It's not what you think. Thanks to Traderrob from OpiniPundit: Letter From Iraq Completely Ignored by the EM.

From: Mayor of Tall ‘Afar, Nine[vah], Iraq

In the Name of God the Compassionate and Merciful

To the Courageous Men and Women of the 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment, who have changed the city of TallÂ’ Afar from a ghost town, in which terrorists spread death and destruction, to a secure city flourishing with life.

To the lion-hearts who liberated our city from the grasp of terrorists who were beheading men, women and children in the streets for many months.

To those who spread smiles on the faces of our children, and gave us restored hope, through their personal sacrifice and brave fighting, and gave new life to the city after hopelessness darkened our days, and stole our confidence in our ability to reestablish our city.

Our city was the main base of operations for Abu Mousab Al Zarqawi. The city was completely held hostage in the hands of his henchmen. Our schools, governmental services, businesses and offices were closed. Our streets were silent, and no one dared to walk them. Our people were barricaded in their homes out of fear; death awaited them around every corner. Terrorists occupied and controlled the only hospital in the city. Their savagery reached such a level that they stuffed the corpsesof children with explosives and tossed them into the streets in order to kill grieving parents attempting to retrieve the bodies of their young. This was the situation of our city until God prepared and delivered unto them the courageous soldiers of the 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment, who liberated this city, ridding it of ZarqawiÂ’s followers after harsh fighting, killing many terrorists, and forcing the remaining butchers to flee the city like rats to the surrounding areas, where the bravery of other 3d ACR soldiers in Sinjar, Rabiah, Zuma and Avgani finally destroyed them.

I have met many soldiers of the 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment; they are not only courageous men and women, but avenging angels sent by The God Himself to fight the evil of terrorism.

The leaders of this Regiment; COL McMaster, COL Armstrong, LTC Hickey, LTC Gibson, and LTC Reilly embody courage, strength, vision and wisdom.

Officers and soldiers alike bristle with the confidence and character of knights in a bygone era. The mission they have accomplished, by means of a unique military operation, stands among the finest military feats to date in Operation Iraqi Freedom, and truly deserves to be studied in military science. This military operation was clean, with little collateral damage, despite the ferocity of the enemy. With the skill and precision of surgeons they dealt with the terrorist cancers in the city without causing unnecessary damage.

God bless this brave Regiment; God bless the families who dedicated these brave men and women. From the bottom of our hearts we thank the families. They have given us something we will never forget. To the families of those who have given their holy blood for our land, we all bow to you in reverence and to the souls of your loved ones. Their sacrifice was not in vain. They are not dead, but alive, and their souls hovering around us every second of every minute. They will never be forgotten for giving their precious lives. They have sacrificed that which is most valuable. We see them in the smile of every child, and inevery flower growing in this land. Let America, their families, and the world be proud of their sacrifice for humanity and life.

Finally, no matter how much I write or speak about this brave Regiment, I havenÂ’t the words to describe the courage of its officers and soldiers. I pray to God to grant happiness and health to these legendary heroes and their brave families.

NAJIM ABDULLAH ABID
AL-JIBOURI
Mayor of Tall ‘Afar,
Ninewa, Iraq

Posted by: Rusty at 05:15 PM | Comments (18) | Add Comment
Post contains 727 words, total size 5 kb.

1 MSM physical contact with the Iraqi people is actually quite minimal. Same goes for the so-called independents and various peace-groups. What contacts they do have are, oddly enough, with Sunnis (allied with the insurgency). The Sunnis constitute 20+% of Iraq's overall population and have a long history of repression directed at the others. That leaves apx 80% of the Iraqi population out in the cold (and being murdered by the others). These people tend to remember - and hold grudges. I wonder how this particular oddity is going to play out in the future. It will come into play eventually. Payback can be a bitch - I'm am not going to be overly caring.

Posted by: hondo at February 15, 2006 05:32 PM (fyKFC)

2 Payback certainly is a bitch.

Posted by: Rusty at February 15, 2006 05:35 PM (JQjhA)

3 Its a wonderful letter and shared sentiment. The blogs are the only source I get info concerning Iraq. Very good post.

Posted by: Javapuke at February 15, 2006 05:44 PM (DQMRd)

4 Some days it's all worth it.

Posted by: Improbulus Maximus at February 15, 2006 05:49 PM (0yYS2)

5 Hmmm... anybody could have typed that up... I'm just saying...

Posted by: Ariya at February 15, 2006 06:06 PM (uxW3N)

6 Ariya It bothers you - doesn't it? A letter of kindest, consideration and thanks. Why?

Posted by: hondo at February 15, 2006 06:12 PM (fyKFC)

7 A bit of the letters background here: http://www.mudvillegazette.com/archives/004167.html and here: http://powerlineblog.com/archives/013133.php

Posted by: traderrob at February 15, 2006 06:36 PM (3al54)

8 Cool, Thanks for the background info!

Posted by: Rusty at February 15, 2006 06:49 PM (JQjhA)

9 I've discovered that Sabrina Tavernise of the New York Times was present at a Multi-National Force press briefing on January 19, 2006 at which excerpts from this letter were read. Tavernise's reaction was to ask a question about the number of insurgent attacks in Iraq. She ignored the letter. What a cunning stunt.

Posted by: The Dread Pundit Bluto at February 15, 2006 07:17 PM (RHG+K)

10 Good new is bad news for some - or is it bad news is good news? I get them confused. Give Sabrina credit - she knows exactly the "news" she needs - and nothing is gonna stop her from getting it.

Posted by: hondo at February 15, 2006 07:22 PM (fyKFC)

11 Cunning stunt indeed!

Posted by: Rusty at February 15, 2006 07:32 PM (JQjhA)

12 No, it doesn't bother me one bit hondo. I am simply asking for proof that it's real, that's all. The Libtards could easily dismiss this as some fabrication. Proof would mean something.

Posted by: Ariya at February 15, 2006 10:02 PM (uxW3N)

13 Oh, and btw, thanks traderrob, for the links...

Posted by: Ariya at February 15, 2006 10:15 PM (uxW3N)

14 Thanks for the info! I'll post the letter on my site as well

Posted by: DLoy at February 16, 2006 12:21 AM (fW1cW)

15 Please, it's Pentagon war propaganda dissiminated by defendamerica.mil back in mid January: http://www.defendamerica.mil/articles/jan2006/a012606wm2.html Now it's making rounds among the lock-stepped military families at the encouragement/direction of our government.

Posted by: bobby fletcher at February 21, 2006 06:24 PM (vm83q)

16 This letter was discussed this morning on the Johnboy and Billy radio program. A retired Air Force general said he had discussed this letter with the pentagon and that it was legit. As for the comment about military families doing anything at the prompting of the pentagon, I would like to say the majority of us have no contact with anyone in the military but our loved ones. We support them strongly due to the fact we could lose them at any moment so yes we do celebrate any little positive news we can find since the American media refuses to do so. From the proud father of a U. S. Army Ranger.

Posted by: John Beane at February 24, 2006 07:48 AM (/t6+k)

17 I also questioned the authenticity of the letter and did some research. I found it mentioned in the New York Post http://www.nypost.com/news/worldnews/63838.htm so I think the chances are good that it's legit.

Posted by: Alex at February 24, 2006 01:44 PM (snhi/)

18 I just, today, saw the letter from the Iraqui mayor. My son is a Marine officer, currently serving in Iraq for the 2nd time, and he has related a far different "news" picture than is presented by our treasured national print and network media. I would tend to think the mayors words could be true.

Posted by: Larry Holland at March 08, 2006 10:13 AM (Uf3JS)

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