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Greetings! You are reading an article from The Mudville Gazette. To reach the front page, with all the latest news and views, click the logo above or "main" below. Thanks for stopping by! August 17, 2007 The Boo Radleys V.By GreyhawkThe story began here, latest entry here.
Smoke from factories, smoke from battles, smoke from the burning of crops... Exhaust from vehicles, many new, many more some years from professional repair... ...all mix with the dust and sand lifted up from the ground by the winds, or the passing of those same vehicles, or the tread of a million feet, to form a near-permanent haze that obscures the view of things at distances at which they should be plainly seen. Outlines blur and colors vanish and everything takes the hue of the desert until somewhere in the all-too-near horizon the earth merges with the sky at a point undeterminable to the human eye. (Michael Totten's latest includes a picture that captures that here.) That's on most days... On others the real dust rolls through, and visibility is limited to hundreds of feet - or even tens. If you've been following the story I've woven throughout this ongoing ramble, you might suspect that it's a story of one of those days. You would be right. We'll get back to it, soon enough. But first... ...an earlier entry from Michael Totten: A large man wearing shorts and no shirt opened the door. An old man in a dishdasha stood behind him. They weren’t armed and didn’t seem threatening.From an earlier report: “Want to walk past your favorite house?” Lieutenant Lord said to Sergeant Lizanne."You know it makes one feel rather good deciding not to be a dick." - Earnest Greyhawk, The Sun Also Rises in Iraq Flashback: And when it does, it gets hot. There is an ever-present quality to the breeze on a hot day in Iraq. If you've ever stepped too close to a large fire, to that point where you feel uncomfortable and instinctively taken that small step back to your comfort zone you know what I'm talking about. It's the sort of heat that produces an immediate sweat, then evaporates it just as fast. In Iraq, as opposed to near a fire, that small step back gains you nothing. And then the sun sets, but the heat persists. And one fine night I sat in a passenger terminal and waited for my flight home. Said passenger terminal would have had the average American swearing to never fly again - a tent with a wooden floor and benches - but also with the ever-present big-screen TV along one wall (once again the obscene amenities rear their ugly little heads). And eventually the official word came down: all flights cancelled. The dust from Syria had spread wide enough and far enough and with enough intensity to lower visibility to the point where routine aircraft operation would be hazardous beyond the point of acceptable risk. I would remain away from my home away from home for at least 24 more hours. I had a place to sleep, and nothing to do. And I wondered for a moment about the guy who was supposed to go on emergency leave, who had taken my seat on my original ride, and who's flight was cancelled as well. There are many reasons for emergency leave to be approved in time of war. None of them are good. I stepped out into the night. The heat was there, and darkness near complete. No lights illuminated this desert outpost, and silence was broken only by the ever-present hum of generators in the distance, a background noise at any camp and one you scarcely hear until they stop and the roaring silence announces that something's wrong.. But that was not tonight's problem. Tonight, above, the dust had blotted out the stars. And that would only be part of the problem. I wandered into the TOC, because it was nearby, and because I could, and because I was tired of watching the news and wanted to see what was going on in the war. I hoped the answer was "not much". I was wrong. As you may recall, In Iraq, a group of young men armor up and arm themselves and prepare to go outside the wire. As much as any one of them might want to relieve himself of obligation to his fellows, none will. Each knows they might not come back. Because this is part of a flashback, I can tell you now that one of them won't. He was in fact wounded. He was, in fact, in need of urgent medevac - meaning by helicopter. And you may recall: all flights cancelled... There were two options - and a couple variations - available. One, hope ground evac would be fast enough (not likely - or the helo request wouldn't have been made) or two - launch the medevac bird and risk a crew and an aircraft to (maybe) save his life. "Whoever does not have the stomach for this fight, let him depart." If Haight-Ashbury is the centre of the American hippie world, then Yorkville is Canada's hippie heartland. Full of coffeehouses, boutiques, longhairs, draft dodgers, and freaks, Yorkville is a tourist attraction — one where the tourists prefer to watch the excitement from the safety of their cars. A 19-year-old draft dodger named William Gibson conducts CBC Television on a tour of the village, where Beatle-haired kids, drugs and free love are rampant.Later:: It had much more to do with my wanting to be with hippy girls and have lots of hashish than it did with my sympathy for the plight of the North Vietnamese people under US imperialism. Much more, much more to do with hippy girls and hashish.I repeat myseslf: This reduces my enjoyment of his work not one bit. Any non-veteran readers might be surprised to learn that those who fought in Vietnam were probably glad not to have the company of the sorts of folks described above. And now, 40 years later, I'm quite glad to have some of Gibson's work to read in Iraq. And I can think of at least one "writer" today who could have done us all a favor and sat this war out - and perhaps launched his career in fiction a few years later. More back to school stories: Juvenile detainees gain second chance through Dar Al-Hikmah Extremists destroy one school, rig a second
Posted by Greyhawk / August 17, 2007 8:17 PM | Permalink 4 Comments |
March 19, 2010Dawn Patrol 03/19/2003 [Greyhawk]
"Welcome to the Dawn Patrol, our daily roundup of information on the War on Terror and other topics - from the MilBlogs and various sources around the world." Mudville was founded in March, 2003. Our efforts to bring the thoughts, words, and deeds of milbloggers to a wider world evolved to become The Dawn Patrol in March, 2005. With today's entry we're going to reset the clock - but not re-write the history - and recreate the world as it was - on a day the world changed...
