The Last Day of My First April in Iraq

This is my first April, and probably my last April in Iraq. Nobody knows what will happen in the years to come. It doesn't seem likely that we'll be back any time soon after we go, but uncertainty is king. Soon our unit, on one of the last 15 month deployments still in country, will begin the overlap as we pass the one year mark.

I like the composition of this one. 1/4th of my daily snapshots are actually kept and not deleted. Most are blurred, out of focus or out out of the frame. It almost becomes a game. When I miss a good one I curse my camera, but to think of the pre-digital challenge, and not knowing what you have till you take your film into a dark room. There's really a huge advantage with technology, and with a bit of patience it doesn't take a professional to get amazing pictures.

This woman was in the bottom left corner of the frame of the original. I barely got her as I zoomed in and zoomed by in our convoy. I cropped the shot and now I post her image on my blog. To think, of the 99.9 percent chance that she'll never know this single moment of her life was captured, and escaped from Iraq.

A larger check point and a vehicle search.

Shepherds

Desert silhouette.

Nomadic Bedouins. Reminds me of the song "Less Cities, More Moving People," by The Fixx in the mid 80's.

One of several blue and white painted outposts along the route. Always just a shed manned by a traditionally dressed man, wearing a traffic vest and armed with an AK-47. It's hard to picture what the exact assignment is for these men, and what the plan would be if they needed assistance. They are the most unofficial aspect of armed government workers, and switching sides is almost common place, so as one could imagine we keep an eye on them as we pass.

A check point soldier. We go through several check points large and small on our way out and back. In this photo the small earthy structure looks almost as if it rose up out of the ground by itself, destined to be a guard post.

You hear all kinds of half cocked rumors about life for women in Iraq. A lot of what I've heard seems to be true. When it's said that they are never without a male escort it's only partly true. In rural areas women are seen on their own a lot, out of necessity it would seem. In middle size cities like Diwaniya there are usually pairs of women. In Baghdad women are seen alone at all ages all the time, and in different states of dress.

A 7-eleven in Central South East Iraq.

Iraq: An After School Special

Today, after visiting an Iraqi police station, and traveling for miles and miles back to Camp Echo, I gathered a familiar collection of pictures. Men with AK-47s and men with prayer beads. People and animals, cars and camels. I got more pictures of, dare I say it, the same old thing. Then the "special," the show and tell for today began as nothing out of the norm really, a couple of kids on the side of the road.

In America it's rare to see kids this age smiling just for the hell of it. In Iraq, sometimes it seems to me, like the only people smiling at all are the kids.



Kids, kids, and more kids as we went along. Soon a mass of people formed on the horizon and as we slowed and approached it became a school of rural district children letting out into the street with one lone crossing guard. In spite of the bloodletting viewer getting headlines, it seems there will be plenty of Iraqis for years to come. I don't mean that to sound the wrong way. No one life is ever worth sacrifice, murder or martyrdom, but if there are this many kids in walking distance of one school in one rural district, the population numbers must be rising exponentially even against the death rate.



An Iraqi crossing guard of another sort.

Boys browsing snacks.

Without a second glance teenage girls walk past a halved and abandoned garbage truck amidst neighborhoods in need of a whole one.

Malikidom

Another e-mail home that became a blog, two in a row, but since family were my commenters yesterday there's continuity.

I have an application on my myspace called "Iraq News." It tends to be ahead of the curve, and have everything significant about local happenings. Below are subsequent cut and paste links. It's about the only thing I use myspace for anymore. It is weird how little talk of the incident surfaced in main-stream media.

I saw your comment as well Ben. I suppose I knew something like this could happen, but since my unit spent the first half of our deployment protecting this dude, I recon I painted a rose tinted picture in my head. As well I was in a cantankerous mood when I sat down to write, before I even approached the computer and read the news some stomach issues had me a notch past grumpy.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090427/pl_afp/iraqunrestuskut

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090427/wl_nm/us_iraq_raid

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090426/wl_afp/iraqunrestlead

I'm having an issue getting links to work, but you can cut and past the above into your browser box.

