Al Anef primary school- Abu Ghraib (the town). Renovated by US soldiers from 1st Armored Division and 414th Civil Affairs Battalion.

Samarra, Iraq- 43 schools and 11 mosques. 415th Civil Affairs battalion in cooperation with local Iraqi contractors.

Salihia Elem School- Built by soldiers from Task Force 1-27 Infantry

Sadr City, Baghdad- Community medical clinic renovated and restocked. Serves 4500 people. Work done by 478th Civil Affairs Battalion.

Al Nazana, Balad- Soldiers from 49th Movement Control Battalion renovated village elementary school and distributed school supplies.

Salahaddin University, Arbil- Opened first internet center and added 14 classrooms. Partnership with CPA and 13th Corps Support Command.

Baghdad University and al Nahrain University- classrooms rebuilt by troopers from 1-9 Cavalry Regiment.

Al Bu Bali- construction of water filtration and chlorination plant. 1 of 30 local projects undertaken by US soldiers and Iraqis.

These are just a few of the projects during the months of March and April in 2004. There are hundreds of others. US soldiers working in concert with Iraqis to rebuild, renovate, and create schools and local infrastructure that Saddam's regime didn't give a damn about. I can list many more if you're interested.

My experience over in Iraq was very positive. I worked a lot with Iraqis to restore basic support structures that were in disrepair from decades of neglect. My unit rebuilt an irrigation system for a village just north of our logistics base, collected and distributed school supplies to local elementary schools and provided basic medical care to those who had never had access to it in their lives. Today you can see satellite dishes all over Baghdad, cell phones, internet access. People have access to the world that was previously denied to them. Has this war been conducted perfectly? No. Have innocent people died? Yes. Was Iraq better off with Saddam- even prior to 1990? I think not. If we lived in a perfect world, the US wouldn't be in Iraq. Whatever the reason for us going, Iraq has a chance now to work towards democracy and individual freedom. It's a long road. You don't change a country that experienced decades of dictatorial rule and centuries of ethnic strife overnight.

This is all my personal opinion, of course. Everyone is entitled to their own, right? But I have the benefit of first hand experience there.