Shangri La in Iraq!

Well, the drive to Mosul from Baghdad was uneventful thank God. I'm here now and what a difference! There are foothills to the North of the city made up of craggy rocks and sporadic brush and trees. It's looks as if a giant took his hand and clawed from the bottom to the top of every hill. Water flows in places and the whole place is green with low grass and shrubs. The city of Mosul is larger than I imagined. It is bustling with life and at night, they actually have lights throughout most of the city. Directly to the North of Mosul is Kurdistan. I think people are still arguing whether 'Kurdistan' really exists but believe me, they have the border between Kurdish controlled Iraq and regular old Iraq locked down fairly well. The Kurdish soldiers are called the Pesh Merga. I have not had time to look up why they are called such but they are a joy to be around after spending 45 days in the Western desert with the Crazies. Once you cross the border, you go through the foothills for a few miles and into an enormous valley East to West. The soil is fertile and there are farmers selling their wares from the backs of pickups. Potatoes and onions and stuff. To the North of the large valley, you enter the mountains. I have heard since being in country, of the towns in Kurdistan. They are the only places in this country that I have heard of people taking off their flak jackets and walking openly in the streets and shops.

Today, I had the pleasure of doing just this. The drive was beautiful through the mountains. I can fully understand how the Kurds kept the Iraqi army at bay after driving through them. The mountains provide on of the finest defensive positions in the whole country. You must travel through deep valleys to get through them and any invading ground force would be churnned up immediatly when trying to do so. Once in the city, just like in the stories, everyone started dropping their vests and weapons. I was in shock for a while walking on the street and shops without a vest but I was assured when I saw other Americans there doing the same. Like idiots, we'd smile wide and just walk up to each other and introduce ourselves and talk about the place where we were and how wonderful it was. The most surprising thing about the shops was that they held pretty steady with American prices. I thought I'd find cheap shopping heaven but I wasn't dissappointed because they had just about one of everything!

The next and most strange thing that we did was walk into a restaurant. I haven't forgotten what a restaurant is like, but it sure was strange to walk into a restaurant in Iraqi albeit controlled by the Kurdish forces. When we walked in, it was smiles from one end of the restaurant to the other. Everyone said hello and we were seated. The restaurant was a deli style looking place with plastic tables and windows that looked out onto the busy street. I asked for a menu but when I couldn't make heads or tails of even the English part, the waiter took notice and turned the menu over to the pictures. Everything looked great so we all picked our favorite picture and ordered. While the meal was being prepared a host of things were brought to the table apparently as appetizers or to be eaten with the meal. A large dish of sliced cucumbers in a light yogurt sprinkled with fresh dill. My mouth almost fell apart when I ate that because it was so good. Next was a large dish of green olives that had been marinated in what tasted like a white wine. Oh......the joy. A soup was served as was bread and a large plate of Chick peas and also a meatish, vegatable mixture that tasted like the veggies were just picked. At last a centerpeice of varying cut fruits and vegatables and pickles and cheeses was put before us. There were forks and spoons flying all over that table!!! We hadn't even recieved our meals yet!!!! Had I actually been shot at that point, I would have died with a smile on my face!!!

Next came the main course. I can't remember the name of my dish but it was a combination of rice mixed with vegatables and raisins and chicken baked into a bread somehow. the whole thing was about as big as a head of lettuce. My comrades got chicken kabob and my dish as well. When we were just about finished with our meals the waiter brought out a plastic pitcher and placed it on the table. I don't know how he even got the pitcher on the table for all the plates of food that were present!!!!! My friend inquired as to what was in the pitcher. We were told that it was a light yogurt and cream milk mixture for after dinner. It was spooky to look at when my friend drank it but when he gave me the 'You gotta try this' look, off I went. It was delicious as well but I wanted to limit it because I just didn't recognise what it was! After that we shopped for about an hour and drove back.

My last blog was a plea for some sanity and peace. I have found it in the most unlikely of places. They are fighting on a daily basis in Mosul. Helicopters buzz over the city on a constant basis and the fighting will be a while but I know that just to the North, my Shangri La awaits my return.

