Hello Lou,

Hope everything is alright there. it is x-mass eve. i am in baghdad right by the airport. so far this experience has been nothing like i expected. everything has changed so much since i was here last time. the highways that we run our supplies on, the bases, and the structures for us troops. it is kreepy because the stuff that they are building all says that we are not going anywhere soon.

in ways it is sick because litteraly everything is about money. it is almost like a sell out war. anything like coffee cups, t-shirts, coats, bags and on and on all have OIF logos and shit on them. i am drinking out of the lid of my thermos cause i refuse to buy a coffee mug or anything else for that matter that says OIF on it. i tell all the soldiers that are with me that this is not a fucking disney land or six flags it is a fucking warzone. people are losing life and limb every day and it is not a positive thing.

out in the open desert i feel half way safe convoying due to the fact that there are so many soft targets heading south. convoy after convoy of trucks full of oil with military escorts.

i have no faith in the descision making process of the major officers appointed above me. so far this camp i am at gets rocketed or mortared 3 or 4 times a week. my first night here we got mortared. about a week ago i woke up and 2 trailers behind me a rocket hit sometime during the night but did not explode. i took pictures of it just sticking out of the sandbags reinforcing our sleeping quarters. the same thing happened right outside where i work another rocket was found just sticking out of the ground. when i 1st got here it did not matter if it was incoming or out going i just hit the deck. now it is just like nothing at all.

at night we cant have any lights on outside because we will be a possible target. but on the other hand we are still expected to salute? mortars are hitting all around us but it is just business as usual. but now a defac [dining facility] gets hit 22 mile north of here and they decide to raise our threat level. and i put my life in the hands of the people who make these descisions?

i am sorry i did not mean to sound all negative. i wanted to make sure that my snake is healthy. has he been eating? also i take it that my car is ok? Well anyway i hope that you are having a merry x-mass. another thing i never made a copy of fahrenheit 9/11 if you could get me a copy of it i will appreciate it.

anyway i know that you are supporting us troops out here the best way posible. trying to get us back! a lot of soldiers are like sheep and dont see it that way. but know this one is really grateful for people like you.

happy brave new year.

A soldier in Iraq
Name withheld