Letter from someone I know who recently started work in Iraq:
Iraq Update June 26, 2005
Greetings to all from Baghdad
Wow! This week has just flown by and we are starting a new one. A lot of different experiences some good -----some not so good.
To start out with, we were able to visit some more remote areas in the Green Zone. One is a bombed out building that the military built an infrastructure within the bombed out area and is using it as office space. I looked at this building and I see cement hanging from re-bar about three stories up. There are huge cracks in the walls but you go inside and see walls that are 2.5 feet thick. I guess they look safe but I just think that OSHA would have a ball here. One of the special agents told me that a building we entered had an un-detonated Tomahawk Missile in it. He said he thought it was deactivated. I said What do you mean you think? I don’t want to be here if it isn’t deactivated.
I had a friend ask me how the Green Zone keeps power to all of the personnel here. All I can say is you should see the size of the generators that are here. They are about the size of a cargo container. The whole unit is one giant generator and there are quite a few of them here. They run 24-7.
I got to meet a member of a sniper team while I was making a contact in one of the military units. I noticed his rifle and asked if I could see it. He looked at my embassy badge and handed me the rifle. Its a Springfield Armory .308 topped with a 6X24 scope and a bipod. We had a pretty good conversation about rifle accuracy etc. while I waited for my appointment. The specs on it are the same as the civilian version. I asked him if he needed a spotter and he laughed.
I hate to say it but we were treated really well on Fathers Day. At Mass, Fr. Dennis gave us a special blessing and we were served lobster tail and crab legs for dinner. Not bad considering we are in a war zone in the Middle East
during summer. Unfortunately, all we have are plastic utensils so it’s hard to eat that stuff. However, I brought my Leatherman tool with me and it worked fined on those crustaceans.
Sadly, I learned a little more about what the Iraqi people have been enduring under Saddam’s regime. I have an Iraqi contact who showed me film clips of Iraqi citizens being beaten until they were unconscious or dead. He also showed me film of Iraqis who were blindfolded, with a cigarette package size of explosive put in their shirt pocket, and then detonated to bits. Its indescribable to see this kind of carnage. Their crimes ----- expressing a dissenting opinion against the ruling party. I also saw where soldiers were punished for tardiness by having the soles of their feet beaten until they could no longer walk. I saw interviews with relatives who had family members imprisoned never to be seen again. Later they were found to have been killed. Most of these situations involved people who were just suspected of being opposed to the ruling regime. It is just amazing what they’ve people have endured and even with all of the blood shed, they still continue to vote, to try to rebuild, to become soldiers and police, and even to take great risk by working for us in the Green Zone. I doubt that you would ever see the films that I saw on TV in the USA. It just firms up my conviction that we are doing some good here. I guess the other thing that I’ve noticed is how all of the foreign workers, Iraqi and others, do their jobs with a smile and a warm greeting even though they aren’t making a lot. They are just happy to have an opportunity to work with some continuity. This all is so totally different from our environment in the USA where one has an abundance of opportunities to attain greatness. (Anyway enough of that, you all know how I feel so that’s not new. But maybe you have a better idea as to why I feel like I feel.)
We had dinner the other night with some British Military Police and had a great time exchanging police stories and the different environments that we work under. We were also joined by our Brit friend, Sally, that had referred to us as dodgy Americans. She was quite pleased that we had remembered the saying. We found that Sally’s last name is Bond and she works with the Ministry of Defence (That’s the way they spell it.) Of course we couldn’t let it go that her surname was Bond and wanted to know if she had a 00 number and a license to kill. She and the Brit MPs were quite amused by this. I also told them that I enjoyed Are You Being Served and that I loved to watch The Benny Hill Show. Sally wasn’t wild about Benny Hill but afterwards, she acquiesced that he really was a very funny man. The MPs agreed with me that they thought he was hilarious and it was sad he died so quickly.
