It's going to be all right

I haven't been posting much lately. While I admire the folks that can write succinct opinions on current events or will sometimes debunk liberal "conventional wisdom" that is printed as news, I haven't found this mode of communication to be satisfying for me. I much prefer to listen than to talk.

In February, I started monitoring news of the 2nd Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division out of Fort Riley, KS. I was hoping to post good news about their progress and successes. Sadly, my Google News search has brought mostly tragic news of soldiers' deaths. This week, three more soldiers were killed. The families of Sgt. Joel Lee Murray, 26, Ogden, KS Spc. David J. Lane, 20, Emporia, KS; and Pvt. Randol S. Shelton, 22, Schiller Park, IL are in mourning.

Early this morning, I received a news alert on the battalion's commander Ralph Kauzlarich. It is unexpectedly optimistic and is written by the Sunday Times. Here's just one section:

"The 2nd Battalion soldiers who moved in were the first to base themselves in the area since 2003, the year of the invasion. They set themselves up in Base Rustamiyah, an old Iraqi army school, and implanted small companies of men in the worst neighbourhoods.

By June they were engulfed in all-out war. Mortars and rockets pounded the base and its small outposts relentlessly. Soldiers were killed and wounded by snipers and roadside bombs.

'It was more war than I ever want to see again,' said Major Brent Cummings, the second-in-command. Then the rain of mortars relented and during the past two weeks the roadside bombs, their enemy's most potent weapon, have almost disappeared."

I have been watching the attacks this week on General Petraeus. I've also watched the sometimes hyper rhetoric that is being thrown back by the right. Through it all, Petraeus just keeps stating the facts as he sees them. The American public is likely not impressed by either side - the right or the left. They trust, and I might say - almost adore - the military.

When MoveOn.org insinuates that General Petraeus is betraying the United States, it drives people away from them and the Democratic Party. The folks on the right might benefit from simply being quiet and letting the light shine upon the true nature of those who would find political gain in America's defeat in Iraq.

There is indeed a shift in the events in Iraq. You can hear it from Bill Ardolino, Michael Yon, and Michael Totten. Americans will hear it from soldiers and marines as they slowly start coming home.

In the meantime, babies will be born, entrepenuers will start new businesses, and college graduates will embark on new careers - in America and Iraq. Life always springs anew even after horrific wars. We mourn the dead, we lick our wounds, we carry on.

It's going to be all right.