WEBVTT 00:00.000 --> 00:02.111 All right . So yeah , this is matt by 00:02.111 --> 00:04.056 some a producer here in charleston 00:04.056 --> 00:06.660 south Carolina , W . C . I . V . 00:07.940 --> 00:10.850 Yeah , you say matt matt M A . T . T . 00:11.840 --> 00:14.007 Yeah . Hey matt uh retired general jim 00:14.007 --> 00:16.118 boozer . Yes , sir , I appreciate you 00:16.118 --> 00:18.470 talking to us . Um We just wanted to 00:18.470 --> 00:20.990 ask you a couple questions , seeing how 00:21.000 --> 00:24.960 you kind of a local guy done good um 00:25.440 --> 00:28.380 being from Salvador jury , I think the 00:28.380 --> 00:30.491 jury's still out on whether I've done 00:30.491 --> 00:32.713 good or not . I got you , I got you , I 00:32.713 --> 00:35.740 got you . Um we just um I just wanted 00:35.740 --> 00:37.907 to ask you a couple quick questions as 00:37.907 --> 00:39.851 far as your take on the on the war 00:39.851 --> 00:43.710 right now . Um first of 00:43.710 --> 00:46.110 all , um how bad you missed the low 00:46.110 --> 00:49.630 country being over there . Okay , matt , 00:49.630 --> 00:51.741 that's that's that's a that's a great 00:51.741 --> 00:54.150 question . Uh because I'm all pumped up 00:54.160 --> 00:56.850 being , we'll talk The folks back home 00:56.860 --> 00:59.020 uh tonight , my time , I guess it's 00:59.020 --> 01:01.100 about 10.30 . Your time . Bye . Mr 01:01.100 --> 01:04.760 Lowcountry . Something fierce . Mr food . 01:05.240 --> 01:08.370 Uh Miss the people uh folks back back 01:08.370 --> 01:11.540 home in charleston where I grew up . Uh 01:11.550 --> 01:13.460 take one day at a time . It's a 01:13.460 --> 01:15.970 lifestyle that uh I hope some day when 01:15.970 --> 01:18.192 I hang up the boots on the uniform that 01:18.192 --> 01:20.359 I have an opportunity to get back to . 01:20.359 --> 01:22.510 Uh it's where my wife is from . Uh my 01:22.510 --> 01:25.610 kids were all born , as you can imagine 01:25.620 --> 01:28.490 across this globe . Two were born in 01:28.490 --> 01:31.510 Germany one in Oklahoma one at Fort 01:31.510 --> 01:33.440 Lewis Washington . But they all 01:33.440 --> 01:36.580 consider themselves Carolinians . So it 01:36.580 --> 01:38.680 means an awful lot to us . Uh And I 01:38.680 --> 01:40.680 like I said , I hope one day to get 01:40.680 --> 01:43.350 back home . God , how , when you're in 01:43.350 --> 01:45.880 Iraq and you see the pictures and and 01:45.880 --> 01:49.460 and everything that's going on . How 01:51.340 --> 01:53.560 can you describe the people , how far 01:54.040 --> 01:56.350 emotionally you feel from home ? 01:58.640 --> 02:00.751 Well , anytime we have an opportunity 02:00.751 --> 02:03.670 met uh to speak uh to the , to the 02:03.680 --> 02:06.030 american people , whether it's back 02:06.030 --> 02:08.580 home , like I'm doing with you uh 02:08.590 --> 02:11.880 tonight or or whether it's from all of 02:11.880 --> 02:14.670 the great support we get from the folks 02:14.670 --> 02:17.410 that travel over uh to see us . It's 02:17.410 --> 02:20.770 like bringing a piece home uh , here uh , 02:20.780 --> 02:24.090 to Iraq . And so it's um , it does , 02:24.090 --> 02:27.430 this does this good to get cards , 02:27.430 --> 02:30.690 letters , email , uh and to hear the 02:30.690 --> 02:33.270 shout outs from the people back home 02:33.280 --> 02:35.336 and there's no doubt in the soldiers 02:35.336 --> 02:38.630 minds here in Iraq , that the people uh 02:38.640 --> 02:41.600 the great people of our great country 02:41.610 --> 02:43.860 support us uh in what we're doing . 