I Dream Of Invincibility

I don't know why but in the past few days since I've been back in Baghdad, I've been considering the possibilities of invincibility. What I mean to say is, if you look at the overall contractor deaths in the country, and I in no way take away the tragedy of any one of my brothers and sisters deaths here, but the contractors deaths are a very small number even in the two years or so that this has been going on. I keep having a recurring........fantasy about just walking out the gate and up the street to get a morning newspaper and a coffee or something. I am by no means insane as the fantasy suggests though. Only curious. I would like to be invincible for a few hours and just walk around Baghdad or drive with the windows down just waving to the people beside me in traffic. How long would I last? 1 minute? 2 hours? I don't know.

You have to understand that the Americans who live here, live in a bottle of sorts. Sure we see the country and meet the people but we see the country peering out of our tinted windows with weapons at the ready and a stone in our gut just waiting to get it. Even people who have been here for any length of time will tell you, it doesn't get any easier. I wish I didn't have to wait to die while I'm riding through such a beautiful country. I would like to stop and get out if I see something interesting. Daily living is the same way. We are surrounded by Iraqis that are on board with us. We work with these bright, intelligent, and hard working people on a daily basis. The thing that is the most painfull however is the fact that any Iraqi outside of our circles IS, not might be, IS a terrorist. I don't mean that all the Iraqi people are terrorists, I mean, from our standpoint, you have to watch every single thing you do when out with the population.

I'm sure that journalists and others would argue with me that they walk the streets in relative safety in certain parts of the country, but the simple truth is that NOBODY knows... It could come in the car riding next to you. It could come in the way of an IED. It could come from any direction at any time and that is a fact. I truly wish we could solve this problem of terrorism. I think we have to start thinking in terms that are entirely out of the box. We really need to take the politically correct gloves off and finish this thing. But How? That's the million dollar question isn't it? What do they want? For the United States to leave? Why? For what reason? So that a new regime of terror can begin again? So that lives on both sides of the war would be just wasted for nothing? The think that is, I think, the most unfair is that all of the people that I have met here whether it be for my company or another are here to HELP!! They want to go out on the streets and do the job they came to do. Rebuild a country. Instead we all sneak from one secure site to another praying we are not attacked by "insurgents". Once these people learn that their belief in winning is futile. That we will NEVER leave, perhaps they will come to their senses and get on board to make some money or make some kids or make just anything but bloodshed in the name of self interest. When? If I were invincible, I'd let you know.

Back In Baghdad

I'm back in Baghdad. I have my own room. I have food at my fingertips. I have air and internet connection. I have a few days off before I leave for another site up North. The ride back into a city this size was shocking to the system at best. I haven't seen a tree or anything green for a month and a half and the most people I have been around in that time is maybe 200. I was surprised first by the temperature. I rolled my window down a few inches to throw a cigarette out the window while we were driving through Baghdad traffic and my hand felt like I put it in an oven on 100. The temperature in the desert is around 75 or 80 degrees with a cool breeze blowing. Baghdad however, is like a blast furnace. It probably isn't over 90 here but with the traffic and concrete and sun, it feels muggy and sticky.

The sheer amount of people was shocking as well. When you drive through Baghdad, you weave and honk and swerve driving fractions of an inch away from the next car. You never really know when a weapon will be raised or a mortar or car bomb will go off next to you so you nervous system goes on a kind of overload. I was aware of every little thing from the guy in the car next to me to the rooftops some 100 meters away. We made it back to base safe and sound. Once I got here, all the adrenaline drained away and I was tired.

There is a cook in each house. I met the cook for my house who knew I had spent the past month in the field so he asked what I wanted to eat the most. PIZZA!!!! PIZZA!!! He laughed and began to make pizza within the next few minutes. I could smell it cooking in the kitchen and I could barely stand it. By the time I got to sit down to eat it, I looked like someone that has spent a lot of time in the field!!! Everyone laughed and we had a good time. No one is laughing about the pizza anymore because now, that is what the cook makes for lunch and dinner and I've been here for four days!!! HA! Oh well, I'll be rolling out again in a few days so I'm not going to complain.

I'm headed for the North or Iraq for my next stop. I saw pictures of the camp yesterday and that too will be a shock I'm sure. I've been living in a 20 foot cargo box for 45 days and relying on convoys to get what I need. Where I'm going has nice, two story buildings with indoor plumbing and abundant supplies within a few miles. There are trade-offs to this luxery however. There is a lot more fighting there and there a daily mortars in the area. I am actually becoming accustomed to gunfire and loud booms. Here in Baghdad, there are a couple really good gunfights a day. I'll be talking with someone outside, a gunfight breaks out a block away, you both stop talking and listen until it ends and then just pick up the conversation where it left off. Weird. I'll keep my head down and hope for the best.

