How the Iragis responded to my son

[Meatwasp]

My son was crew chief on a helicopter and as he flew over a poor area he saw little boys pointing sticks at them like they were rifles.
Some company had sent the soldiers hundreds of soccor balls and I went to all the thrift stores and bought all kinds of stuffed toys and sent it to him. My son threw out the balls and toys every time he flew over. soon kids were running out waving and also mothers with their kis came out waving too. It made my son so happy that he could do something like this.
I am sure those villagers had fond memories of the soldiers that did this instead of bombs

[hard@work]

Imagine our armies doing just this and just this alone. It could happen, if not everywhere in a lot of places.

[Chester Copperpot]

I dont know much about this topic BUT I have seen video of some troops taunting Iraqis with bottled water.. asking them for $5 a bottle and then not giving them any and such...

Compare that with the images of liberating WWII soldiers in Europe where they'd give children Hershey bars and such.. IN a ruined country like Germany a Hershey bar is worth more than gold. But that is the sort of stuff that promotes good feelings with people.

[Meatwasp]

I dont know much about this topic BUT I have seen video of some troops taunting Iraqis with bottled water.. asking them for $5 a bottle and then not giving them any and such...

Compare that with the images of liberating WWII soldiers in Europe where they'd give children Hershey bars and such.. IN a ruined country like Germany a Hershey bar is worth more than gold. But that is the sort of stuff that promotes good feelings with people.

He told me they also threw candy bars out

[ladyliberty]

I think there are many many dfferent types of soldiers over there - those who truly believed what the recuitment officer had to tell them, or joined up for noble causes/careers. etc. and those who were given other options such as join the army or go to jail - in short there are criminals over there who ought not be wearing the uniforms. These are the ones who have caused the most damage to our military presence over there.

I am glad that your son is able to establish some good will, but for every good one, how many of the bad ones have they have encountered - like the dudes with the water bottles?

[Corydoras]

Meatwasp, you are the greatest.

People who want to get toys to Iraqi children should go to this site:
http://anysoldier.com/WhereToSend/

Do a search for "Beanie" or "toys" and you will be able to see whether the unit needs to be sent some (there is a huge demand) or whether they have enough/too many (for example if they virtually never encounter children).

anysoldier.com is great if you want to send treats to the troops, or anything, really. They need all sorts of things out there.

Don't expect thanks, because they're so busy out there, but if you include an email address you sometimes hear back from them.

P.S. I did not say anything about including Ron Paul materials for the troops, but I bet a DVD will get watched and passed around!

[jrich4rpaul]

That's so good to hear. Good for him :)

[trispear]

Awesome. Your son and his colleagues are the real diplomats - let him know we appreciate the job he's doing:)

[fluoridatedbrainsoup]

Imagine dropping good will on a country instead of bombs.. what a radical concept. With the price of a single bomblet what it is, it'd be cheaper to drop new cars and motorcycles on them.

[CurtisLow]

Very nice!

[Wendi]

But if we weren't illegally invading their country in the first place, we wouldn't have to worry about trying to win good feelings from their children :(

To the OP - Kudos to your son for doing the right thing in a bad situation :)

[SeanEdwards]

I appreciate the sentiment. The vast majority of people in our armed forces are good people, and like anyone they want to be liked.

However, I think it's exact this kind of thing that is utterly fubar about our presence in Iraq. Winning hearts and minds is not an appropriate military mission. The military exists to kill people and destroy things, not to distribute toys and candy and be goodwill ambassadors.

When our military is in a foreign country, I want foreigners to be fleeing in terror, not crowding close for handouts. We shouldn't be sending our military into combat zones unless the job is to break things. Winning hearts and minds is a job for poets, not soldiers.

[Meatwasp]

I appreciate the sentiment. The vast majority of people in our armed forces are good people, and like anyone they want to be liked.

However, I think it's exact this kind of thing that is utterly fubar about our presence in Iraq. Winning hearts and minds is not an appropriate military mission. The military exists to kill people and destroy things, not to distribute toys and candy and be goodwill ambassadors.