The insurgents bombed the water supply to Baghdad this week and so we were on water rationing. Showers were tight and there was no laundry at all. I had some laundry for pick up and thank God I got it or I would have had to wash in the sink. You should have seen this one State Department guy. I’m picking up my laundry and he’s try to deliver soiled clothes. The ladies inform him they have no water and can’t accept his laundry. They explain that the insurgents bombed the water supply. He starts off that this is unacceptable and will create a health hazard. I almost laughed out loud. Then he said he was going to tell the ambassador. I finally asked if he thought that the ambassador would be donning scuba gear to oversee the underwater repair that would take 3-5 days to complete. The guy was so rude, I felt like slapping him. Obviously, he was used to embassy life in the more gentile areas of the world.
I got my M-4 fixed. But I want to go out to the range and sight it in and test it before I rely on it. Our friends with the State Department, Security Service assisted with the repair.
I was able to watch the bomb sniffing dogs work earlier this week. The trainers were from South Africa. The shifts are tough on the dogs with the heat but they keep them watered down good. The dogs strictly do explosive sniffing so they are able to be petted and given attention. I told the handlers that the dogs deserve embassy badges just like us. I said their badges should reflect a red T in comparison to ours that reflect a red W indicating a weapons authorization. The handlers really got a kick out of that one.
I also was able to talk with a former Iraqi special forces officer. God he told some stories that were just unbelievable. He had to fight in the Iraqi Iran war and said it was just terrible. He told me that during training they were sent down south and had to live in the marsh land with only brackish water to drink. He had to survive on raw frogs. On one occasion, they were ordered to chase down a dog and they had to eat it raw. He said if they had disobeyed, they would have been beaten and thrown in prison. He said he was so sick from the heat, the consumption of salted water, and raw meat, he lost more than twenty pounds in a few days. He said he just lost all control of his body. When I told him about eating frog legs, he said there was no way he could ever eat those because of the memories.
Several of our agents had to go to Taji to do some work. Apparently Taji is a base not too far from here that specializes in repair of heavy machinery, planes, trucks, choppers, etc. It’s an 8 minute helicopter ride from the Green Zone. They anticipated going in the morning and being back for lunch. As it turned out we didn’t see them until the following morning. They arrived just in time to get some breakfast at about 08:30. Apparently Taji does not have running water except in the cook tent and in the shower room. All bathroom facilities are chemical toilets. Its dusty and dirty. However, they apparently had a wonderful PX because the guys came back with plenty of T shirts and things but they didn’t get any for the rest of us. So we told them that they should be sent back for being so inconsiderate. They had to sleep in the back of a truck on the tarmac. The thing that was really funny is that there are not many non military personnel at Taji so the soldiers aren’t used to seeing civilians armed. The guys said it was pretty funny when they were constantly being asked by young soldiers WHO ARE YOU GUYS??? The soldiers were enthralled with the M-4s and wanted to trade their M-16s for the M-4s. The M-4 is much shorter and is much easier to maneuver.
On Saturday we had a good bye dinner for some of the guys that were leaving permanently. We ate at a restaurant in the Green Zone but were a little apprehensive about security and the food quality. We took our weapons (which we take everywhere) just in case. But when we got there, we saw an ambassador representative eating there while his personal security team posted on the place and there was a two star general in there as well. We felt security had to be really good. I had some beer and some kebab lamb. The lamb was awesome although I was apprehensive about enjoying it. However, I survived. In the short walk back from this place, you would not have believed the dust that kicked up. My reading glasses were so filthy I had to clean them to be able to see through them.
Our choir at church is growing. We have three guitarist, a pianist, and a flute player and 4 vocalists. A soldier who plays sax is going to join. I asked him how he was going to bring that M-16 and a sax as well to church. He said he’d manage.
I’ll try and get some pictures. One of the soldiers, a U.S. Army Major, is joining the priest hood but will remain in the Army as a chaplain. This was his last week. He returns to Washington for awhile and then to Oregon for the seminary.
Well, that’s all the news that is the news. Perhaps you’ve seen our boss on TV with all of the questions concerning the huge funds being expended here and the lack of accountability. That’s why we are here. We probably should have been here two years ago. My best to all of you. Please keep your prayers and thoughts going for these troops here. God bless. Bob
