Trip to Iraq
Medical Supplies
Among the medical supplies were IV kits, antibiotics, crucial medical hardware, and an entire tub of medicines. The equipment was gathered from medical samples and left-overs donated by local doctors from their practices. All of the supplies were provided directly to doctors and medical personel for use in public hospitals. This trip was only a small part of NDCF's continuing medical relief program, which has spanned more than two decades, providing more than 140 tons of medical supplies to innocent civilians in some of the hottest combat zones on the planet.
On the ground...
NDCF donors will recall from fundraising letters and emails that Major Messing was promised the official Department of Defense tour to Iraq by Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld on multiple occaisions. Major never went on this celebrity/public-relations tour, however. Instead, he relied on friends, aquaintances and good-hearted Americans in Iraq for information, transportation, and help.
...searching for the truth
Major Messing used his time in Iraq to visit with with soldiers, civilians, and decisionmakers who deal with the day-to-day reality there. Special Forces training, decades of experience, and visits to 28 combat zones have honed his sense for the ground truth. Just as visiting El Salvadoran missionaries told a different story than reporters thousands of miles away could have, so visiting with American soldiers and Iraqi civilians led to a far different view of the insurgency in Iraq than news coverage and politicized rhetoric.Among his conclusions:
- The $18.4 billion in aid money authorized months ago is just beginning to flow to Iraqis. The spigot is open: more adults will be employed, more children will attend school, and more public works will open.
- Accordingly, the conduct of American troops and reconstruction personnel over the next six months will determine the outcome of the insurgency. With all the resources in hand, if officials cannot turn the situation around now, they will face an uphill continuing battle.
- Most soldiers and contractors on the ground are excited for the opportunity to help Iraqis recover from the rule of Saddam Hussein. American soldiers have displayed all the ingeneuity and hard work that is their birthright. If America fails in Iraq, it will not be for lack of effort. Politics aside, soldiers are doing their patriotic and humanitarian duty.
- To harvest the goodwill of American soldiers and win the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people, American policymakers must create a wider civic action strategy. The progressing building projects which have done so much to bring progress must be expanded into a single, wide-scale plan to rebuild Iraq with the help and affection of the Iraqi people. Only so dramatic and public a success will overturn the tribal, religious, and political affiliations which now undermine the central government.
For more detail, read Major's Op-Ed in the Washington Times: Silver Linings In Iraq Clouds, published on August 20, 2004.
Photos
Top left: Major Messing meets with former intern and now 1st Lieutenant Mike Kolodzie. Right: Major Messing speaks with Ambassador Negroponte. Bottom left: An American soldier in the military hospital. Right: Military police patrol in front of Saddam's grand palace.
About NDCF
The National Defense Council Foundation is a non-profit think-tank located in Alexandria, VA. It focuses on low-intensity conflict, drug wars, and energy security. Major Messing is NDCF's Executive Director and a retired Army Reserve Special Forces soldier.
To learn more about NDCF, see our 2006 activities. To donate to the Foundation, provide medical supplies or apply for an internship, email us.