Who is the enemy?

In the past few days several incidents have made me think a bit harder about what we're doing here, why we do it, and what makes us different from the enemy we fight. The anti-War crowd cries all the time about how we are the enemy and compares our war here to the attacks on our sovereign nation on September 11th. They accuse the solders here of killing indiscriminately and say the US is responsible for atrocities to the Iraqi people every day. That we are no better than our enemy.

Recently, while we were all sitting around in some of our precious free time, a call came in over our radios saying that they needed two people from our section for some helicopter mission. Not knowing what was going on and wanting to get a ride in a blackhawk, everyone volunteered. Two people were chosen, and I drove them from our housing area over to the small LZ (Landing Zone). When we arrived at the LZ they informed us that it was a prisoner that we were transporting. He was severely wounded in a firefight the night before, and he was being Medevaced to a state of the art hospital to save his life. The man was brought out in extreme pain, with casts on both legs, placed on the helicopter and flown away. He arrived at the hospital and is currently undergoing treatment. He is expected to live.

Now this was a man who was wounded while firing at American and Iraqi soldiers with the intent to kill us. Looking at the man on the stretcher, I knew that if he were not so severely wounded and under guard, he would without a doubt attempt to take my life that very instant. This man hated me and was my sworn enemy, yet I was willing to escort him to a hospital where they would perform surgeries to save his very life. And my government who he despised had payed to transport him by helicopter and for his comprehensive medical bills.

The question raised is this: If I were injured in the exact same way and left in a back alley of Baghdad, how would I be treated? And THAT is why we are entirely unlike our enemy. I will no longer tolerate the argument that we are just as cruel as the insurgents who place roadside bombs on the streets of this city.

More later,
Trey