The real story from Iraq

This column ran in May, 2004:
The inflammatory and degrading photos of mistreated Iraqi prisoners has the world in an uproar. What happened to those prisoners was wrong. It was a travesty. But it taints the bigger picture of the good being done in Iraq by Americans.
Below are excerpts from an e-mail sent to me by a Longmont man working as a contractor in Iraq. I played football with Mike Boden at Niwot High School. His son is in my Cub Scout pack. Mike and I go back a long way.
He is now in Nasiriyah, Iraq, as a project manager for Perini Management Services, Inc. This is his eyewitness account of what's really going on over there.
"I wanted to write concerning the issues raised of our current involvement in Iraq. I have read quite a bit and watched a fair bit of television coverage over here and, to tell you the truth, the American people are being deceived by the main stream media hysterics.
"With the latest discoveries of prisoner abuse in Abu Ghraib, the world seems to be in the process of demonizing the U.S. due to the pitiful and disgusting acts of a very minor few. The work that has been done over here during the war and the work that is currently going on is overshadowed by small incidents perpetrated by a few individuals that took justice upon themselves in an apparent twisted attempt to justify our existence in this country.
"There are thousands of coalition troops over here that wish nothing but the best for the people of Iraq. Hundreds of civilian contractors pour their hearts out on a daily basis to make sure that we leave this country a better place than we found it.
"I work with a company and a fine group of engineers and constructors who are doing just that - day in and day out making sure that the people of Iraq have plenty of electricity not only for the current demand, but for future generations of Iraqis.
"During the course of the past six months, we have built hundreds of miles of high voltage transmission lines, refurbished existing power plants, and built, and are currently in the process of building, new power plants to assist the people of Iraq get back on their feet. Other civilian contractors have helped reconstruct roads, sewer lines, schools and water treatment plants.
"When I came here back in November 2003, I was astonished at the complete devastation of the country. The devastation was not caused by the U.S. or the coalition during the war, but rather was a direct result of one demented individual who took it upon himself to completely enslave an entire population.
"With millions of dollars tucked away, Saddam (Hussein) and his select chosen few lived in complete luxury while his people suffered and the infrastructure crumbled. Simple amenities like water, power, sanitary sewer, storm drainage, roadways and rail roads - things that we in the U.S. take for granted each day - deteriorated into disrepair.
"Maintenance of this infrastructure was unheard of for 30 years as the Iraqi people struggled to patch together equipment, roads, pipelines and other major items with little more than scraps of metal, scraps of wood, and bits of wire that the Iraqi people were fortunate to find.
"Saddam had the money, but refused to give it back to the people in any discernable measure. I have witnessed Iraqis do more with one piece of scrap metal than most people in the U.S. could even fathom. To survive, the people of Iraq had to become very imaginative with what they were left with.
"So much has been done in this country in six months by the U.S. and the coalition, but I have yet to find a simple article that explains the good, which in my opinion completely outweighs the bad, that has been done for the people. I see a lot of editorials written by people who have not one clue about what is going on over here, or even have stepped one foot into this country, writing about issues that they simply do not know anything about.
"It appears that many of these stories and editorials have been backed up with information gleaned from stories on the TV or articles read in the news. The people of this country are thankful for the new projects being built and for the opportunity to help and be a part of the effort to rebuild their country.
"The actions of a few will tarnish the effort over here if we let it; but in the end, the only ones to blame for the bad image will be the people of the U.S. for allowing the minute percentage of bad to overshadow the enormous good that we have done.
"A great number of people died over here, including one of my best friends, to make sure that their children lived in a better and safer world.
"Why should we forget this and trample their graves with the minority of bad apples that did not realize the overall goal of the mission? I hope that we can come to our senses, put the issues in perspective and all join together for the common good."
Mike, I couldn't agree with you more. Keep up the good work!