thedrifter
03-03-06, 06:49 AM
Marine says U.S. winning hearts of Iraqis
10NBC
We see the pictures. We read the headlines. But are we really getting the whole story from Iraq? At least one local Marine doesn't think so. Master Gunnery Sgt. Peter Ferrin arrived back home last week after his second tour of duty in Iraq. He was the communications chief with the second marine expeditionary force at Camp Fallujah.
On Wednesday Ferrin took time to visit third-graders at Fairport's Northside Elementary School who wrote him letters while overseas. “For all the nice things you wrote...poems, and artwork. It really meant a lot to me.”
Ferrin joined the marines in 1969 and served in Vietnam. He retired from the reserves last June, only to be called back to active duty in August. He says most Iraqis want U.S. help.
“They're getting killed by the hundreds by these people that have absolutely no respect for life whatsoever. Most of the people, I'd say probably 90 or 95 percent of the bad guys that we either catch or kill are not Iraqis. They come in from other countries.
Ferrin thinks the national media are not telling the whole story about the U.S. role in Iraq. “We see what's transpired since we went in three years ago. We see how the people are slowly taking care of themselves. We're getting there with military training, the police. And it's good to see this because it's not a wasted effort.”
But is Democracy taking hold in Iraq? Dr. Sharon Murphy is a professor of political science, and a Mideast expert, at Nazareth College. “Political scientists know that democracy isn't something that can be implanted from the outside. Democracy is something that comes as a part of political development over a long period of time. There are a lot of people in the United States who feel so frustrated that we haven't been able to be successful, and they want our troops to come out. But now that we're there, if we pulled out lickety split right now, we would leave them to a civil war. And we did do that in Vietnam finally.”
Marine Master Gunnery Sgt. Ferrin is on leave only a week and will be going back to Camp Lejeune. He can't personally thank everyone who sent letters and packages but he wants people to know that servicemen and women there say thanks from the bottom of their hearts and quote” it's a great feeling to hear from back home.
Ellie
10NBC
We see the pictures. We read the headlines. But are we really getting the whole story from Iraq? At least one local Marine doesn't think so. Master Gunnery Sgt. Peter Ferrin arrived back home last week after his second tour of duty in Iraq. He was the communications chief with the second marine expeditionary force at Camp Fallujah.
On Wednesday Ferrin took time to visit third-graders at Fairport's Northside Elementary School who wrote him letters while overseas. “For all the nice things you wrote...poems, and artwork. It really meant a lot to me.”
Ferrin joined the marines in 1969 and served in Vietnam. He retired from the reserves last June, only to be called back to active duty in August. He says most Iraqis want U.S. help.
“They're getting killed by the hundreds by these people that have absolutely no respect for life whatsoever. Most of the people, I'd say probably 90 or 95 percent of the bad guys that we either catch or kill are not Iraqis. They come in from other countries.
Ferrin thinks the national media are not telling the whole story about the U.S. role in Iraq. “We see what's transpired since we went in three years ago. We see how the people are slowly taking care of themselves. We're getting there with military training, the police. And it's good to see this because it's not a wasted effort.”
But is Democracy taking hold in Iraq? Dr. Sharon Murphy is a professor of political science, and a Mideast expert, at Nazareth College. “Political scientists know that democracy isn't something that can be implanted from the outside. Democracy is something that comes as a part of political development over a long period of time. There are a lot of people in the United States who feel so frustrated that we haven't been able to be successful, and they want our troops to come out. But now that we're there, if we pulled out lickety split right now, we would leave them to a civil war. And we did do that in Vietnam finally.”
Marine Master Gunnery Sgt. Ferrin is on leave only a week and will be going back to Camp Lejeune. He can't personally thank everyone who sent letters and packages but he wants people to know that servicemen and women there say thanks from the bottom of their hearts and quote” it's a great feeling to hear from back home.
Ellie