To: Info

Subject: Hello Dave...from Baghdad

Dave,

I miss seeing you at the gym and on Sundays! Well, we have 8 mos to go. So far, so good. I've never done anything so REAL in my life.

Contrary to what some may charge, my mission here is not to destroy and kill, but to protect the innocent, those that can't protect themselves.

The part I enjoy the most is meeting kids and parents in the streets.

They are generally appreciative when we cruise through their neighborhoods. Our sector is not the worst part of Baghdad, but it's not the Green Zone either. There is always stuff going on and the enemy is always reminding us that he is still out there, usually by lobbing rockets at the base. All I can say is that my unit is winning our little piece of this war. We have a good relationship with the locals, who are mostly Sunni. It's hard to say where all this will go, but I take comfort in the fact that when I meet people here, it means something to THEM at that particular time and place. General Petraeus's counterinsurgency strategy is nothing more than doing the right thing, treating people with respect and following the Golden Rule. That's it.

It's more than just the "direct action" or "kinetic operations" of the past that involved sweeps, raids and massive firepower. Those things are sometimes needed in particular instances, but they do not win wars. War is about people. People that are affected by sin, namely the lust for power and control. People also act out of fear. This place has shown me how much we need GOD. I see people's sin and my own sin. I am affected by fear like anyone else.