Two Wars

By Kevin R. Valladares

Two Wars transports readers towards a full experience about the evils of war. Sometimes a war can be a negative good, Joseph Hardy finds out that the Iraq war is a negative ill.
The novel explains how two young men, Martinez and Joseph Hardy enlist in the USMC. Martinez joins because of educational opportunities and a sense of strong nationalism. Hardy joins because he has few options and he is a patriot who wants to defend his country against terrorism.
Both young men meet in Parris Island where they become Boot Camp buddies. Martinez fights because he was lied to and he was given promises of being an officer and to obtain college education. He finds none.
Hardy fights a war in Iraq. He does care if he sacrifices his blood for his country. Back home, he leaves a child with his High School sweetheart. And now he longs for his family in the other side of the world. He wants to survive and see the sun each morning, and see his loved ones again, one more time.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Sep 21, 2011
• ISBN: 9781467035224

Kevin R. Valladares

Before I was a writer, I was an avid reader. I have published two books, Since the Kings of Rome and Valle de Angeles. Two Wars is be my third book. I am a historian, and some of my writing concentrate on historical fiction. I served in the United States Marine Corps around a year. I was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts and I have shared my time in the United States and Honduras in the past.

Book preview

Contents

Martinez and Hardy

Forethoughts

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

After Thoughts

Acknowledgments

Dedication

To all honorable American military personnel that have ever served and the ones that will, let it be the United States Marine Corps (in which this writer served almost a year), the US Navy, the Army, the Air Force and of course, the Coast Guard. To you all brave men and women that serve the United States of America day in and day out. There are no words to describe my admiration for your dedication to the nation.

You sacrifice so much and yet there is little in return.

Martinez and Hardy

Two Wars transports readers towards a full experience about the evils of war. Sometimes a war can be a negative good, Joseph Hardy finds out that the Iraq war is a negative ill.

The novel explains how two young men, Martinez and Joseph Hardy enlist in the USMC. Martinez joins because of educational opportunities and a sense of strong nationalism. Hardy joins because he has few options and is a patriot who wants to serve his country.

Both young men meet in Parris Island where they become Boot Camp buddies. Martinez fights because he was lied to and was given promises of being an officer and an opportunity of a college education. He finds none.

Hardy fights a war in Iraq. He does care if he sacrifices his blood for his country. He has a child with his High School sweetheart. And now he longs for his family in the other side of the world. He wants to survive and see the sun again, and see his loved ones again, one more time.

Forethoughts

I want to begin with my intention to you to understand the inception of what would be the Iraq war. Some like former Senator John Edwards, Senator John Kerry, and now Secretary of State, but then New York Senator Hillary Clinton voted to give authorization to wage war against Iraq.

But there in the wilderness, like the lion that cautioned Europe and the world about Hitler’s danger, namely Winston Churchill. There was a relative obscure State Senator from Illinois; he said something about the war that was going to be waged. What this State Senator stated was delivered on Wednesday, October 2, 2002, about five months before military action commenced in the Middle Far East. It was delivered at the first high-profile Chicago anti-Iraq war rally at noon in Federal Plazain Chicago, Illinois; at the same day and hour that President Bush and Congress announced their agreement on the joint resolution authorizing the Iraq War, but over a week before it was passed by either body of Congress.

In America there is a lot of pride in Congress, but now there is also shame because of the former.

Here are the words of that speech in that bygone crisp autumn day, years ago.

"Good afternoon. Let me begin by saying that although this has been billed as an anti-war rally, I stand before you as someone who is not opposed to war in all circumstances.

The Civil War was one of the bloodiest in history, and yet it was only through the crucible of the sword, the sacrifice of multitudes, that we could begin to perfect this union, and drive the scourge of slavery from our soil. I don’t oppose all wars.

My grandfather signed up for a war the day after Pearl Harbor was bombed, fought in Patton’s army. He saw the dead and dying across the fields of Europe; he heard the stories of fellow troops who first entered Auschwitz and Treblinka. He fought in the name of a larger freedom, part of that arsenal of democracy that triumphed over evil, and he did not fight in vain.

I don’t oppose all wars.

After September 11th, after witnessing the carnage and destruction, the dust and the tears, I supported this Administration’s pledge to hunt down and root out those who would slaughter innocents in the name of intolerance, and I would willingly take up arms myself to prevent such a tragedy from happening again.

I don’t oppose all wars. And I know that in this crowd today, there is no shortage of patriots, or of patriotism. What I am opposed to is a dumb war. What I am opposed to is a rash war. What I am opposed to is the cynical attempt by Richard Perle and Paul Wolfowitz and other arm-chair, weekend warriors in this Administration to shove their own ideological agendas down our throats, irrespective of the costs in lives lost and in hardships borne.

What I am opposed to is the attempt by political hacks like Karl Rove to distract us from a rise in the uninsured, a rise in the poverty rate, a drop in the median income - to distract us from corporate scandals and a stock market that has just gone through the worst month since the Great Depression.

That’s what I’m opposed to. A dumb war. A rash war. A war based not on reason but on passion, not on principle but on politics.

