And Now From a Doctor in Iraq

I happen to know a doctor who is in the Guard and who has been posted to a tour of duty in Iraq. He e-mailed me recently on another matter and I asked him to tell me what he had observed while stationed in Iraq. Here is his reply:

As far as the situation here in Iraq, I totally agree that the media at
home tends to focus on the negatives. There really are a lot of positives, particularly in Anbar province which is where I'm located.

The Iraqi army and police are doing a lot of the fighting and taking the
majority of the casualties. Fortunately we are not seeing large numbers
of US wounded.

I've been very impressed with our soldiers and marines and their level
of professionalism. The focus tends to be on the very few that make
tremendous errors in judgement not the masses who are doing a great job.
My biggest concern is that once we leave, the Iraqi government won't be
strong enough to hold things together and that's something that all the
military force in the world can't fix. I'm also a little concerned
about who will be taking care of the Iraqi army and police who are
injured once the US military medical presence is gone. Their medical
system is good in some places and awful in others. A lot of their
doctors are leaving to find safer places for their families, and I can't
say I blame them.

A few points came to mind after reading this:

First, this doctor is one of John Kerry’s people who did not get enough education and ended up in the Army. He is a highly skilled professional who has a life other than service to his country in the Army.

Second, he does not have a high regard for the reporting we get out of Iraq via the MSM. Keep in mind, this man is not some ideologue with a political agenda. He wants to get home to his wife and children as soon as he can. But he can also observe the situation on the ground and his observations do not correspond to what we’re being fed by the MSM.

Third, he notes that it’s the Iraqi army and police that are taking most of the casualties. He’s treating few Americans in Anbar.
Fourth, he’s concerned about leaving a mess behind. A precipitous withdrawal on the Left’s schedule would, it is my opinion, exacerbate the exodus of doctors and cause the collapse of the medical system.

This, a mixed bag, but certainly not a defeat for the US and the opportunity to fix things so that we leave a situation behind that is stable enough and on our side.