When our military is in a foreign country, I want foreigners to be fleeing in terror, not crowding close for handouts. We shouldn't be sending our military into combat zones unless the job is to break things. Winning hearts and minds is a job for poets, not soldiers.

He did not choose to go there he was in the national guard. You seem like a very bitter person. I pity you.

[dsentell]

I hope you have a LOT of sons -- the world needs more like him! (AND YOU!)

[Meatwasp]

I hope you have a LOT of sons -- the world needs more like him! (AND YOU!)

Thank you and by the way he is a Ron Paul supporter

[dsentell]

He sounds like such a GREAT guy, somehow I just knew he would be a RP supporter! :) :) :) :)

[SeanEdwards]

He did not choose to go there he was in the national guard. You seem like a very bitter person. I pity you.

He shouldn't have been sent there in the first place if his mission was going to be to hand out soccer balls.

I've been through military training. They taught us how to shoot people and stick bayonets in them. They didn't train us on 'winning hearts and minds'. It's a misguided mission that is not the business of soldiers.

Oh yeah, I am bitter about how our political leaders abuse the lives of our volunteer military. You'll be pretty damn bitter too if anything bad happens to your son on one of these toy distribution flights.

[KoozieChaz]

I think there are many many dfferent types of soldiers over there - those who truly believed what the recuitment officer had to tell them, or joined up for noble causes/careers. etc. and those who were given other options such as join the army or go to jail - in short there are criminals over there who ought not be wearing the uniforms. These are the ones who have caused the most damage to our military presence over there.

I am glad that your son is able to establish some good will, but for every good one, how many of the bad ones have they have encountered - like the dudes with the water bottles?


I was in the Navy for 5 years, this is so true.

[Meatwasp]

He shouldn't have been sent there in the first place if his mission was going to be to hand out soccer balls.

I've been through military training. They taught us how to shoot people and stick bayonets in them. They didn't train us on 'winning hearts and minds'. It's a misguided mission that is not the business of soldiers.

Oh yeah, I am bitter about how our political leaders abuse the lives of our volunteer military. You'll be pretty damn bitter too if anything bad happens to your son on one of these toy distribution flights.

My grandson just by the neck missed entering a Helicopter because there wasn't enough room. That helicopter went down and we were sick when we saw the names of his buddies in it not knowing if he was in it or not.
I too hate Bush getting us into this war and I pray to God Dr. Paul get it. Now you are making me cry.

[Meatwasp]

His mission was to pick up dead soldiers.

[SeanEdwards]

My grandson just by the neck missed entering a Helicopter because there wasn't enough room. That helicopter went down and we were sick when we saw the names of his buddies in it not knowing if he was in it or not.
I too hate Bush getting us into this war and I pray to God Dr. Paul get it. Now you are making me cry.

I hope your loved ones come home safe. I hope they all come home safe. It makes me sick that Bush is willing to use their lives for his political posturing. We should never go to war unless there is absolutely no other option, and then we should get the war over with as quickly as possible and get our people out of harms way.

I wonder how long this war would have gone on if the Bush twins were over there in the sandbox riding along with your children.

[Meatwasp]

They are all out now thank God. I still worry about the ones still there

[constituent]

My son was crew chief on a helicopter and as he flew over a poor area he saw little boys pointing sticks at them like they were rifles.
Some company had sent the soldiers hundreds of soccor balls and I went to all the thrift stores and bought all kinds of stuffed toys and sent it to him. My son threw out the balls and toys every time he flew over. soon kids were running out waving and also mothers with their kis came out waving too. It made my son so happy that he could do something like this.
I am sure those villagers had fond memories of the soldiers that did this instead of bombs

now that's the army of the future right there (take notes Rummy). kinda weird to think of teddy bears falling from the sky, but certainly the best of a terrible situation.

that'd make a cool youtube video... a bomber flying over a bunch of kids in an urban schoolyard, the doors open and you expect the bombs to drop, but all of a sudden it is just a mass (literally clouds) or teddy bears dropping out and the sky is covered w/ them, then they land all over the playground and city...

anyway. great to hear meatwasp, enjoyed your post very much!