Dear Tommy,

Sorry it took me this long to get this back to you. There's a lot of crap we have to do over here that keeps me from writing letters. I miss you too, Tommy. It's crazy over here. I definitely miss seeing you and your mom. The sergeant doesn't make quite as good of cookies as your mom does. Haha...

Iraq isn't anything like America. It's sandy here. Every inch of desert is like those nasty sections of the Jersey shore, but I'm starting to even miss those. The houses are in abysmal condition. That means like really really bad. Like disgusting. People don't have carpet. They don't have fridges. They don't have television. Some barely have food. It's so uneven.

The government has a lot more money. Some buildings are really bad, but some do look like American buildings. The government takes all the money and leaves its people in squalor. Squalor is like really really poor. Dirty and poor. It's the best way to describe Iraq.

Bush always had said that we were over here looking for terrorists. I haven't seen any. I really haven't. Not one. I see people that are angry. Angry that some people from thousands of miles away think they know what's best for them. They're bombing us, Tommy. Not because they want to kill us, but they want to get rid of us. They're not all bad people. They're angry and scared and I'm so sick of it. I'm glad that Obama got elected. If I have any luck at all, he can get us out of this mess.

Oh yeah, it's hot here. It is disgustingly hot. I've sweat so much, I could make my own Niagara Falls, given the right cliff. I wish you could send me Kool-Aid too. Every now and then we get cool stuff like that. But not enough.

I don't know when I'm getting back, Tommy. Even though I like Obama, he says one thing and then says something different. I have no idea.

You? A loser? Ha. They're idiots. They just don't know what's important in life. They think farts and burps are funny. You're eleven and you're already more political than most adults. You will go very far, Thomas Birch and I don't want to offend you, but you'll go a hell of a lot farther than your dad. Your children won't miss you. Your children will have somebody.

Listen. You are a great kid. Stay who you are. You are a rising star. I'll be back as soon as I can, whatever it takes. Don't worry about me too much, kiddo. I'll make it out.

Love,

Alex