One more thing. I have been listening to Freedom Radio while I've been here. It's the radio station of the U.S. military. I hope I can record some of it for the people back home. The d.j.'s are upbeat and fun like in the states but unlike the states, the commercials are not for Bud Light. Instead they all talk about safety in the field and being careful when driving through town but they use American commercials to sell safety. Example: Two American soldiers talking "Man, that was the third firefight today!" next soldier: "Yeah, I just wish we had something to wear for better protection while the bullets are flying!" Duck voice: "FlakJak" First Soldier: "Yeah, if they just gave us something to protect ourselves!" Duck voice: "FlakJak!" announcers voice: "Ladies and Gentlemen, you have been given body armor for a reason, it will save your life. Don't get complacent and where it when ever you are out of the green. Duck voice: "FlakJak!!" I about fell off my chair laughing. That's the one thing that surprises me about this war and this place. Nobody has lost their sense of humor. Some things never change!!

Revenge of the Mummy Iraq Style

I went for a drive into the open desert the other day. It was my first time outside the wire for 35 days. We went to look at some desert wreckage that we might be able to find some useful salvage in for our camp. I haven't seen grass for the same amount of time so when I saw a large patch of it to the side, I yelled "Grass, hey look at that, grass!!!" I must have sounded foolish to the person driving because he drives these roads daily. I didn't care though. It's been a long time for me and I liked it. We got a little turned around and radioed to the chase vehicle about the location of the wreckage. The chase turned off the main road and headed out onto a broken shale/sand mix of open land. I looked out the window the whole time and saw nothing but when we began to follow the chase, we went over a slow rise and there it was. If you were lost out here and didn't know you're way, God help you. You could drive or walk right past civilization and never know it. That freaked me out.

We got to the wreckage and did some assesement. There was some good stuff there and we all stood talking about the wreckage when one of the other men I was with said " Now that's some Revenge of the Mummy S$!# there!!". We all looked together to the South and what we saw was a wall of sand maybe a kilometer tall and 12 wide coming right at us. You see this stuff in movies and it looks real neat but I'll tell you, being in the open and seeing this wall of sand approach was anything but neat. The sandstorm was about 3 kilometers out so we decided to take pictures of us in front of it. By the time we finished, it was getting close and there was no asking when we were leaving. It was time.

We drove over the open desert and watched the storm approach from our right. We drove parallel to it for some time. The approach seemed to slow and I got comfortable looking closer at this ominous, awesome spectecle of nature. At the bottom of the storm, there looked to be water vapor or white smoke of some sort. I told the driver and he didn't know what it was either. It was about that time that, and I swear I'm not making this up, the vehicle we were in began to cut out. The driver was saying transmission and I was saying fuel and the guy in the backseat just sat stonefaced and watched the approaching storm. We called the lead and told them about the trouble but that didn't help. They kept about a kilometer or so ahead. Punishing us for picking that vehicle apparently. We laughed about the pace they kept even after reporting trouble. WE both knew it was about the storm. The vehicle chugged and wanted to die but, somehow, did not. We made it back just as the front of the storm was making it's way into camp. We got to our respective shelters and breathed a lot easier.

When I went into my hooch, the sky was still pretty visable and the brunt of the storm seemed about a mile away. I walked to the back of my hooch, got a baby wipe from the case, wiped my hands off and then walked to the front and opened my door. It was like Dorthey opening the door in munchkinland. In front of me was a wall of solid orange. I couldn't see more than 2 feet and the wind was Howling. I slammed the door and told the guy with me. " Holy S@@#, you're not going to believe this!!!!!!!". He came over quickly and gasped as I did. It was a sea of orange dust and sand. Fantastic. Now I knew I had to go check my camp though. Things were flying through the air and you could here things hitting the top of the hooch. I got my goggles and mask and went out. By the time I got the mask and goggles though, the strong part of the storm had let up. Debris was all over the camp and everyone was peeking out of there hiding spots. I've talked to people that have been here for a long time and have never seen one like this. I grew up with snowstorms and thunderstorms that would shock a lot of people and I've been near a couple of tornadoes before but this is one weather event that I'll definately find hard to forget!!!!