line:
To whom concerned I believe that we should all gather to reach the goal,& get rid of the terrorists. On Saturday at 20/8/2005 at6 in the afternoon , our neighborhood was inspected by the American military forces .we welcomed every member of the teem . They were polite, and friendly .
They even allowed my husband to accompany them though the house rooms . Except one SOLDIER he was a little bit nervous , he asked my husband not to follow him to the main bed room .
When that soldier finished& every one in the teem finished inspecting the other rooms , we wished them to stay safe & asked them to take care .
They didn’t find any thing illegal .
Then I went to my bed room ,I saw some thing that bothered me a lot . That nervous soldier , crushed the TV remote control , squeezed a tube of gel on the ground & on the bed cover & sheets.
He also powdered two bottle of Baby powder on my clothes in side the closet& on the bed cover .Such irresponsible behavior will change the cooperation of people to anger &hate. My kids used to believe in your soldiers & their courage .When terrorists invalidate Mosul &then you came to help us they were very much amazed. But now after they saw that soldier behavior they got confused &disappointed.
I wanted to write about that to stoop the stupid guys in the military forces from offending the relationship more &more between the Iraqis & the soldiers .I want to stop the hate that is increasing even among the most peaceful Iraqis ,due to such irresponsible behavior, such soldiers affect the reputation of the American military forces ,whom already have enough scandals.
Mama….
On 20/8/2005 our house was inspected by the American forces , only one of the soldiers misbehaved, I wrote a letter about that to the hot line we have .This line receive any notification about terrorists or doubts in the neighborhood. But we don’t have any other addresses, for complaints.
My uncle advised me to write to the military forces , to the white House , to our government .But I don't have the addresses .
I thought it will be a good Idea to share me my anger &my letter to the hot line:
To whom concerned I believe that we should all gather to reach the goal,& get rid of the terrorists. On Saturday at 20/8/2005 at6 in the afternoon , our neighborhood was inspected by the American military forces .we welcomed every member of the teem . They were polite, and friendly .
They even allowed my husband to accompany them though the house rooms . Except one SOLDIER he was a little bit nervous , he asked my husband not to follow him to the main bed room .
When that soldier finished& every one in the teem finished inspecting the other rooms , we wished them to stay safe & asked them to take care .
They didn’t find any thing illegal .
Then I went to my bed room ,I saw some thing that bothered me a lot . That nervous soldier , crushed the TV remote control , squeezed a tube of gel on the ground & on the bed cover & sheets.
He also powdered two bottle of Baby powder on my clothes in side the closet& on the bed cover .Such irresponsible behavior will change the cooperation of people to anger &hate. My kids used to believe in your soldiers & their courage .When terrorists invalidate Mosul &then you came to help us they were very much amazed. But now after they saw that soldier behavior they got confused &disappointed.
I wanted to write about that to stoop the stupid guys in the military forces from offending the relationship more &more between the Iraqis & the soldiers .I want to stop the hate that is increasing even among the most peaceful Iraqis ,due to such irresponsible behavior, such soldiers affect the reputation of the American military forces ,whom already have enough scandals.
Mama….
posted by Mama | 8:34 AM
10 Comments:
I think you are directing your frustration in the right way. I am sorry that particular soldier was so rude. I'm sure he must have alot going on too, but it isn't appropriate to take it out on a family such as yours. Stay safe.
Hi Mama... I'm also sorry for what our soldier did. There's no excuse for that. Some people lack empathy, and when they get angry or frustrated, they lash out destructively (like this man did) without thinking about how his actions affect other people. I'm glad that none of the other soldiers behaved that way... that means the command of this unit doesn't approve of this sort of behavior. The fact that he went off on his own to do this, means that the other members of his team wouldn't have tolerated what he did. That's good, in my opinion.
When he gets caught vandalizing or destroying property for no reason (and he will!) he will most likely be sent for counselling and a pyschological evaluation - and an entry will be made about the incident in his service record book (SRB) which will make his remaining time in the Army uncomfortable.
It's unlikely that more action than that would be taken, in a war zone, but it's something at least. My main concern is that somebody who lashes out at people who have done nothing wrong, like he did, may injure somebody in the same way.
Do you know what unit these soldiers were from? Most US Army uniforms have a unit patch on the left shoulder. If you don't know, maybe there is some way you can find out?
Also, if you rememebr any of the names (above the right pocket on their shirts) that will help a lot. I realize that the kevlar vests they wear usually cover the name tag, but maybe you saw one?
A name of anybody in that squad, plus the address and day/time of the incident would be enough for the commanding officer to find out who was responsible. That would probably be required, if you want this soldier punished.
Even if you don't have all that information, a general complaint letter to the commanding officer will probably be taken very seriously. That is where I would direct my complaint, if I was you. He is the man who can correct the situation, and he is the one who cares the most what the soldiers under his command are doing.
If you know what the unit is, I can probably find the name and mailing address of the commanding officer. Also, it is probably posted someplace in your neighborhood?
Also, maybe the CO reads your blog :)
I feel very badly about how that soldier behaved in your home. Some of the soldiers are angry at the situation they are in, and take it out on Iraqis any way they can. It is a shame. Please be brave and stay strong, we will continue to support you. :)
Mama,
I'm very sorry to hear what this soldier did in your home. I hope that you find out who he was and he is punished. It breaks my heart that Sunshine was so disillusioned by that awful man!
Mama, I echo what others have said. It is Iraqis like you who are not hostile to them that the US Army should be trying to win over and yet it takes just one bad soldier to ruin their image in people's minds. Most soldiers are not like that.
I would do what others have recommended and try to find out who the American commander in Mosul is or who was the commander in charge of that inspection, they would be the ones to file a complaint with and they would have the power to discipline the bad soldier. If your home is inspected again, you could also bring up this incident with the commander of that inspection. No one should have their belongings destroyed or their house made a mess because one bad person has a bad attitude.
Mama,
what that soldier did was beyond rude. I hope you have a name or unit (like other's have said) and that we all get a chance to complain to somebody about this.
It is totally unacceptable. He needs to have some consequences for his actions.
Sorry this happened, 1 bad apple spoils the bunch. I'm sure you have a similar Iraqi saying. Statistically, we have 140,000 soldiers there, if just 5% have no manners or are not honorable, thats 7,000 soldiers..
I understand they usually have cards they hand out as well, I guess in this case they didn't, it would help to report to Local Commanders so they could at least try to ensure politeness and proper respect etc.
You probably have seen people who said that America helping Iraq is wrong. Some of those people may be soldiers. As you saw, most soldiers believe they are doing the right thing helping you. But there obviously was one who wants to hurt you in some rude way and does not want to help.
I hope they catch him.
Here is a story of good soldiers who are trying to help get the bad guys. These soldiers are in your home town, Mosul.
Michael Yon
Here is Michael Yon's email
address.
MichaelYonIraq@hotmail.com
He is in our town with the soldiers and he will help you find out who this person was.
Mama, I believe efforts are underway to try to prevent this sort of thing from happening in the future. We can't change the past, and things will never be perfect, but you have helped change the future by reporting this problem, I think. Folks with the military in Mosul seem to take it quite seriously.
Their should be an office which I think is called a RCP, located adjacent to a coalition base to report such behavior. This office is a liaison point between Iraqi officials and U.S. armed forces. Their were a few RCP offices in Baghdad that I saw and they were accessible to Iraqi citizens. I left Iraq in April and the office name had changed twice since it's inception. Anyway the guy is an immature jerk and what he does not realize is that he not only increases the risk to himself but his fellow comrades for a cheap rise. I wish you well. Dave
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