Now let me be clear - I suffer no illusions about Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal man. A ruthless man. A man who butchers his own people to secure his own power. He has repeatedly defied UN resolutions, thwarted UN inspection teams, developed chemical and biological weapons, and coveted nuclear capacity.

He’s a bad guy. The world, and the Iraqi people, would be better off without him.

But I also know that Saddam poses no imminent and direct threat to the United States, or to his neighbors, that the Iraqi economy is in shambles, that the Iraqi military a fraction of its former strength, and that in concert with the international community he can be contained until, in the way of all petty dictators, he falls away into the dustbin of history.

I know that even a successful war against Iraq will require a US occupation of undetermined length, at undetermined cost, with undetermined consequences. I know that an invasion of Iraq without a clear rationale and without strong international support will only fan the flames of the Middle East, and encourage the worst, rather than best, impulses of the Arab world, and strengthen the recruitment arm of al-Qaeda.

I am not opposed to all wars. I’m opposed to dumb wars.

So for those of us who seek a more just and secure world for our children, let us send a clear message to the president today. You want a fight, President Bush? Let’s finish the fight with Bin Laden and al-Qaeda, through effective, coordinated intelligence, and a shutting down of the financial networks that support terrorism, and a homeland security program that involves more than color-coded warnings.

You want a fight, President Bush? Let’s fight to make sure that the UN inspectors can do their work, and that we vigorously enforce a non-proliferation treaty, and that former enemies and current allies like Russia safeguard and ultimately eliminate their stores of nuclear material, and that nations like Pakistan and India never use the terrible weapons already in their possession, and that the arms merchants in our own country stop feeding the countless wars that rage across the globe.

You want a fight, President Bush? Let’s fight to make sure our so-called allies in the Middle East, the Saudis and the Egyptians, stop oppressing their own people, and suppressing dissent, and tolerating corruption and inequality, and mismanaging their economies so that their youth grow up without education, without prospects, without hope, the ready recruits of terrorist cells.

You want a fight, President Bush? Let’s fight to wean ourselves off Middle East oil, through an energy policy that doesn’t simply serve the interests of Exxon and Mobil.

Those are the battles that we need to fight. Those are the battles that we willingly join. The battles against ignorance and intolerance, corruption and greed, poverty and despair.

The consequences of war are dire, the sacrifices immeasurable. We may have occasion in our lifetime to once again rise up in defense of our freedom, and pay the wages of war. But we ought not - we will not - travel down that hellish path blindly. Nor should we allow those who would march off and pay the ultimate sacrifice, who would prove the full measure of devotion with their blood, to make such an awful sacrifice in vain."

June, 2007

After months, and many weeks I have concluded the present work of fiction. I have tried and I do hope to make the characters of the story quite real, with all their vices and virtues.

In the next pages the reader will experience perhaps two stories, that at a glance he may believe the book was better suited on two different narratives, but as many things in life, things are intertwined, connected, and sometimes we don’t know how.

Sacrifice, duty, honor, justice, some may say that the latter are only words, abstract ideas of the human mind; I hope you will see that they are more than that.

Kevin R. Valladares

Chapter 1

Things that begin badly, most times end badly.

On the spring of 2003, a decision had been made months ago. The Unites States of America would go and wage a war against Iraq on the name for democracy, liberation, and the threat that Saddam Hussein’s Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, and that at the same time it had some connection with terrorism organizations, like al-Qaeda.

That decision would be fateful, it would not only change history, but it would also change and affect many people, sadly most of them for the worst.

The spring invasion was a victory, but it was just winning a battle. America had the best conventional army to fight against another conventional foe.

After that victory, winning the war and the peace would prove much more difficult, a more daunting task.

Right there it would be seen the many mistakes and errors that the US military had done. Planning after taking Baghdad was not emphasized enough. It seems that strategy was not put above the tactics, it seems that they did not do their due study and diligence.

After the spring invasion, many blunders were committed, mistakes that would come and hunt. Creating an insurgency needs some intangible things, money to supply, how to finance the weapons to fight, arming, recruiting men for the insurgency.

The hardest of the three is the latter, but with the reckless aftermath of the spring invasion as well as the beginning of the downhill spiral to abuse, it seems that recruiting the men for the insurgency was not as hard.

Money and arms were there, the money could be given by outside groups, even states that may not like America on the Middle East.

You don’t have to go far to find them.

The arms were there as well, many stock piles of conventional weapons may not have been properly secured as the insurgents could have gotten their hands on them.

It seems that all things were putted in place for a vigorous insurgency to come into surface.

The De-Baathification did not help. Many former Bathist members with nothing to lose and revenge to gain went and enlisted to the insurgent cause.

The Iraq army was disbanded; it seems that America and its coalition would have to fight alone for some time, as the recreation of a new Iraq army actually would take some time. Abu Ghraib was what the insurgent cause needed, Americans humiliating and abusing prisoners. The insurgency had taken hold; it seems that it would go on for many years to come.

The American numbers were far too low to be able to properly occupy Iraq, more boots were needed. Some had laughed at the assertions that you needed at least 300 000 to 400 000 troops on the ground so that you could be able to have an occupation that would have a better chance of success.

Tour rotations did not help as well, when the first months and year of the war had happened the ones who had began engaging and knowing a little more about the enemy that they were fighting left. The new ones who came did not have the same expertise or experience, it would not be easy to learn from what others had told, leaning through hardship would be the most common trend.

