By RAELYNN RICARTE
News staff writer
Retired Marine Corps Col. Mike Howard
believes the good rapport that has developed between U.S. troops
and Iraqi citizens is winning the war against Islamic
extremists.
He said Iraqi children now frequently refer
to terrorists as “Ali Babas” and alert soldiers and Marines to
the locations of roadside bombs. In addition, Howard said al-Qaida
operatives have started turning up dead outside of villages that
no longer tolerate the violence and dissension they bring.
“I think Iraq is going to make it now because
we’ve invested so much in blood, sweat and tears,” he said.
“We have won a strategic victory because more
Sunnis now realize the moderate course is the only course.”
Howard, 53, served two combat tours of duty
in Iraq before retiring from the Marine Corps in March 2006. He
believes it is important for Americans to learn about the acts
of heroism taking place every day in that country. He said,
since the corporate media rarely portrays these events, the
message needs to be taken directly to the people.
He visits the Gorge next weekend to present
“Iraq: The Rest of the Story” in two locations in Hood River and
The Dalles (see box for details.) The programs are free and
sponsored by American Legion Post No. 22 and the Vagabond Lodge
in Hood River.
Howard has compiled thousands of photos that
illustrate the horrors and triumphs that he and others have
witnessed. He will show some of these pictures on the 19th and
20th to highlight the achievements of the U.S. armed forces.
“Americans need to understand that it
undermines the troops when they start talking about doom and
gloom defeatism. Our military is getting the job done over there
and they are doing it well,” said Howard.
“This is a war of Good versus Evil. When your
bulldozer turns up the remains of little girls still clutching
their dolls in Saddam’s Baathist mass graves, you know you’re
fighting for a righteous cause.”
He also plans to address the hardships faced
by the troops on behalf of their fellow countrymen. For example,
he said soldiers and Marines go for weeks with no clean clothes,
withstand 130-degree temperatures while wearing layers of combat
gear — and usually have bugs in their food.
“They quickly learn that anything that
crawls, slithers or creeps in the desert ain’t their friend,”
said Howard.
In spite of these and other discomforts, he
said infantry units in Iraq maintain a “can-do” attitude and
willingly risk their lives to protect each other and civilians.
“The military looks at Iraq and Afghanistan
as ‘bug lights’ for bad guys,” said Howard. “Better to deal with
the enemy over there than on our home turf.”
He said Saddam Hussein’s weapons caches have
been found in thousands of Fallujah buildings, along with dozens
of bomb factories and torture chambers. That city is located 69
miles west of Baghdad on the Euphrates River.
American forensic teams have unearthed 270
mass graves in Iraq and some contained 12,000-15,000 bodies.
“To those of us who have served there, Iraq
is no longer just another country in the Middle East,” said
Howard.
“We have made friends there and established
relationships that have altered our understanding of the Iraqis
and the Middle East forever. It is these relationships and the
lives that we are changing that gives our service and sacrifice
there real meaning.”
Howard believes it is vital to national
security that Americans understand the military’s “Away Game”
strategy of fighting terrorism. He said battling extremists in
Iraq and Afghanistan has staved off a second “Home Game” attack
on U.S. soil.
“As a 32-year Marine veteran, I want to state
that I am also anti-war, I deplore the loss of lives,
particularly of my fellow Marines and friends,” said Howard.
“But I am still a Marine because I have seen
things worse than war; I have seen slavery, torture,
extermination and genocide.”
Howard said after Fallujah was taken over by
coalition troops in 2004, U.S. Marines recovered computers from
abandoned houses that were full of al-Qaida communications. He
said in more than one document, Osama Bin Laden referred to Iraq
as a “decisive point” in the war against American-led coalition
forces.
Little known to many Americans, said Howard,
is the fact that the vast majority of suicide bombers in Iraq
have not been citizens of that country, they were foreign-born
al-Qaida. He believes the U.S. must follow through on its
commitment to stay until the mission is complete and the Iraqis
are able to stand on their own.
“The people of Iraq are not asking us to
leave. They understand that, if we remove our protection too
soon, another tyrant will take the place of Saddam Hussein,”
said Howard.
“And, if we don’t finish this effort, the
terrorists will follow us home.”
Col. Howard and his wife of 30 years, Lynn,
reside in Helvetia and have five children. His
great-grandfather, Charles Howard, owned the legendary
Seabiscuit and Mike grew up surrounded by horse racing history
in a family with a long military lineage. He is a decorated
combat veteran who bases life on the philosophy that, “Any day
you are not being shot at is a good day, and every day is a gift
from God.”
For more information on Howard’s presentation, access
www.IraqTheRestoftheStory.com.