Turncoat Maliki

From CNN.com

My angry input, in italics below was posted earlier today but edited - (toned down and clarified @ 1726hrs Baghdad time.)

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki is accusing U.S. troops of violating the security agreement between the two countries after a raid in Wasit province Sunday that left two people dead, Iraqi State TV reported.

U.S. troops raided a house in the city of Kut and arrested six suspected members of so-called "special groups" -- groups that are funded, armed and trained by Iran, according to the U.S. military.

During the operation, which the military said was "fully coordinated and approved by the Iraqi government," a man and a woman were killed by U.S. troops, the military said.

Al-Maliki's accusation that the United States violated the security pact is the first time the Iraqi government has claimed a breach in the deal that governs the presence of U.S. troops in Iraq. It was reached last November and implemented in January.

Under the agreement, the U.S. military cannot carry out raids without Iraqi permission and warrants. And Iraq has primary jurisdiction over members of the U.S. military who commit "grave premeditated felonies" outside of certain geographical boundaries and when they are off duty.

Al-Maliki has asked Gen. Raymond Odierno, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, to release the suspects detained in the raid, and to hand over "those who committed the crime" -- or U.S. troops -- to the Iraqi judiciary, state television reported.

The U.S. military statement said when troops approached the residence, "an individual with a weapon came out of the home. Forces assessed him to be hostile, and they engaged the man, killing him," the U.S. military statement said.

A woman who "moved into the line of fire" was also killed in the shooting, the U.S. military said.

An Interior Ministry official told CNN the raid was on the home of a tribal leader, and said U.S. forces killed the leader's wife and brother and detained a number of family members.

Speaking on Iraqi State TV, the deputy governor of Wasit province called the killings "cold-blooded murder."

The U.S. military said there was a warrant issued for the arrest of the targeted individual -- "a network financier, who is also responsible for smuggling weapons into the country to support JAM Special Groups and Promise Day Brigade," a U.S. military statement said.

Iraqi State TV reported that Iraq's defense ministry ordered the arrest of two Iraqi commanders in Kut who apparently allowed the U.S. military to carry out the raid.

The CNN article above is the worst scenario for soldiers here in Iraq. This redirects violence at us. Such a large number of people in Iraq remain in a perpetual state of retaliation. Whether you kill a member of their family (which is the closest to being understandable), or move their belongings from one truck to another*.

Humans naturally always look for anyone other than themselves to blame at first, and why fundamentalist Arabs here sustain this state and galvanize with violence is beyond understanding. When you think God's on your side you become dangerous.

I feel al-Maliki is behaving like a fool. Not because there is no truth in his claim of the US violating the agreement but because of the incindiary way he is handling the situation.

A major element of US military safety here is the Iraqi Army which is set up on the outskirts of our FOB, and will move in when we leave. For some time my fear has been that people here would transfer (or take a break from) their tendencies toward each other and redirect at us out of a single incident, large or small.

At the two installations where I've been stationed, FOB Freedom and Camp Echo both, the African workers for US contractors that stand at the gate between us and the Iraqi camps have been the center of many a soldierly joke. The corporation banks off the US taxpayer, brings in low wage workers from Africa, just trying to make a better living, sticks a rifle in their hands, and puts a helmet on their heads, says here guard this. The following is a link to this story

http://www.kare11.com/news/national/national_article.aspx?storyid=652032&catid=18

In spite of all the news good and bad since I've been deployed to Iraq, these latest news items are the most discouraging from my perspective, in country. It's time to drop the mindless forms of political correctness, go home or onto locations where we can make a difference and let Iraq have its madness. As well, back home, it's time to clamp down on the real axis of evil: greedy corporate America. They've had a chance to prove that libertarian capitalism is a good thing and blew it. Now the government has to step in, and probably will overcompensate and go to far, but that will be the price free enterprise will pay.

*we sent away, well banished actually, one of our interpreters because he was in such a rage for three days strait because some of his stuff was moved from one truck to another. He was only without it for an hour.