Updating... more to follow.... MILBOGSAndrew Olmsted, 19 Mar 2003, Stateside: It would appear that the liberation of Iraq has begun. Greyhawk, 18 Mar 2003, Germany: A united world could have, just maybe, brought down Saddam without firing a shot. We will never know. 19 Mar: We'll never know what a united world could have achieved... the UN could not agree on anything, the situation degenerated, and here we are. Status quo was not working. The French were too desperate for oil and trade at any cost. Well-intentioned Americans were led into the streets by Communists (and others) with an agenda. The media distorted the split. Many in America and abroad thought they could manipulate the situation to their personal gain. They miscalculated. The fire is lit. Pontifx ex Machina, 18 Mar, undisclosed location: Rolling out the gate, the guard gets a quick "hook-em, horns" sign as we weave through the barricades. Then we're off, cruising through the desert in a battered-up SUV. On the eve of war, only one thing passes through our minds: is there going to be any appropriate music on the radio? Lt Smash, 19 Mar, undisclosed location: Read the President's speech today. The clock is ticking. Chief Wiggles, 22 Mar, Kuwait: The war started Wednesday morning for us right after the president gave a speech to the American people that lasted about 4 minutes. We were all very anxious for this whole thing to be either over or get it on its way. Will, 22 Mar, en route: I am going to Baghdad to personally shoot that paper hanging son of a bitch! Lt Smash 20 Mar, undisclosed location: Sgt Stryker, 20 Mar, Stateside: Iraq to File U.N. Complaint About Attack Primary Main Objective, 30 Mar, undisclosed location I Dare Kofi to Come Get Me.
BruceR, Flit, 19 Mar, Canada: AND SO IT BEGINS. Godspeed, Yanks. Come home safe and soon. Andrew Olmsted, 20 Mar 2003, Stateside: The most important thing to remember over the next few days is this: the first reports are almost always inaccurate. First reports are generally submitted in the heat of battle before any real analysis can take place. Therefore, they're highly subjective, based on limited information, and rarely hit the mark. So as the first reports of 'surgical strikes' on Iraqi forces come in, it's best to take those reports with a grain of salt... Iraqi BlogsSalam Pax, Baghdad: The bombing aould come and go in waves, nothing too heavy and not yet comparable to what was going on in 91. all radio and TV stations are still on and while the air raid began the Iraqi TV was showing patriotic songs and didn't even bother to inform viewers that we are under attack. at the moment they are re-airing yesterday's interview with the minister of interior affairs. THe sounds of the anti-aircarft artillery is still louder than the booms and bangs which means that they are still far from where we live, but the images we saw on Al Arabia news channel showed a building burning near one of my aunts house... Other BlogsAndrew Sullivan, The Daily Dish: How much more morally indefensible is appeasement when we also have complete international authority to do what must be done? I think we will look back in the future and not ask, as so many now are, how it was that diplomacy didn't get unanimity on this matter. We will look back and see the moral obtuseness of Chirac and Putin and Schroder and Carter and feel nothing but contempt for them, and their preference for state terror over the responsibilities of the free world. That's why I felt enormous pride tonight in the stand being taken by Blair and Bush. The president's speech was measured, firm, just. Blair's political risks - in order to do what he believes is plainly right - will confirm him in history as a great prime minister, the conscience of his party, and the leader of his country. I say that before this war begins, because the cause is just whatever vicissitudes of conflict await us... Glenn Reynolds has a ton of links. Newpapers
Updating... more to follow.... |
The Mudville Gazette is the on-line voice of an American warrior and his wife who stands by him. They prefer to see peaceful change render force of arms unnecessary. Until that day they stand fast with those who struggle for freedom, strike for reason, and pray for a better tomorrow.
![]() I like having visitors to my house. I hope you are entertained. I fight for your right to free speech, and am thrilled when you exercise said rights here. Comments and e-mails are welcome, but all such communication is to be assumed to be 1)the original work of any who initiate said communication and 2)the property of the Mudville Gazette, with free use granted thereto for publication in electronic or written form. If you do NOT wish to have your message posted, write "CONFIDENTIAL" in the subject line of your email. Original content copyright © 2003 - 2009 by Greyhawk. Fair, not-for-profit use of said material by others is encouraged, as long as acknowledgement and credit is given, to include the url of the original source post. Other arrangements can be made as needed. Contact: greyhawk at mudvillegazette dot com ![]() |
Greyhawk,
Have you read "Reading Lolita in Tehran"? This series of posts reminds me of why I appreciated that book (and MADE time to finish it), and makes me wonder if you might not have a book to write?
As an engineer, I often role my eyes at a lot of "literary references", but when done to good effect and successful even when the reader hasn't even read the "reference" (at all or recently - Sun Also Rises was AWHILE ago), I find it a powerful addition to non-fiction... something to do with the idea of universality or something. ANYWAY.
Wrote it before, and I'll write it again: I wish there was no cause that took you away from your family, but we are ever so blessed to have boots on the ground that are able and willing to blog as you do. Take care.
Thanks Lisa.
And thanks for being a Soldiers' Angel, too.
Trackbacked by The Thunder Run - Web Reconnaissance for 08/20/2007
A short recon of what’s out there that might draw your attention, updated throughout the day...so check back often.
"You know it makes one feel rather good deciding not to be a dick."
- Earnest Greyhawk, The Sun Also Rises in Iraq
This is destined to become a MG classic.