Publisher's Synopsis
Integrity, as a concept has to do with perceived consistency of actions and values. People use integrity as a holistic concept, judging the integrity of systems in terms of those systems' ability to achieve their own goals. Some people see integrity as the quality of having a sense of honesty and truthfulness. I believe that honesty and truthfulness' should always be at the forefront of all our interactions with others. I also believe that any government, in existence, should practice this very simple course of action. Sadly, honesty and truthfulness' have gone by the way of "wooden ships and iron men." To make matters worse, we have subjugated our troops to an area of the world where honesty has become a four letter word. The Iraqi government is basically riddled with corruption and criminals and probably beyond the reach of anticorruption investigators. The extensive corruption within the Iraqi government has strategic consequences by decreasing public support for the U.S.-backed government and by providing a source of funding for Iraqi insurgents and militias. In simple terms your basic Iraqi wandering about trying to locate his next meal, views the United States as an enabler, for a corrupt and in many ways dangerous government. But this is really nothing new, to anyone who has followed the disaster we have created in Iraq, over the past seven years. The United States has built a "House of Cards" at the expense of far too many American lives and Iraqi lives. There is no possible way the Iraqis can maintain the type of security needed to keep their government from collapsing. That has been in evidence this past fall of 2009. As the U.S. began to turn over more and more of the security operations to the Iraqi security people, we witnessed more and more bombings of buildings, right in the supposed safe "green zone." There is no safe zone. The insurgents have proven that they can operate at will and no one has the ability to stop them. As in Vietnam, back in 1975, the "House of Cards" the United States has established in Iraq will fall very quickly. You can't force sheep to become wolves. Sadly, the wolves are already on sight and just waiting for the right moment to pounce.
John Cervone was born in Queens, New York. He attended Thomas Edison High School in Jamaica, Queens and also Andrew Jackson High School in Cambria Heights Queens. He is a graduate of Saint John's University in Jamaica, Queens, New York City, with a degree in Business Management. He has been writing professionally since June of 1997. His irst published article can be found in "Military History Magazine," June 1997, in the Intrigue Section. He wrote of the Israeli attack on the USS Liberty during the "Six Day Israeli - Arab War. Mr. Cervone served as a Communications Technician, while in the US Navy, and knew some of the men killed and maimed on that horrid attack. He served with distinction during the Viet Nam War and was a member of the US Navy during the Grenada invasion, Operation Desert Shield and inally Operation Iraqi Freedom. Mr. Cervone was a inancial advisor for over twenty years and for the last ten years he has served in the National Guard as a Combat Journalist and Combat Photographer. Mr. Cervone retired from the National Guard in October of 2009. He was a highly decorated veteran and veterans advocate. John has written hundreds of articles concerning the National Guard and also historical articles. His interview, in Military History Magazine, with a survivor of the infamous "Bataan Death March" inspired him greatly and was well received by the gentleman he interviewed. John is a member of the "Battling Bastards of Bataan" an organization of "Death March" survivors, The Philippine Scouts, The Veterans of Foreign Wars and various National Guard Organizations. John has written articles for Military History Magazine, Army Magazine, Viet Now Magazine, The Guard Experience Magazine.