02:44.340 --> 02:48.300 Okay . What about um how do you feel 02:48.310 --> 02:51.100 um more of a national level now . Um 02:51.100 --> 02:53.267 how do you feel about , you know , the 02:53.267 --> 02:55.600 talk of , you know , either pullouts or , 02:55.600 --> 02:58.710 you know , um continue ahead because 02:58.720 --> 03:00.998 the recent surge is working , you know , 03:00.998 --> 03:03.109 what is your side ? And how would you 03:03.109 --> 03:05.331 convince somebody to , to convince them 03:05.331 --> 03:08.560 of , of , of of your side ? Well , I , 03:08.560 --> 03:11.030 I just tell them really my , my 03:11.030 --> 03:13.790 personal story . Uh this is my third 03:13.790 --> 03:16.740 tour in Iraq . I was here when we 03:16.740 --> 03:19.750 kicked this off in 2003 came back again 03:19.750 --> 03:22.910 in 2005 am on my third tour here now , 03:22.920 --> 03:26.050 arrived in country in September of 2007 . 03:26.740 --> 03:29.970 Um I would tell you Over that time 03:29.970 --> 03:32.440 period , I have seen the country of 03:32.440 --> 03:35.900 Iraq move forward . The people of Iraq 03:35.910 --> 03:39.860 want a secure Iraq , a stable Iraq , a 03:39.860 --> 03:43.800 safe Iraq . They want to be a member of 03:43.800 --> 03:47.150 the international community . Uh when I 03:47.150 --> 03:51.130 left here in 2005 , uh I knew 03:51.130 --> 03:53.410 we had a long way to go . Uh but I can 03:53.410 --> 03:55.521 tell you in a short time , we've come 03:55.521 --> 03:58.560 an awful , awful long way . Uh and we , 03:58.570 --> 04:00.630 as you know , soldiers , sailors , 04:00.640 --> 04:02.920 airmen , marines , uh we have built 04:02.920 --> 04:05.890 some american blood here . Uh This 04:05.890 --> 04:08.250 fight does not go without a cost . The 04:08.250 --> 04:11.420 cost uh as you know , uh is american 04:11.420 --> 04:14.290 lives , but this country wants their 04:14.290 --> 04:16.346 life back . The american people want 04:16.346 --> 04:18.920 their life back and we believe in what 04:18.920 --> 04:21.310 we're doing here . We've seen the 04:21.310 --> 04:25.020 search work uh and we think the right 04:25.020 --> 04:27.940 thing to do again is to keep this on a 04:27.940 --> 04:31.670 conditions based assessment . You 04:31.670 --> 04:34.000 can't really put this , this deployment 04:34.010 --> 04:36.170 on a timeline on how long will be in 04:36.170 --> 04:38.380 Iraq . But the progress we've seen the 04:38.380 --> 04:40.436 government make the Iraqi , security 04:40.436 --> 04:42.450 forces make just during the surge 04:42.450 --> 04:45.260 period is very , very encouraging . 04:46.140 --> 04:48.760 Okay , um what 04:50.540 --> 04:53.260 from the beginning to this point , what 04:53.640 --> 04:55.751 what has surprised you the most about 04:55.751 --> 04:56.751 the conflict . 04:59.140 --> 05:01.850 Well , one of the things I think I've 05:01.850 --> 05:05.560 seen in my time here uh is 05:06.140 --> 05:08.362 I I have been surprised here recently . 05:08.362 --> 05:10.710 And how , well , the Iraqi security 05:10.710 --> 05:13.350 forces are coming along , especially 05:13.350 --> 05:15.461 the Iraqi army . Since I left here in 05:15.461 --> 05:18.740 2005 , the Iraqi Army has taken Great 05:18.740 --> 05:21.150 Strides in training and developing a 05:21.150 --> 05:23.260 professional army . The Minister of 05:23.260 --> 05:25.260 Defense and the Iraqi ground forces 05:25.260 --> 05:27.770 commander uh have have made great 05:27.770 --> 05:31.370 strides in training a professional 05:31.380 --> 05:33.510 Iraqi army . They're doing things now 05:33.510 --> 05:35.680 that they couldn't do just a short two 05:35.680 --> 05:38.050 years ago . They're able to move forces 05:38.050 --> 05:40.920 around uh Iraq deploying them in 05:40.920 --> 05:42.920 different places , where they where 05:42.920 --> 05:44.864 they think they need them , a good 05:44.864 --> 05:47.680 example , uh , is involved . Uh There 05:47.680 --> 05:49.902 were forces that were taken from within 05:49.902 --> 05:52.124 Iraq and moved to Bosnia . They've done 05:52.124 --> 05:54.236 the same thing up north here in the D 05:54.236 --> 05:56.180 north , when they moved additional 05:56.180 --> 05:58.620 forces in Mosul the army and the 05:58.620 --> 06:00.676 government could not have done those 06:00.676 --> 06:02.787 kind of things two years ago . That's 06:02.787 --> 06:04.898 the kind of progress they're making . 