That is how Lance Corporal Hardy was going to learn, he was a Marine, a grunt, a rifleman. It was his first time in Iraq.

The enemy was not stupid; the enemy was rather smart, learning how to engage the conventional army to fight on an unconventional war.

Lance Corporal Hardy had arrived weeks ago; he was from Brooklyn, New York. He was young, he could not buy a beer yet, but he was old enough to fight a war. His unit was on a very hard and deadly area, the Sunni Triangle.

Hardy had heard about Fallujah, a hard fought battle in which the Marine Corps went to rid insurgents from the town. He had not been on that battle, but some of the Marines on his company had, it was his first tour of duty. He had been trained to use his rifle well, as it was an extension of him, his rifle was his brother, without the rifle he was nothing, and the rifle without him was nothing. Both together became a powerful opponent. Hardy had acclimated to the hot climate, he drank a lot of liquid, and especially water as there was no denying it, water truly is a unique substance. It can become liquid, gas, and solid. In nature, at least on Earth, it is the only substance that it is able to do so.

The supply of it in Iraq was very relevant. Hardy had been just on Boot Camp, less than a year ago. His drill instructor had told him that in some months, for the Infantry Marines Iraq may be their destination. He had been right, at least in his case. Patrolling was a thing that he had exercised a lot during training, Hardy knew why now. The patrol was something that the Marine had to do, with it many risks come by.

Lance Corporal Hardy had had his first kill on the first weeks of his tour; his training had kick in as what had been done again and again had come naturally to him. He tried not to remember that much, it was either the insurgents, or themselves. Once again his platoon was asked to do their job; he was one of the youngest of it. The other quite young Marine was Lance Corporal Linn Langerhans.

He was a friend of Hardy as both were young and they needed each other to give themselves motivation. The other members were older, some were veterans of the war, and it was their second tour of duty. The squad leader was Staff Sgt. McGregor, he was a tall African American; he was a tough but just Marine. He did not ask more to the men under his care than he asked himself.

There were other NCOs, some Sergeants, Carter, Bean, and Santana. The remaining of the platoon was composed of Corporals, some Privates and PFCs, along with an interpreter and a Corpsman. They were marching under the sun, the majority did not use black sun glasses, they used transparent ones or ones with different colors, but not black as it could disrespect the local population. They were there to win the population over, not to alienate it. That area had been manned by the US Army, but on 2004 it seems that the Marine Corps had been called upon to come there.

Some Army officials had not liked how the Marines began installing themselves, for differentiating the newcomers from the ones that had been before them; the Marines would wear the green uniform for the first forty days. Also black glasses were not to be use, talking to the people and being friendly was also on their books. It had months from that, things had not gone the way they had liked or planed but their job still needed to be done.

Now they were there, on a patrol in a dangerous zone. That is what was asked from them. Hardy looked to every angle he was able to; he was trying to asses if there was any danger coming from the buildings. Snipers were now a real danger; they must be always alert, always vigilant. Langerhans’ face was sweating, he began drinking some water though a water container that had a long tailed like thing that you could use to drink from it; you did not need to get out a canteen, so it was quite handy.

Staff Sgt. McGregor put his non trigger hand on the air as he then put it down towards the deck, he took a knee all other platoon members did the same thing as it was a chain reaction. One see the one in front doing so, the next one emulated finally all platoon members were as Staff Sgt. McGregor. It seems that things were not as bad as he had thought, he put himself on his two feet, and the others did the same. They continued marching through the dusty roads.

Hardy’s M16 rifle was ready if danger presented itself, the adobe buildings around them could easily conceal a insurgent waiting to shoot, either a mortar round, a AK 47 round, even RPG fire, then leave the, and if he had a house nearby just entered it as he had done nothing. Things were not easy, the platoon continued to march through the streets. Sometimes some children were following them, not this time. But when some children were following the patrol and suddenly left, that could mean something awry could happen. At least they did not have to worry about that possibility right then, no children were following them.

This patrol was just one in which you have to show that American forces were there, they did not have to search for weapons on the civilian houses, it was not that kind of mission. What they searched was if someone called a cell phone when they passed around, that could mean some trouble was ahead. They searched for signs, but nothing out of the ordinary came to their immediate attention.

Gunnery Sgt. McGregor knew that the patrol was almost over as they were nearby the convoy of Humvees, so that they could return to the base. Hardy looked relived as it seems that nothing happened this time, the Marines began entering the light armored vehicles for a ride back to their base.

Hardy looked at roads, they have tried to get a good eye on them, see if there were explosives, see if there were one of the killers of Americans. The dreadful IED (Improvised Explosive Device). Those were one of the ways in which the insurgency did their damage; a big IED could destroy a Humvee. It seems that the enemy could adapt as well, when more armor was put into the vehicles, the way the IED were positioned changed as well. Some of them were putted a little higher so that the explosion could hit a more vulnerable sector. The windows, the doors, it was easier that way.

There was anxiousness, worry as the convoy passed the streets. Sometimes there were ambushes, sometimes there were hard explosions, and it was a hard way to fight. The guerilla techniques used took their toll; the frustration was there, a feeling that your effort was not seen in positive results, progress.