Secret War Tally: 87,215 Iraqis Dead

This post is a cut and paste from the internet, by KIM GAMEL - The Associated Press, photographs are mine and mixed in.

BAGHDAD -- Iraq's government has recorded 87,215 of its citizens killed since 2005 in violence ranging from catastrophic bombings to execution-style slayings, according to government statistics obtained by the Associated Press that break open one of the most closely guarded secrets of the war.
Combined with tallies based on hospital sources and media reports since the beginning of the war and an in-depth review of available evidence by the Associated Press, the figures show that more than 110,600 Iraqis have died in violence since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.

The number is a minimum count of violent deaths. The official who provided the data to the AP, on condition of anonymity because of its sensitivity, estimated the actual number of deaths at 10 to 20 percent higher because of thousands who are still missing and civilians who were buried in the chaos of war without official records.

The Health Ministry has tallied death certificates since 2005, and late that year the United Nations began using them -- along with hospital and morgue figures -- to publicly release casualty counts. But by early 2007, when sectarian violence was putting political pressure on the U.S. and Iraqi governments, the Iraqi numbers disappeared. The United Nations "repeatedly asked for that cooperation" to resume but never received a response, U.N. associate spokesman Farhan Haq said Thursday.


The data obtained by the AP measure only violent deaths -- people killed in attacks such as the shootings, bombings, mortar attacks and beheadings that have ravaged Iraq. It excluded indirect factors such as damage to infrastructure, health care and stress that caused thousands more to die. Authoritative statistics for 2003 and 2004 do not exist. But Iraq Body Count, a private, British-based group, has tallied civilian deaths from media reports and other sources since the war's start. The AP reviewed the Iraq Body Count analysis and confirmed its conclusions by sifting the data and consulting experts. The AP also interviewed experts involved with previous studies, prominent Iraq analysts and provincial and medical officials to determine that the new tally was credible.

The AP also added its own tabulation of deaths since Feb. 28, the last date in the Health Ministry count.

The three figures add up to more than 110,600 Iraqis who have died in the war.

That total generally coincides with the trends reported by reputable surveys, which have been compiled either by tallying deaths reported by international journalists, or by surveying samplings of Iraqi households and extrapolating the numbers.

Iraq Body Count's estimate of deaths since the start of the war, excluding police and soldiers, is a range -- between 91,466 and 99,861.

The numbers show just how traumatic the war has been for Iraq. In a nation of 29 million people, the deaths represent 0.38 percent of the population. Proportionally, that would be like the United States losing 1.2 million people to violence in the four-year period; about 17,000 people are murdered every year in the U.S.

Security has improved since the worst years, but almost every person in Iraq has been touched by the violence.

"We have lost everything," said Badriya Abbas Jabbar, 54. A 2007 truck bombing targeting a market near her Baghdad home killed three granddaughters, a son and a niece.

North of the capital in the city of Baqouba, a mother shrouded in black calls to her three sons from her doorstep. She calls out as if they were alive, but they were killed in April 2007, when Shiite Muslim militiamen barged into their auto parts store and gunned them down because they were Sunni.

The Health Ministry figures indicate such violence was tremendously deadly. Of the 87,215 deaths, 59,957 came in 2006 and 2007, when sectarian attacks soared and death squads roamed the streets. The period was marked by catastrophic bombings and execution-style killings.

Quantifying the loss has always been difficult. Records were not always compiled centrally, and the brutal insurgency sharply limited on-the-scene reporting. The U.S. military never shared its data.

The Health Ministry was always at the forefront of counting deaths. Under Saddam Hussein, it compiled casualty figures even as U.S. troops closed in on Baghdad, though it later abandoned that effort. It has started up again in fits, and finally began reliable record-keeping at the start of 2005.

Those data were provided to the AP in the form of a two-page computer printout listing yearly totals for death certificates issued for violent deaths by hospitals and morgues between Jan. 1, 2005, and Feb. 28, 2009.