06:04.898 --> 06:07.120 Uh and I gotta tell you , uh in a short 06:07.120 --> 06:09.342 amount of time , if you think about our 06:09.342 --> 06:11.810 country when it was developing , uh and 06:11.810 --> 06:14.690 how long it took our country to get 06:14.700 --> 06:16.533 states rights and federal rights 06:16.533 --> 06:19.050 figured out uh and to grow an army and 06:19.050 --> 06:20.994 to train it and the people do what 06:20.994 --> 06:24.250 we're able to do . It takes time the 06:24.260 --> 06:26.740 security situation that the surge has 06:26.740 --> 06:29.080 brought is allowing that government now 06:29.090 --> 06:32.680 slowly but surely to progress . Uh , 06:32.680 --> 06:34.736 and that's the biggest surprise I've 06:34.736 --> 06:37.730 seen since the election in 2005 . Okay . 06:37.740 --> 06:40.700 Um , back here at home . Um , last 06:40.700 --> 06:42.910 question , you know , obviously , it 06:42.910 --> 06:44.854 must seem , you know , more than a 06:44.854 --> 06:47.021 million miles away . Looking at that , 06:47.021 --> 06:48.910 you know , areas of Iraq and hear 06:48.910 --> 06:51.132 people who has never been in the United 06:51.132 --> 06:53.132 States or areas of the country I've 06:53.132 --> 06:55.466 ever asked you explain to me what homes , 06:55.466 --> 06:58.380 like ? How do you explain ? That's 06:58.380 --> 07:00.660 that's another good question . Uh , 07:02.140 --> 07:05.090 You know , I've got uh , my family , my 07:05.090 --> 07:07.257 extended family , my mom , my dad , my 07:07.257 --> 07:09.980 brothers all live in in south Carolina , 07:09.990 --> 07:12.630 most of them in the charleston area as 07:12.630 --> 07:16.000 well as my wife nancy . Uh , and when 07:16.000 --> 07:18.056 we're back home in charleston and in 07:18.056 --> 07:20.810 Mount Pleasant south Carolina . Uh , it 07:20.810 --> 07:24.030 is , it truly is like being home 07:24.030 --> 07:27.850 because everyone uh , in that great 07:27.850 --> 07:30.072 state specifically in the low country , 07:30.072 --> 07:32.210 uh , his family , uh , I mean , your 07:32.210 --> 07:34.320 best friends treat you like family . 07:34.330 --> 07:36.386 And when I have been able to go back 07:36.386 --> 07:40.360 home , uh , it's been uh , 07:40.440 --> 07:42.607 you know , some of the best moments of 07:42.607 --> 07:44.829 my life , I haven't spent 28 years here 07:44.829 --> 07:47.040 in the Army . I'm able to get back 07:47.040 --> 07:49.262 every now and then . And I look forward 07:49.262 --> 07:51.484 to it every time . And in fact , I hope 07:51.484 --> 07:53.484 to be coming back uh , to the Great 07:53.484 --> 07:55.596 State of South Carolina in Charleston 07:55.596 --> 07:57.873 here in May when I come home and leave . 07:57.873 --> 08:00.370 My son who was also deployed here in 08:00.370 --> 08:03.340 Iraq just departed . Uh , and like I 08:03.340 --> 08:05.396 said , he looks at south Carolina is 08:05.396 --> 08:07.618 his home and that's where he's headed . 08:07.840 --> 08:11.450 Um , there was a , 08:12.240 --> 08:14.073 the thing that just , you know , 08:14.073 --> 08:16.190 fascinates me the most is how , you 08:16.190 --> 08:20.010 know , it's hard to articulate like in 08:20.010 --> 08:22.121 the news and you know , you'll see in 08:22.121 --> 08:24.288 three or four minute pieces even , you 08:24.288 --> 08:26.510 know , how , how bad it is over there , 08:26.510 --> 08:28.970 but yet how much , you know , good is 08:28.970 --> 08:31.026 being done or how much good could be 08:31.026 --> 08:33.240 done , You know , for instance , um , 08:33.250 --> 08:35.361 there's a boy here at M . U . S . C . 