If only they could see that the situation could get better, but the Marines remembered the fallen. They could see their sacrifice, they could see the casualties, they could see the fatalities, but they were blind to the progress.

Frustration and stress mounted, but they were Marines, they had to continue following orders, making sure that they do their best so that the mission would have a chance for success. Some believed, some had believed once, some did not.

The convoy stopped at the checkpoint, it seems that they had returned to the base. They had not found ambushes, or roadside bombs, sometimes they were not that lucky. The Marines got out from the vehicles as they went to clear out their weapons, then they went to get some rest. The sun was not at its summit anymore, the day was winding down. Hardy and Langerhans went to put their gear away as the Kevlar was put down.

Want to get something to eat? asked Langerhans getting some sweat away from his face.

Yes, said Hardy as both began walking towards the mess hall. The base was not large as the ones that both Hardy and Langerhans had been before. It had to be that way, because they were not in America.

They were in a foreign country, perhaps Iraq was as a state relatively young as its existence began after the Ottoman Empire had been defeated by the Allies in WWI. At first it was a mandate of the British Empire, but it quickly gain its sovereignty from it. Iraq had a mixed population; it had Shiites, Sunnis, and Kurds.

They have been together for decades now; their difference had not erupted on full scale violence. It seems that the latter was coming to a close, violence between Sunni and Shiite began to accrue. It could get to a civil war if it continued like that, and that would not be a good thing for Americans.

An objective for Iraq was that eventually would become a stable state, with democracy and a model to follow in the Middle East. Israel was truly the only liberal democracy that existed on the Middle East, if Iraq wanted to become the second it needed to change ways. The Sunnis had had power over Iraq over the last decades as Saddam Hussein had been a Sunni.

He had been a brutal dictator; it seems he admired another brutal and heinous autocrat, Stalin. He emulated him well, fear and death he valued. The Kurds and Shiites were common victims of the furies of the dictator.

When the Americans and the coalition force had met with victory on the spring invasion, regime change was a consequence. The Sunnis had lost power, as elections were held months later, the Sunnis boycotted them. The Shiites did not as they received political power, that kind of power was nonexistent when the Saddam Regime had power.

One of the early objectives of the insurgency was to begin strife between the Sunni and Shiites, a civil war. If things continued the way they were that was going to happen, and it would be a huge obstacle to move for the American and coalition effort.

The insurgency had first attacked the coalition members of America, specially the smaller ones, so that they could isolate America.

It seems they grasped that those coalition members gave some legitimacy to the occupation, if they could make them leave, America would lose that legitimacy and it would be easier to tell that America had not the rest of the world behind them. That it was more a unilateral occupation, it would help recruit men, it gave more anger to the ones who wanted to kill Americans.

So they did, the coalition began getting smaller and smaller; it was not that large to begin with. When that happened the insurgency began its concentration on attacking both, the civilian population and the Americans.

They wanted to show the US that they were not able to give security and stability to the Iraqis. They also wanted to create violence between the ethnicities, they wanted chaos, and with the seeds of violence, destruction was what they wanted to reap. That was in the quagmire young Hardy and Langerhans were in.

Need to hydrate, said Langerhans as he drank water and some power drinks to get the salt back.

Hardy agreed with him as he was doing the same thing, they always had to that with the climate and temperature after a foot patrol. They continued to eat as their food felt okay in their mouths and stomachs.

Did you think it was going to be that tough? asked Langerhans as he stop eating as it seems he had been thinking about what he wanted to talk for some time.

This, I knew it was going to be but you hoped it would not be as hard, said Hardy as he knew that war had always been difficult.

My drill instructors, said Langerhans, went to the war but they did not speak about that much, they knew that when we came here we would understand, don’t you think?

Yes, most likely, said Hardy, now we do know.

They continued chewing their food as they recalled that at first they have been home sick, but it was just for the first days as they had underwent difficulties before, they were young and what was asked for them to do was hard.

They finished eating, they left to have some rest, and the next day would be a hard one, perhaps even harder.

This time their task was searching for weapons on the Iraqis houses, it was going to be done at night. Lance Corporal Hardy was used to the routine now, they went to inspect the houses to find if there were weapons, and if they found something suspicious they detained the ones who were suspects. They had their translator with them, communication was important. They had learned not to humiliate the Iraqi head of family as it would hurt them on the long run.

A first Lieutenant was with the platoon on that mission, he was a tall man, decisive. A junior officer with future, his name was Trucklers. He was also with the command of the platoon that night; they would be hours searching the houses. At day it could get dangerous as some Marines could get oblivious to the dangers, a sniper could patiently wait for an American to be naïve and put himself on harm’s way on a rooftop, an easy target.

The Marines got inside the houses the translator repeated what the Lieutenant said, it was words of understanding as their house would be searched.

The Marines got working; they did not destroy the private property of the family. Lance Corporal Langerhans searched the kitchen with Hardy as the young Iraqi kids glanced at the uniformed men as their mother tried to conceal them from seeing them. They returned with empty hands, the house was clean. Lieutenant Trucklers said some words in English; the interpreter repeated them in Arabic as they left to search the next house. The hours passed, the Marines did what was needed to be done.

