A reason to smile: The American military

Jay Nordlinger of National Review and a few other reporters had the honor of visiting our troops in Iraq to see first hand what had become of the former land of Husseini tyranny. His pen warmed my heart as he wrote of the sacrificial job that our men and women are doing on behalf of our nation and for the cause of freedom half-way around the world.

Nordlinger kept a running journal. He covered it in four parts (Part I, Part II, Part III, and Part IV). It's worth the read. The following quote comes from Part II.

"We are doing so very much. Have foreigners ever done so much for a country? The Iraqis are lucky to be looked after in this way. Many other countries would kill for it. I think of the title of one of Fouad Ajami’s books: “The Foreigner’s Gift.” That’s putting it mildly. Of course, “we broke it, we have to fix it,” right? The country was broken — tyrannized and aggressive — before. We are changing it."

Actually, we didn't break it, but that was not his point as he makes eminently clear in his posts.

Thanks, Jay, for honoring our troops and honoring our nation with your words.

Photo by Army Sgt. James Hunter