08:35.361 --> 08:37.361 Now , he was just brought over from 08:37.361 --> 08:39.740 Iraq . His name's um , are , and he's 08:39.750 --> 08:41.972 um , I think he was seven years old and 08:41.972 --> 08:44.990 a simple procedure to set up a hole in 08:44.990 --> 08:47.310 his heart , which , which is done here , 08:47.360 --> 08:51.180 you know , you know , a fairly common 08:51.180 --> 08:53.236 surgery here and you know , it's six 08:53.236 --> 08:55.291 months old for Children . He's lived 08:55.291 --> 08:57.458 with it for seven years . They fly him 08:57.458 --> 08:59.513 over easily have done in an hour and 08:59.513 --> 08:59.470 this kid , you know , is happy and 08:59.470 --> 09:01.660 healthy again . And you know , it's 09:01.660 --> 09:03.771 such a shame that they don't have the 09:03.771 --> 09:06.270 opportunity to , you know , to have 09:06.270 --> 09:08.560 things like that over there . And 09:08.570 --> 09:12.050 that's why I say it's , it's culturally 09:12.050 --> 09:13.606 and you know , socially and 09:13.606 --> 09:15.828 economically it is just a million miles 09:15.828 --> 09:19.770 away and how , how far they are 09:19.780 --> 09:22.450 from , from being , you know , 09:23.140 --> 09:26.840 close to comfortable and feeling 09:26.840 --> 09:29.900 secure . Yeah , man , that's , 09:29.910 --> 09:32.750 that's a good question . Also a very 09:32.750 --> 09:34.650 tough one to try to respond to 09:34.660 --> 09:36.980 understand . Yeah , no , but there are 09:36.980 --> 09:39.091 so many different factors involved in 09:39.091 --> 09:42.090 that this country has , I think , great 09:42.090 --> 09:45.940 potential in great capability for 09:45.950 --> 09:49.480 capacity uh to grow . Uh I 09:49.480 --> 09:52.160 mean , if you just look at their all 09:52.340 --> 09:54.770 Exports uh and the amount of money the 09:54.770 --> 09:56.937 government is able to generate , which 09:56.937 --> 09:59.590 will get them uh new hospitals and new 09:59.590 --> 10:03.360 clinics uh in 2007 , 10:03.370 --> 10:07.060 they exported 37 million barrels of oil , 10:07.640 --> 10:09.751 much , much better than they had done 10:09.751 --> 10:12.620 in the past , not the pre war levels In 10:12.620 --> 10:15.400 2008 , they've already exported 38 10:15.410 --> 10:18.920 million . So they're going to exceed uh 10:18.930 --> 10:21.810 well exceed what they did in 2007 as 10:21.810 --> 10:24.670 they work to reach the prewar levels . 10:24.680 --> 10:26.791 And that's going to generate , as you 10:26.791 --> 10:30.250 can imagine uh money capital to 10:30.250 --> 10:34.080 reinvest in schools and hospitals . Uh 10:34.080 --> 10:36.310 oh and better roads and the government 10:36.320 --> 10:40.110 is well on its way uh slowly but 10:40.110 --> 10:41.999 well on its way in developing the 10:41.999 --> 10:44.180 capacity to spend money , execute 10:44.180 --> 10:46.500 budgets . You gotta remember this was a 10:46.500 --> 10:49.230 centralized government under one regime . 10:49.240 --> 10:51.940 Uh The provincial leaders , what we 10:51.940 --> 10:54.760 would call governors have a budget now , 10:54.940 --> 10:56.884 they're learning how to spend that 10:56.884 --> 10:58.940 money and that's where they're gonna 10:58.940 --> 11:00.718 put it in hospitals , schools , 11:00.718 --> 11:04.310 roadways , waterways , canals , and 11:04.320 --> 11:06.598 fixing their electrical infrastructure , 11:06.598 --> 11:10.480 I think in in 3 to 5 years that you're 11:10.480 --> 11:14.360 gonna see , uh , Iraq clearly 11:14.370 --> 11:17.450 able to stand on its own . The security 11:17.450 --> 11:19.339 situation , as you know , is , is 11:19.339 --> 11:21.790 improving day by day . Uh , just that , 11:21.790 --> 11:25.690 since september we've seen remarkable 11:25.700 --> 11:28.820 drops in violence , 11:28.830 --> 11:31.560 uh , just about every category . 11:32.240 --> 11:35.190 Okay . All right . Well , um , general , 11:35.190 --> 11:37.357 I appreciate you having to me and good 11:37.357 --> 11:39.301 luck to you . And thank you . Uh , 11:39.301 --> 11:39.050 thank you for all your doing over there . 11:40.340 --> 11:42.673 Okay , Matt . Uh , thank you . And , uh , 11:42.673 --> 11:44.784 I wish everybody , uh , back in south 11:44.784 --> 11:46.784 Carolina . A great evening . Okay . 11:46.784 --> 11:50.060 Thank you . All right . Thanks for that .