The ministry does not have figures for the first two years of the war because it was devastated in the aftermath of the invasion, the official said.

Experts said the count constitutes an important baseline, albeit an incomplete one.

Flagged: The New Iraq's First American Tourist

A collection of shots from a few days ago. When I get back to Camp Echo unintentional themes surface when I sit at my computer and review the contents of my camera. In this case flags, Iraqi and US. This first one, on a wall within the walls of another central south eastern IP station, is a sub-artistic depiction of this country's recent maladjustments to huge and hasty change.

Recently I started a Facebook account and mentioned that I felt like a tourist at times amidst a discussion with other soldiers on how hard or easy it is to be deployed in Iraq at this point in time. It's true, I had more difficult times in my life for various reasons as a civilian in the states. As well, I know '04 thru '07 was a near constant Hell for coalition soldiers deployed here, but I understand the pain of separation from loved ones, and the anxiety of boredom that these young soldiers deal with daily. Being older and having developed ways to cope with such things as a civilian, I hope I can as a soldier and a medic, help other soldiers do the same here and now.

In this photo, IPs load up for a patrol, share water in the heat, and wait within walls for another policeman to open the gate. Taken while we waited in our trucks.

An Iraqi Army gunner's post near dusk at a check point in Diwaniya. The spring season heats into summer and the violence level in Iraq follows the same pattern, heating up in varying degrees of bloodshed each year. IPs and IA are currently the most common targets outside tribal clashes.

The American flag and soldiers, focused and imposed on the setting, as a woman visits the police station.

Another shot from the ride home. I never know how shots are gonna take. The weighty armored truck jack hammers the mixed terrain surface of rural roads at high speed and I delete two thirds of what I take right after I get it. Often I get frustrated with missing the fly-by sights just out of frame and ready for the next chance. I could for moments at a time forget that I'm an army medic "...just waiting for the worst day of a soldier's life..." as I recall a sergeant saying to me one morning before mission. But I never forget this. I just keep myself occupied in the meantime pretending to be the new Iraq's first American tourist, embedded with the troops.

Another shot of our flag with the blurred faceless IP, not unlike the policemen that become daily statistics and world headlines.

These workers in a garden grove, just off the road, taking a break in the shade.

He almost blends into the background against the t-walls with the truck, naturally. Almost invisible at first glance.

Trainspotting

South East Montage 5

Black and Tan

Ezekiel 25:17

Deterrents

Our lunch yesterday as provided by the station commander. Yummy bread stuffed with veggies and either seasoned mystery meat or falafel. With my hands full I gave my camera to another soldier. Not as hungry as it seems. I was taking food up to the tower behind me.

When I use the zoom to it's full capacity the photograph gets a soft and fuzzy look of impressionism to it. As well the people in the distance were walking along a raised path and it looks like they're floating. I like this one.

As we go rumbling by kids come running up the street to wave or give a thumbs up. Those are residential utility wires over his head.

Lost in Translation: Training the Iraqi Police

MOUT stands for Military Operations in Urban Terrain. Basically it's what you see in the movies a lot. SWAT teams and a wide variety of organizations use MOUT. Students find it very confusing. I find it very confusing. Everyone has a different way of doing it and usually the one teaching preaches that his way is the best. On top of that fact add a language barrier and it becomes a huge challenge.

Going into a house with various unknowns, and with the hostile probabilities of a real situation, there would be little smiling or laughing. For all involved, it's one of the most dangerous actions Police and Military can be involved in. Making lightning fast life or death decisions using a number of people operating as a single unit in near silence till entering is something that takes a lot more practice than what can be accomplished in a single day.


It's difficult to teach and learn, and using an interpreter adds a delay. Still we got it done but not before a know-it-all senior IP arrived near the end and added his Hollywood observations to the mix. I was impressed with the Sergeant teaching the class who kept his cool even as he was interrupted and quizzed.


Keeping things ever casual the IPs in training insisted on arm wrestling whoever dared. A few of us including myself gave it a try. This picture is of a female in our squad being a good sport.