Ladies and Gentlemen,

Thank you all for your positive responses to my article, "Media's coverage has distorted world's view of Iraqi reality ". I never imagined that what started out as a long email to family and friends and evolved into a real long essay would get so much wide-spread attention.

I want to apologize for taking so long to respond, many of you wrote several weeks ago. The last two weeks of January were really hectic for us as we were busy catching "bad guys" and digging up weapons caches (see this week's Time magazine "Hunt for the Bomb Factories" by Mick Ware) in order to ensure the safety of the elections on the 30th. Since then, we pulled up stakes and headed south to Kuwait after 404 days (we counted every one of them!) in Iraq. We should head back to the good ol' U.S.A. in the next two weeks, get our feet back under us for about two weeks and then take thirty days of much needed leave.

I want you all to know that the positive support that you all show back home really makes a difference to the folks over here slugging it out everyday. We are making a difference and we couldn't do it without the support from people like you all.

I predict that things will be much better in a year than they are now. The period from April to December of last year was the high-water mark of the insurgency and now the people have cast their votes for the future. You can't imagine how we felt to see little old women, mothers, fathers and Iraqis from all walks of their society braving mortar and suicide bomb attacks to cast their votes that Sunday.

Now the hard-liners see that their days are numbered unless they also take part in the process. This will not be easy, but as I like to say: if wars were easy and painless, everyone would have one and nobody would ever give up. We won't give up – the American voters also cast their ballots to see this thing through.

As for requests for interviews, etc, I'll try to work what I can before I take leave in the beginning of March. Then, I have thirty days to catch up with my wife, three daughters, two dogs, two horses and cat. I'll be busy. My access to email until I get back to Ft Hood will be limited, but I'll try to reply as soon as possible. Thank you all for your support.

Regards,
LTC Tim Ryan