Things I have been thinking about

This post will be disjointed and rambling. Just some thoughts on how we operate. Tonight on our patrol we recieved some intelligence about some strange dudes living in the neighborhood. We went into their home and talked to them. The said they were Sudanese Guards, and they all had passports and weapons cards, but they either wouldn't tell us, or didn't know who they were working for. They are just living in the house and collecting a paycheck. That's either no way, or sweet! They had Aks, gas masks, and all kinds off military paraphanelia. Anyway, the point is, we had to rely on our interpreter to get information, and follow up by calling the phone numbers the "guards" provided us. I am starting to feel very uncertain about using indigenous translators. They can decide to pursue interests not in our favor, and how would we know until it's too late? Why doesn't the Army use the year we aren't deployed to engage in intensive linguistic education for all soldiers?
Another thing I have been considering is all the hype in America about bringing us home. I have two points on this subject. One, we came here and destroyed this place, we should stay until it is fixed! Two, the local populous seems to believe that the terrorists are coming from outside the country, and they are here because it is a convienient place to attack Americans. They feel that if we leave, the bombings will stop. While they certainly are using logic in their thought process, I believe it is flawed. At this time, the country will regress into a civil war of massive proportions without American firepower keeping a semblance of peace and order. Once we have trained and assured proper equipping of the country's peacekeeping force, that is when we can leave them to their own devices. I feel that even then, if America completely leaves Iraq, it will never be a free country. It's history tells us this. You can see it in the new Army. As soon as a man gets some power, instead of using it for the benefit of others, he most often uses it for himself. It's not that they are evil people, it's just the way things have been here for so long, it's hard to break old habits.