![]() ![]() "That was a bigger thing than the Saddam capture," Knowles said. He agreed troop morale is healthy and said he and Stramara were about 20 miles from the airport where the president arrived. Tim Knowles, also of the 4th Infantry Division who was traveling with Stramara, said President Bush's surprise Thanksgiving visit with the troops in Iraq has been the most significant morale-booster. He said the 4th Infantry Division has never had a higher re-enlistment rate than right now and said his soldiers are upbeat. The American soldiers, however, have high morale, despite reports and polls that indicate otherwise, Stramara said. "We had individuals who didn't have a very good day when they ran into one of our soldiers," Stramara said. and $22 million Iraqi dinar that was being used to fuel the terrorist network. He said the division was also responsible for capturing 1,100 detainees and $5 million U.S. He explained the types of resistance the division faced and the weapons that were confiscated, including thousands of hand grenades, rounds of artillery, rockets and sticks of TNT. I will never, never forget that story."ĭuring the luncheon, Stramara shared photos taken in Iraq. "He said he was half American because he had American blood. "When we left, he said, 'I would die for you because we are brothers,'" Stramara said. The Iraqi survived to become a command sergeant major in the military battalion set up by the Americans. The soldier was shot five times in the back, Stramara said, and was immediately tended to by American medics, who gave him blood transfusions. The friend, who is a sheik, was saved by the former Iraqi soldier, Stramara said. ![]() military's mission dove on top of a friend who was being attacked in a drive-by shooting, Stramara said. Stramara told a story later, during an interview with the Reporter-Telegram, about the Iraqis trusting Americans.Ī former sergeant major in the Iraqi army who believed in the U.S. He said the Iraqis trusted the Americans once they saw the military was there to help them and cited an example of an American soldier patching up enemies he just shot. He said the most important thing the division did was earning the trust and respect of the local people by working closely with them. ![]() That's what our soldiers did, and heaven forbid if (the enemy) got in our way," Stramara said, alluding to an earlier statement he made about his division meeting and defeating resistance. "We are making sure Iraq is safe and the people have a good quality of life. Stramara said the money used for construction came from funds confiscated from Saddam and his supporters and local people were hired to build the projects. He said there was a high mortality rate among children when the division first arrived.īut after a clinic was set up and immunizations were administered, Stramara said the mortality rate fell to zero. Colonel saddam hussein capture how to#"We got the people knowing they can help themselves and taught them how to demand what they need from the government," he said. The 4th infantry division helped to build schools and clinics, confiscated and destroyed more than 50 tons of ammunition at more than 1,000 sites, helped to build better sewage systems and helped to set up the infrastructure for city councils and police, Stramara said. He said the military has had many successes that have been overlooked by the national media. Saddam Hussein "kept the citizens out of school and kept them poor." "The Iraqi regime may no longer rule with tyranny," he said. He said the progress American troops have made to bring democracy to Iraq is "well worth" the war, regardless of finding or not finding weapons of mass destruction. ![]()
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