The translator talked to the families, he explained them what would happen as the process continued. They worked hard that night, some of them were trained not to sleep for days but that day they would have their sleep. Lieutenant Trucklers knew it was enough, it was time for coming back, and they needed to walk some miles to get back at the convoy. They hoped to get there in some hours, they began marching once again as the dark sky above them was witness of their trail back.

Some stars were shining, as the platoon made back on time as the convoy was there waiting for them. The motor T Marines had the engines ready for leaving as some dusk light was beginning to descend over them.

Let go Marines, said the junior officer as the Humvees began moving ahead. The streets began to get some color; the Marines were relieved that the mission had been made without receiving any casualty. Hardy had still his goggles on, along with his helmet; his armor jacket was on him as well. All Marines had their gear on, the Lieutenant made sure of that.

The sunshine began falling upon them as unfortunately it was not the only thing falling upon them.

Receiving enemy fire! shouted a Marine manning the machine gun at the top of a Humvee as he began firing back at them.

The false sense of security that had persisted until then evaporated, as the Marines put themselves into concentration.

Hardy glanced at some gray fume before them; it was RPG fire that had missed the front Humvee for some meters.

Lieutenant Trucklers began looking at the roadsides; he knew that it could happen to him, he was at war. He hoped it would not happen but it did.

Lance Corporal Langerhans glanced at some dust, dirt and an explosion. It had happened, another roadside bomb.

Stop, said Staff Sgt. McGregor, it seems that he was going to fight the insurgents, he was determined.

The Humvee stopped as Hardy and Langerhans got out from the vehicle, the vapor of the destroyed vehicle was nearby. The smoke was on the air, the insurgents still fired at the convoy, the ambush had been successful. They have killed some Americans with the detonation of the roadside bomb, they looked to leave now but Staff Sgt. McGregor had something else on his mind.

A radio message was dispatched, it stated the present condition. The convoy had been hit; there were fatalities, asked for support.

Lance Corporal Hardy began aiming; he was not a decent shooter. He was a good one. He breathed out and in, he looked at his sights, the enemy was there, he could see the weapons they have.

AK 47s, RPG, even mortars, he aimed well at one he squeezed as he felt the recoil on his shoulder. He knew he had hit the one he had marked, the other insurgents looked at the corpse, they began moving again; Hardy breathed out and squeezed once again as another one fell.

The remaining armored vehicles continued to fire their machine guns towards the position; now it seemed that the insurgents were on the run.

Staff Sgt. McGregor was on pursue, he had some Marines with him as they had gone close to the building they knew the insurgents had been.

A Corporal had a machine gun with him as he was ready to shoot at them when they left the building, they could still hear the M16 rounds being fired, it seems Hardy was doing his job. Then it happened, some insurgents began leaving, fire at will was given as the Marines fired at them.

Another unit came for the response of the attack; they looked at the shattered humvee. It seems that the ones who had been there had died immediately as it had been a potent blast.

Langerhans had felt the heat, he and the other Marines knew that the Lieutenant had died as he had been on the now crushed vehicle. It was a tragic loss as they had respected and cared about him as well as the other enlisted men there. They mourned, but still they needed to continue, to keep walking, keep going.

The Marines returned to the base after the hard incident. They went to rest after the hours of patrol. Losing troops was not easy, they needed to be strong. They knew that in war there are deaths, but they just hoped that it would not happen to their unit, but when it happened they needed to accept it. Acceptance was one of the first steps towards recovery, they had to move on. It did not mean that they have forgotten, it simply meant that they needed to continue with the task.

The next day came; they went towards the same streets, patrolling, searching, and seeking the enemy. Day after day, patrol after patrol, some days were harder than others, some other days were easier than others. The patrol got a new junior officer, First Lieutenant Johnson. The company missed their former officer but that was how it was. Replacements in war, some perish, others came and fill the posts those have occupied.

The new Marines were used to the routine now, Hardy and Langerhans were behaving more and more like veterans.

Gunnery Sgt. McGregor liked the effort they made, indeed they were young but in the last few months working with them, they had grown. They had became more decisive, better Marines. Lance Corporal Langerhans had leadership traits he could use as an NCO, he was firm, strong and thought about performing at his best every time. He had never seen him put his helmet, goggles, flag jacket off when on patrols, or outside the base. One day he called him out, he reported on him on the base.

Lance Corporal, said the Gunnery, in these past few weeks, and months our unit had worked very hard. You are one of them, I must present you with this, as he said this he got from his hand a Corporal symbol to put on the uniform.

Congratulations, Corporal, said the Gunnery Sergeant as he put it to the cammies.

Langerhans seemed to be content about the news, he had worked hard for months now, some said that promotion and extra pay are ones of the pros of being on serving on a war zone, right then and now Langerhans had to agree.

When Gunnery Sgt. McGregor finished with the promotion, he gave another pair of the things he had put on the desert camouflage of the new Corporal, There is another one who I want you to give these to, he said, Lance Corporal Hardy, he have done a very good job as well, he have responded well at my commands and he is a damn good shooter with his rifle.

Yes, Gunnery Sergeant, said Corporal Langerhans.

Good, you are dismissed, the Staff NCO stated.

