The Ellis Boys

I want to make a shout out to my cousins. This weekend my family went to San Antonio, Texas for my cousin Cameron’s graduation from Air Force Basic training. I was also excited about the trip because his brother, Jason, had just come home from his tour in Iraq as a Marine. Jason and I were very close growing up, but we do not get to see each other very often anymore. We had a fun time with the Ellis family exploring the River Walk and catching up. More importantly I just wanted to express my gratitude to my cousins and all others who have served this country. Both Cam and Jason are such fine young men, and I am proud of both of them for their willingness to risk their lives. San Antonio was full of men and women who are finishing boot, and everywhere you looked you could see them in their uniforms, it was very patriotic. I and my family are thankful to the Ellis’s for allowing us to join their family this weekend and take part in this occasion.

I also had the chance to talk to Jason for just a short time about his experiences in Iraq and about attitudes of the people there and our troops. I have written some about the war and my outside field of study for my Ph.D. is the modern middle east, but this was the first that I spoke to someone on the ground. I have not wanted to write much until I had. This was his impressions, and so do not represent what all soldiers and marines think, but it was interesting. I asked him who the troops wanted to win the election, and he said they did not care; they were going to do their job no matter who won. But when I asked him if the troops wanted to stay or pull out, he said they just want to go home. I asked if the people there wanted us to stay. He said the wealthy did, they had more stability now and better lives, but the average person was tired of us being there. They just want to run their own country and question if we will ever leave. I asked if things will ever get better and he seemed to have serious doubts. He explained how Sadam used the different tribes against each other. He would support and fund one powerful tribe in the area who keep all the others in their place. That was how Sadam kept power. Now with US presence, we have tried to stop this tribal system, but it is hard for people who have been fighting for so long to now get along and work together. He did see it as possible, but very difficult. I found his report very sobering, leaving me with doubts of any possibility of success. I am one who does not believe peace will ever be achieved in Israel, and so start to question if peace is possible in the Middle East. Turkey and Egypt have had a very successful democracy for years (Turkey much longer than Egypt) so it is possible, I just do not know if America can hold out long enough to find out.

This war had been hard on our troops. Jason had funny stories about Iraq, but then you could see a difference when he talked about having firefights and Marines dying. He lost a few men when they were close to coming home and that was hard on them. I can not imagine what it was like to him, I am just glad he made it home safely. I am still pleased with the way, we as a nation have celebrated our troops. I hope we continue to do so, whether or not we agree with the war, these are brave men and women and they deserve our best. I am a better man for having known my cousin Jason, he is a true friend (see blog on friends) and I hope it will not be as long until we see each other again. So Cam and Jason, thank you for what you do.