Waves Fall 2004 Newsletter

...I knew that God had placed them there as warring angels...who believed in God and loved him enough
to give their lives to his service. -- The Awakening Heart by Betty J. Eadie, p. 88

September, 2004

W.A.V.E.S. Newsletter

Fall Edition

Embraced by the Light

Prayers

View from Iraq

by Corporal Matthew J. Fritch

As a soldier serving in Iraq I get to see all sorts of things that the news media does not tell you. I have met many Iraqis and they are just like you and me. All they want is a chance to be free from tyranny and oppression, just like our forefathers wanted during the American Revolution. And just like in the American Revolution, the Iraqi people cannot do it alone. (We had help from the French government in defeating the British.)

I met one gentleman in his 40s who decided to stand up to Saddam and his thugs, and for this he and his whole family were arrested. First Saddam's henchmen made him watch as they executed his wife and children before his eyes, and then they whipped him nearly to death. He showed us the scars all up and down his legs and arms and on his chest and back, but the deepest scars that he had were not visible -- they were emotional. This is what I fight for. I fight for people who are unable to fight for themselves.

Another Iraqi told us that they wished the other big countries, France, Germany and Russia, would come and help them fight for their freedom. He told me that if these countries would do this for the Iraqi people the terrorists would stop attacking in Iraq. He told me that the terrorists fear the world community coming together under one banner for justice more than they fear any bullet or bomb. He told me that the terrorists hope to erode the American support for the war down so far that we will leave. If that happens, the terrorists will claim a major victory against the US and their recruiting will be even easier. This already happened in the 90s, when then-President Clinton pulled our troops out of Somalia after the "Black Hawk Down" incident. I was in the Army during that time and lost some good friends in that incident, and all I see is that they died in vain and that the terrorists – yes, Al-Qaeda perpetrated that attack too -- could claim a victory over our country. That made it easier to increase their funding and recruiting.

Finally, it sickens me to see all these politicians rant and rave over how horrible it is that our troops are even in Iraq. It sickens me, because not one of them has been over here and met with the Iraqi people, yet they can pass judgment on what is and isn’t worthwhile. The same goes for politicians that voted for the war and now continue to vote against its funding (John Kerry and John Edwards). The funding they vote against is for our body armor, our food, and better equipment so that we can remain safe. They had no problem sending us into harm’s way, but they have a problem giving us the money for the equipment that makes us safe. I don’t know how it looks to the rest of the world, but it makes no sense to me.

Warring Angel Volunteers on Earth, (WAVES) is acknowledged as a trademark of Betty J. Eadie