Good Afternoon Gunnery Sergeant, said Corporal Langerhans as he left.

The new Corporal searched for Hardy as he found him, he was resting it seems that he was trying to get his energy back as down time was important.

Hardy at first did not see any changes as he looked at Langerhans but then he knew, Good Afternoon, Corporal, he said as he seemed to taunt his friend.

Lance Corporal Hardy, said Langerhans, you too.

Me what? asked Hardy puzzled.

Langerhans put the Corporal symbols on his uniform, and then he knew.

Corporal Hardy, said Corporal Langerhans, Gunnery Sgt. McGregor thought that we deserved promotion for the way we have been working on this current tour of duty.

I did not expect that, said Hardy as the last time he had been promoted had been months ago when he had been a Private First class and got the rank of Lance Corporal, he was back on America.

Me either but well we should enjoy it, after all it have been hard, said Langerhans as he looked at the space, indeed hard.

More responsibility, more accountability, said Hardy, let us prove that we are ready for Sergeants.

Perhaps, said Langerhans as he knew it would be some time for that, he doubted to achieve that rank on the current tour of duty. There were some more weeks to go for that to happen, they still needed to focus, to look for the men next to each other because that was very important, trying to bring back the men shoulder to shoulder to you, back home and now the new Corporals had more responsibility for that to happen.

A car bomb blew up near a market; it seemed that the disruption that the insurgency and terrorists were trying to cause was going according to their objectives. Sadly, when the occupation began the terrorists had infiltrated. They had not been there before the 2003 invasion, but years later they were using it as an opportunity to create chaos, and were helpers to create a civil war.

That is how they took advantage of the ethnic differences, in the Sunni triangle; it seems that asymmetrical warfare was being done.

Corporal Langerhans was on an outpost. He was helping check vehicles coming to the market place; he was working with other Marines. He could see the smoke fuming, at some distance. It seems that another attack had been done once again, how many civilians had been killed this time, he did not know but it seems that things were getting worse.

Corporal Hardy continued to search for weapons, explosives, bombs on the vehicles, trying to be efficient at what he was doing. After one vehicle had left, another came and the process repeated itself. Hardy tried to be as friendly as he could, it was difficult sometimes communicating trough signs but it had to do so. They were called upon to respond about the explosion at the market; it seems that their future mission would change as well.

The occupation had not been as productive as it could have been at that point, some stated that for the counterinsurgency to get better results, the troops should live along the people. In Iraq, it was the opposite, the troops lived inside bases, it seems that serving and protecting the civilians was not as important as trying to not lose servicemen and women doing the latter.

Corporal Hardy arrived to the scene; it was not a good one to see, but a familiar one. There was some hoses pouring water at some remains, it seems that there had been one of the hardest hit places. Some pieces of flesh was scattered around as there were some ambulances trying to get at the wounded. Some civilian vehicles were being used to transport the wounded, as well as the bodies of the dead.

Gunnery Sgt. McGregor was on the scene as well, it seems that there had been some captures of potential or possible suspects concerning the car bomb; that the car had been inside the market before, in other words the explosives had been put on it. Some people had smuggled the explosives and put them there.

The suspects had been apprehended by a tip of someone who had seen a couple of suspicious individuals near the vehicle which had exploded some time before the incident. The Iraqi police then had called the Americans at the checkpoint that was nearby, so that was why Hardy was there.

The interpreter was speaking with the Iraqi police, Gunnery Sgt. McGregor instructed to apprehend the suspects as people of interest. He did not know if they were guilty or innocent, but he needed to do so because if they were the responsible ones, less insurgents or terrorists would be unable to create more harm. But for everyone they could catch, it seems that other two took their places; at that pace Iraq would not become stable enough for a chance of success to even be considered.

Corporal Hardy looked at the suspects, as they began heading back towards the outpost, they would be taken into custody and be questioned about their alleged hand on the attack.

They arrived as Gunnery Sergeant sent a convoy with some Marines with the suspects as he stayed there Hardy and Langerhans went with the convoy as Gunnery Sergeant McGregor stayed at the outpost. There was no way to know but that was the last time they ever saw him. A mortar round fell upon him and killed him.

The days had been difficult, harder days were ahead it seems. Hardy and Langerhans had been shaken by the death of the Gunnery Sergeant; they had became in part the Marines they were because of him.

Under him, they had matured, they had grown up; it was difficult to cope with. He had believed in them, believed in what they had to offer, he had promoted both Hardy and Langerhans, and had became young Corporals. The unit had respected him but it still needed to move on. Those were hard days indeed.

The Marines were assisting now on another task; they were helping make the Iraqi security force a better fighting force. It seems that the mistakes of disbanding the army years ago still lingered.

The style of Boot Camp training had been dropped as it was insulting and humiliating to the Iraqi people to be treated like that by a Westerner, training a partner that one day hopefully would assist you to fight, had to be done in a better way than shouting at their faces, as if they were High School recruits.

Miles away, a journalist was on his hotel room. He did not sleep on his bedroom, he was afraid that a mortar or RPG would come out from the window. He should worry, it had happened to some colleagues.

His name was Joshua Isaiah, he was an American journalist. He had arrived to Iraq some days before, he had reported war before. He had worked on Afghanistan when the Taliban had fallen from power.

