Michael Yon, freelance writer embedded with the U.S. Army 1-24thInfantry Battalion in Iraq, released his latest dispatch earlier today. Called "Gates of Fire," it lives up to Yon's standard brilliant writing and descriptions of the front lines in Iraq.
Here is a short excerpt of a car/helicopter chase of a trio of terrorists at over 100 mph. This is the chase that precedes an intense firefight that Yon describes afterward:
Kiowas are small, carrying just two people; they fly so low the two flying soldiers are practically infantrymen. The pilot swooped low and the "co-pilot" aimed his rifle at the Opel, firing three shots and blowing out the back window. The Kiowa swooped and banked hard in front of the car, firing three more shots through the front hood, the universal sign for "stop."
The car chase ended, but the men fled on foot up an alley. We approached in the Strykers and I heard Kurilla say on the radio, "Shots fired!" as he ducked for a moment then popped back up in the hatch. Kurilla continued, "Trail section clear the car and clear south to north! I'm going to block the back door on the north side!"About fifteen seconds later our ramp dropped. We ran into combat.
Please take ten minutes and read the entire dispatch, which details a firefight that shot up the unit's brave commander, Lt Col Kurilla, who Yon has written about many times. Yon has also included photos taken in the middle of the firefight, and his account of the action is nothing short of breathtaking. My heart was racing as I read it.
Then ask yourself (and maybe your local media) why this kind of reporting is not seen or heard in any other media outlets. Why do we only hear about body counts, evil American soldiers abusing prisoners, and poor, innocent men being held at Guantanamo Bay without trials? Why is the REAL support for our troops not reported on? Why do we instead have to suffer through endless Cindy Sheehan stories, or reports of anti-war protestors displaying mock coffins in front of Walter Reed Army Hospital (and our wounded troops)? Why are TRUE troop-support projects like Soldiers' Angels and Homes For Our Troops ignored, while phony support projects such as Code Pink and AirAmerica get all the coverage? Could it possibly be a liberal anti-war anti-military bias in the media?
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