Where is the other side of the story? I have been back from Iraq only a short while, and I am already agitated by the media reports from American reporters in that country. When I left, Iraqi children were attending school with supplies donated by American schoolchildren. The judicial system was successfully running criminal and civil cases through the courts. The police were patrolling the streets again, businesses were opening, one room stone-hut homes were installing satellite dishes and an overwhelming majority of Iraqis wanted to vote for their leadership.

Yes, there was still fighting with the insurgents and border-crossing radicals, but the positive successes for a brighter future filled with freedom and liberty gave us the motivation and drive to fight. I find it tragic that the death toll this month is so high, but I believe that is because both American soldiers and a larger number of Iraqis are fighting hard for a free Iraqi democracy. We, here at home, need to see what the soldiers and Iraqis are dying for. There are days I wish I were back there, taking part in such an amazing endeavor for the free world. But for now, I will just have to settle for the sad half of the story.

Bryan Catherman

SSG, USAR

Riverton