He had also worked on Kosovo, now he was on Iraq. He could remember the Gulf war, he did not go to work there, he was beginning with journalism; he was not assigned. But many years had passed now, over a decade actually. He could know how a bad ending of that war many years ago had affected the current one.

On 1991, days were enough for a decisive engagement with Saddam Hussein troops. The forces marshaled back then were over half a million combatants. Desert Storm had been successful on driving the Iraqi forces away from Kuwait, but it had not been that successful on obliterating the Iraqi army as a fighting force. The question had presented itself back then, did they march to Baghdad? Did they have to?

People who later on would preach for that, at that time stated that if they marched to Baghdad it would become a quagmire. Dick Cheney, the future vice president was one of those who shared the former viewpoint.

Years later it would not be like that at all. So instead of marching to Baghdad, a containment strategy was put into place. After the end of the war, there were uprisings of Kurds and Shiites as they had believed that perhaps the Americans along with the coalition may bring some assistance to their cause, it was not the way they had hoped.

Instead of a change of regime, they met with the utmost brutality as Saddam Hussein crushed the uprising, many died again.

The containment of Saddam’s Iraq commenced, isolate the state was one way to achieve the goal. Then non fly zones, planes patrolled the Iraqi skies, also bombardment to military facilities. Under the Presidency of Bill Clinton there was a significant missile attack to Iraqi facilities, Desert Fox.

It seemed that containment was working all right; some generals believed that the fall of Saddam’s brutal regime would come eventually.

But there were the one who actually wanted an invasion; it seems that Wolfowitz, a chief of staff of Dick Cheney was pointing to the case of an invasion to Iraq.

He compared it with the Nazis, but Iraq and Germany were never equal in might, the comparison was off, Germany had been a very powerful state, Iraq after Desert Storm was not that dangerous. Then 9/11 happened, it would change how the world was viewed, also some would use it for making a harder case to go to war, not only where the Taliban were but also Iraq.

It seems when it had been decided that a preemptive strike against Iraq was a viable option, the wheels to get the intelligence to support were put into motion. With the preemptive doctrine on place, the one which argues that a threat must be met before it can threat or put you on danger, it seemed that war was looming. The System of Check and Balances that the Founding Fathers had created for an accountable government seemed that at that time, was not working.

Congress controlled mostly by Republicans, the party that the President was a member as well, did not give a no for an answer, it seemed that they were going along as well. The Democrats, the minority of Congress, could not do that much, but many of their ranks voted to authorize the war, some would later argue that it had not been a mistake and people still continue believing them.

Also Secretary of State, Collin Powell was put on a very ugly spot. He had been chosen to talk in front of the United Nations and state that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. Many had believed him, Powell was highly respected and if he said so many believed that it could be actually true, but the intelligence was flawed, very flawed.

It seems that there was going to be war, on the spring of 2003 the invasion began and the rest was becoming history, Iraqi history, American history, and world history.

Joshua Isaiah now was part of it. He knew about the past, that is why he had an idea of understanding about the present, some talk so much about history, and know little. Joshua, as a journalist, tried to be informed, tried to know not only the necessary but more than the basic.

He looked at the past, he could not see the future but the scenarios of the aftermath of the present war seemed to be getting worst. Some said that the best case scenario could be something as what happened in the Philippines.

The Americans had fought the Spanish as Spain was no longer the power it had once been, it was on the decline for centuries back then. Victory on the Spanish American war, gave some new territories to the Americans, this victory was the beginning of the American century in which America fomented itself as a great superpower.

The Philippines were on the new territories, as some argue that it was part of the American Empire.

An insurgency occurred, at first Americans acted with brutality, but it adapted well afterwards as they could recover as the US Army was able to calm the situation as it found the weapons, the trouble people along the population, it had begun badly but the ship was righted on time.

Another scenario could be what transpired with the French with Algeria. France had conquered the former territory on the nineteen century as a hundred years later, Algeria was fighting for independence. The tricky thing about the war was that there were thousands and thousands of French citizens in the country, perhaps the French could have won in tactics, but the war was not going to be a victory.

An independent Algeria was a lost for the French, an independent Iraq was a victory for Americans, and it seemed that achieving victory would be a little tougher.

And there was another scenario, Joshua seemed to lean towards it more and more as the days passed, civil war. Shiite against Sunni, perhaps the Kurds would proclaim their independence, then a regional conflict on ones of the most volatile, and important zones of the world could engulf in a big war.

Iran, Saudi Arabia, perhaps even Turkey, the situation was deteriorating and America could not do a thing to stop the quick slide to the abyss. It had been very naïve, perhaps even idiotic to believe that most would receive Americans as liberators. That kind of propaganda was trying to repeat the same lie again, again, and again so that many believed that it actually could happen. Perhaps even the ones who had said the lie could at some time believe it as well.

Joshua glanced at his notebook; he tried to find words to describe the situation. He looked at where he was; there were guards on the entrances, dust in the streets, and dirt on the air. He was on a hotel on the green zone, he should be able to feel safe but he did not, he was afraid, not of himself but of what would happen if the fall of Saigon would be repeated all over again, as a déjà vu, it would not be very good at all.

