From an SF Veteran in the war zone.
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Hello again,
Well, things have become a little grimmer here since my last note. We lost 19
US servicemembers in April, the highest total this year. Bombings are also on
the rise again, particularly in the Baghdad area. In April, over 300 people
were killed and over 700 injured in bombings. They have mostly targeted Shi'a
areas, which would lead one to believe it is an attempt by Sunni extremists to
reignite sectarian violence on a larger scale. Some of the bombings have
clearly been perpetrated by former Sunni allies of the Coalition (so-called
"Sons of Iraq") who at one time had been anti-coalition militants, but had been
convinced to support the central government and the Coalition after people
throughout Iraq had begun to reject the ultra-violent, indiscriminate methods of
Al Qaida in Iraq. As long as the US was paying these guys, they were willing
enough to support us; once we stopped paying them and turned their integration
into the Iraqi security
forces (and, of course, responsibility for paying them) over to the
Shi'a-dominated Iraqi government, many of them stopped receiving pay. Many of
them are therefore no longer our friends. The catalyst for the latest round of
resistance was the arrest of one of the Sons of Iraq leaders who had been
implicated in past attacks against US Soldiers. That arrest actually instigated
a full-fledged revolt in the neighborhood he controlled. It is my suspicion
that one of the main reasons the sectarian violence and ethnic cleansing had
abated in the first place was that, in most areas, there are no opposing sects
left to cleanse...folks have self-segregated into relatively pure sectarian
neighborhoods. Unfortunately for Christian Iraqis, everybody went after
them...they are leaving Iraq at a rate of over 1,000 a month, although they,
too, have established small enclaves here and there. I know these folks can get
along...we have a mix of Shi'as (one
of whom has two wives...what was he thinking?!?), Sunnis and Christians working
for us here in our compound (no Kurds, but we're looking, and the head of our
security is married to a Kurd, so we deserve partial credit). Their mutual
accomodation gives new meaning to the phrase "the power of the purse." No
cooperation means no job. It is strange to watch folks in various stages of
neighborhood reclamation and cleanup in the midst of renewed attacks. I can't
wait to see what happens in the International Zone (IZ) once a major perimeter
road and a couple thruways in the IZ open to the general public in the next few
months. With the opening of the IZ, the withdrawal of Coalition forces in the
IZ into two bases, the assumption of full control by the Iraqis of all
checkpoints, and the elections in January, a fine time should be had by all.
Rockets have also started flying again, though far less frequently than during
my last tour here... several alerts to incoming rockets, but only
two detonations that I have heard. The trouble is that we are experiencing an
average of a dust storm a week bad enough to keep the helicopters grounded.
Without that threat overhead, the bad guys feel emboldened to launch their
toys. Nonetheless, I have actually heard more car bombs than I have rocket
impacts. The latest occurred yesterday, right about startup time for the
workday, just outside the IZ at the Minstry of Oil...only two people hurt, but a
whole bunch of folks had to take taxis home from work, for they were no longer
the proud owners of bright shiny vehicles.
On the job side, things are looking up. I already told you all about the
blithering idiot having departed. Well now, his mentor and major benefactor,
the loony tune I have mentioned, has been recalled, never to return. I won't go
into any detail, other than to say that his departure averted what might have
become a fullblown mutiny among his own staff. Although he was not in my "chain
of command", I relied on him for transportation and lodging, so life was
difficult accomodating his nuttiness. I reckon he and I were not destined to be
best friends.
And that brings me to my anecdote for this time around. I have satellite
television in my room, and, while it supposedly can receive literally hundreds
of Arabic and foreign channels, it receives only a smattering of
English-language channels...and that is on the best of days. Lately, we have
been experiencing reception problems throughout our compound, and today, I
decided I was going to track down the problem when I found that I could only get
to one, single, Arabic channel and nothing else. As I was tracking the cable
behind my desk I encountered a large Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) that was
beneath my desk and plugged into the wall, but had nothing plugged into it. I
knew it was there, and just assumed that someday I would find a use for it, but
hadn't gotten around to it. Anyway, today it was blocking my path to the cable,
so I reached out to pull it out of the way. The next thing I knew, I felt like
the entire LAPD had tasered me.
I was sitting on the floor about three feet from where I had been, seeing stars
and feeling like I had been kicked in the chest by a mule. I haven't been hit
that hard since the last time I picked the wrong side in a barroom. If I had
had a cigar in my mouth, I am sure it would have self-ignited. It would appear
that I had a faulty UPS. After I recovered a bit, I began thinking how
embarrassing it would be to have survived 36 1/2 years of Special Force antics,
skydiving, SCUBA diving, dodging rockets, mortars and bullets, only to be
electrocuted because I didn't think I was getting enough television channels.
Anyway, my arm and chest still ache, and I am sure a lesser man would have
succumbed on the spot, so I am going to go soothe my pains with a Cuban cigar
(still legal over here). |
