Happy Birthday Mom!!
Just so everyone knows, I owe my mother a call today. On one hand, this should be easy, since she's retired and has little to no schedule. On the other hand, until my parents retired to Holland, I thought retired folks didn't do a whole lot. So, it might not be as easy as I think. Plus, I have to find the number, which I'm sure I have somewhere.
*hours pass*
So I hiked back out to the office, placed the call and left a message. Mom, happy birthday!
Maybe I've been here too long (not) or maybe I'm just so close to leave that I want to think I've been here too long (more likely), but I just don't give a rat's butt about the Iraq issues any longer. It's odd, really, that my world view is now to the point where I want to do this job the best I can, build my good habits and go home. That it is now Ramadan means nothing to me, as the 'Beebs haven't stepped up their attacks in any significant manner. Granted, this isn't Baghdad, which might be different, since it has an entirely different threat picture. See, I had this discussion last week (was it last week? maybe the week before that?) with one of the cav guys, wherein I explained, using very short words, that I don't have the same Access Control policy as Balad, simply because THIS AIN'T BALAD. It's Mosul. Lookie here. See us up in the north? Where it's got that pretty blue color? Yeah, that's mostly Kurdish. They hate Turks and sometimes Iraqis. And even though we, as a country, screwed them royally two or three times, they hate being under Saddam more than they hated us screwing them. They're mostly alright. See Baghdad? See how it's all orange? Yeah, they're Shi'as. Between us and them are the Sunnis, who are the minority and used to rule this place. With terror, I might add. The AQI guys (NB, Sunnis, BTW) spend as much time shooting the Shi'as (ie, the REST of the country) as they do the Americans and the Kurds (most unwise). So, whereas Baghdad and its environs have the civil war and AQI to deal with, we have some AQI remnants to deal with. Different threat picture. QED.
All that to explain it's been quiet 'round here. Still. Some folks stand on the soapbox and cry out, "oh no, it's Ramadan, they'll hit us a ton more this month!" Fine. So they'll what? Shoot at the runway twice a week instead of once? Help me out on this here. Let's be real. These folks are fasting all freaking day in triple digit heat. I don't know about any of you all, but I don't know many folks who'll be up to doing much of anything in those conditions. Heck, jump school wasn't that bad.
More good news: I am now two writing assignments away from finishing ILE. And I've seen the assignments, they're cheesecake assignments. So I'll be done with that whole gig pretty soon. Go me.
This week I sent Kim an email detailing all that which I wanted to consume while at home. Needless to say, a glass of Arrogance was something I asked her to facilitate. Good thing for me the Gerst still has it on tap. NB: Evansville folks. If they have stopped carrying it, please let me know. Those of you who know me understand the solemnity with which I ask for this information.
Well, I've managed another blog post. Life is good and getting better.
Enjoy!
4 comments:
Mark--Thanks for the blog greeting and also for the phone call. It was neat to come home from (and this is no joke) picking peaches and hear your voice on the answering machine. Your Dad and I feel like celebraties making the blog two times in a row. Again, thanks, we love you and are looking forward to seeing you soon. Love Mom
Slight correction. Baghdad is much more an ethnically divided city, with a significant poor population of Shi'a Muslims concentrated in Sadar City's slums (think 'public housing projects'). Baghdad is merely a concentrated microcosm of the entire country's diversified ethnic make-up, whose dense confines and position as the nation's capital make it the bubbling caldron of political foment and armed conflict in the post invasion period.
For a lucid and complete understanding of the complex dynamics within Iraq, I highly recommend Sandra Mackey's
The Reckoning: Iraq and the Legacy of Saddam Hussein.
Gotfrid, I agree! Except that Baghdad doesn't have Kurds, I think. The bottom line is the guy walked into my house ignorant of the threat, of my policies and of MNF-I guidelines. In fact, today I dealt with one of his buddies and mentioned that. Needless to say, I received an odd look when I told the man, "don't send your buddies into my house ignorant of how we're supposed to do things." Silly cav.
Mom, I could write more, but the whole "P-ferde" thing is really only funny when spoken... :)
Three more units and one more written assignment for ILE.
I just need to have some time off with Kim, I think.
Baghdad doesn't have a sizable Kurdish population, but as the capital city it's citizenry is every bit as diverse as that of the nation. Sunnis just made sure they were the ones in control.
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