He had seen the pictures of the embassy trying to be evacuated by some helicopters as desperate people were trying to hang on so that they could escape the end of the Vietnam War, a very ugly one concerning the Americans. He had seen the video footage too, he had been a kid when it happened so he did not remember that well, even if he had seen that at an early age, he would not understand.

Now he did understand, he needed to report the news, he needed to get out from the commodity of the hotel, he needed to work hard; he would risk his life doing so. The people deserved to know, it was their right, especially in a democracy, on an open society to give the news, the facts and let the people decide by themselves.

Joshua had wondered if journalism, if the news had failed as well before the war had started. Like if most of the media had somehow rooted for war for X, Y, Z reason. He knew that too many things had gone south before the war had started, not only one, or two, far too many. Did they fail themselves?

Did he fail his country as a reporter, Joshua should have shouted with all his volume on his voice to the four winds that something was not being said, that something was being concealed, and that was the truth. Indeed, politicians had lied, that was part of their jobs but to lie with something so relevant, with something so important. It seemed that he had not done enough, he could blame himself for that, but he also knew other had much more blame than he ever will, so much more.

Now he had to do his job. That was the reason he had come there. He went outside the hotel, outside was hot as predicted. He glanced at some security people he needed, if he wanted to report what was happening on the war, he just could not be on his hotel room, glancing at the distance and creating a work of fiction, if he wanted to do so, he would have studied literature to write a novel, or a work of fiction. But he had not elected that way, instead he chose journalism, investigating, reporting, he needed to be smart.

If he left the green zone, he knew that the possibilities of death augmented. He just imagined how those insurgents or terrorists would enjoy catching him and forcing him into a propaganda video.

They would ask him to plead for his life in front of a camera, after that there was the big possibility that they would free him, or kill him.

Joshua knew where he was standing, he hoped the latter would not happen; it had happened to many journalists, but there were risks on this job. He looked at the security that would come with him, they were armed with the necessary tools for a decent defense, it was time to work, time to leave, and time to get something from the ensuing conflict.

Corporal Hardy and the other members of his platoon were resting after hours of marching and patrolling under the heat and the sun. It was something that they did not only deserve, they needed it.

Their bodies needed the rest. A unit that was not at their best could not be able to work or perform as it was needed to do for affecting the mission, their task.

Corporal Langerhans was drinking water, from some canteens, he had sweat quite a lot, he then put them down, it seems that he was satisfied with what he had drunk. Many were doing the same thing around him, not only Americans servicemen, but the Iraqis forces as well. They have worked on a joint patrol, they needed them eventually to step as most likely Americans would not stay forever on Iraq. If there was a chance that Iraq would become an independent state with something close to a democratic government, it seems that the Iraqis had to do so.

How long could Americans continue to see and hear on the news that another serviceman had lost his or her life, and progress was not being accomplished. It would not last very long; perhaps the administration that had initiated the war may think so, but the fact was that on the presidential election in 2004, when people were asked why they had voted the way they did, many had said due to a televised ad that showed terrorist and the danger it represented.

It seems that in that election, most people decided to vote due to an ad, therefore it looks that in America more schools need to be open, or more people need to see less television.

On that time, people were afraid, indeed a heinous act had been done against them; over three thousand innocent lives had died on one crisp September morning. But you cannot be blinded by fear, it would ultimately destroy you, who is afraid of being conquered is sure of defeat. Fear cannot decide upon you, you have to be stronger than it, but if it is stronger than you most times negative things will happen.

Corporal Hardy still rested after the hard work, he looked at the Iraqi forces; he thought if one day they would be able to protect an independent Iraqi state. He thought about what would happen if all this effort that they were doing, all the sweat, all the treasure, all the blood, what if it was for naught? It had happened before, a generation ago actually; history had its strange way to repeat itself.

Some had shouted at the four winds and seven seas that Iraq was not Vietnam, even if they were just trying to give an example of learning from the past. This is not Vietnam! some said; then the conversation was over and left. What was it, why did they react like that, was it pain of the past; was it that a painful déjà vu? Did not they want to remember the past, to understand the present?

Hardy sipped more water from his canteen, he did not know the answers of those questions, but he wanted to know that. He wanted someday to know about them, but that was not on his hands completely. He was a Marine; his death could come at any time, at any moment because he was at war.

The water refreshed his body; Hardy hoped one day the answers would refresh him as well.

Chapter 2

Things that begin bad, most times end badly.

A young man was glancing himself in a mirror, his face was wrinkled as he seemed to be in some kind of pain. His body did not have any mayor cause of significant pain but if you could see his spirit and mind, you would know that he had his heart broken.

The long arm of morality in the universe is quite long, the young man said. He was looking at the stars above him, but it bends towards justice.

The young man was holding a card key. He looked at the room, it had a television set; he then took the remote control and turned the set on. It had two beds, a bathroom, and a small fridge. It had to do for now. He turned the television off. He then crashed to the bed farthest away from the door. He was feeling tired, dog tired. He did not feel that good. He was feeling miserable but he wanted to sleep a long time, so that he would feel a little better. He closed his eyes and not after long he was unconscious.

Miles away a middle aged man received a call, at first he was calm, but then he became anxious, and when the call ended he abandoned