Dawn Patrol

Greyhawk

Greyhawk here, I'm filling in for Mrs G, giving her "the day off" from collecting stories for The Dawn Patrol, our daily roundup of news from the perspective of the MilBlogers - and others. As I clicked through the sites of deployed GIs this morning I began to see a pattern emerge. So please forgive me, for although I usually reserve this space for links to others, today I'm going to start by re-posting an excerpt from one of my own final essays from Iraq. These were my thoughts on the day after the historic elections there.

Greetings from a land of bent and broken things

Some of you may have noticed I didn't post my own thoughts on yesterday's elections. My reason is simple: it wasn't my day. I watched through tearing eyes. Yes, this old trooper shed a few tears of joy at what had happened. Like the amazing fall of the Berlin wall, the peaceful "revolutions" that freed Eastern Europe, this was another great victory in my lifetime, and one I felt a little bit involved in. This wasn't George Bush's victory, this wasn't America's victory, this certainly wasn't my victory, this was a victory for the people of Iraq and those who love freedom everywhere. I was an observer, a very close observer, but an observer nonetheless.

I liked what I saw.

Now note the header above. The work has just begun. I see bent and broken, scarred and ruined things here every day. Many were damaged years ago. 1991? 2003? In between? After? It's often hard to tell. Many will be fixed in time, others are beyond repair. Now substitute the word "people" for "things" in the preceding and read it again. Meet a group of Iraqi people and one will tell you how grateful he is that we have given him freedom. He will tell you he lived in fear for his life every day under Saddam. His joy is real, and fundamental, and obvious. Then the next will tell you he lost his entire family in the invasion. He's glad Saddam's gone, but he's paid a price that few would be willing to pay were they given the option.

What would you say to him? "Sorry about that. But cheer up, old boy! Other than that you must admit this freedom thing is pretty great, eh?" No - there's nothing that can be said. He may or may not hate the United States, he may blame Saddam for what happened, but here is a man with the rest of his life before him, and he'll live each day without his family.

The greater good, of course, is served. Many Americans died in this endeavor too; such things temper the celebration. I think Iraqi blogger Alaa offers the right perspective:

My condolences to the Great American people for the tragic recent losses of soldiers. The blood of Iraqis and Americans is being shed on the soil of Mesopotamia; a baptism with blood. A baptism of a lasting friendship and alliance, for many years to come, through thick and thin, we shall never forget the brave soldiers fallen while defending our freedom and future.

I'd add our Coalition allies to that sentiment too.

So amidst the triumph, I saw yesterday as a Memorial Day, of a sort, for those many who fell to make it possible. Some might try and use those deaths for their own ends, or to justify their belief that we should never have walked this path. Such people don't believe in heroes. They can't even comprehend this simple fact; no one is more opposed to war than the soldier. He knows the cost and has seen the carnage. But as I wrote at the top of the sidebar long ago: The Mudville Gazette is the on-line voice of an American warrior, who prefers to see peaceful change render force of arms unnecessary. Until that day he stands fast with those who struggle for freedom, strike for reason, and pray for a better tomorrow.

Today we re-build broken things. Grab a hammer or get out of the way.

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Consider today's Dawn Patrol as something of an update on that post - a look at who has grabbed a hammer and how they're using it - and those who refuse to get out of the way.

*****

In an under-reported story this week the new government of Iraq has released the first official count of civilians murdered by terrorists:

Insurgent violence has claimed the lives of 12,000 Iraqis over the past 18 months, Interior Minister Bayan Jabr said Thursday, giving the first official count for the largest category of victims of bombings, ambushes and other increasingly deadly attacks...

The figure breaks down to an average of more than 20 civilians killed by bombings and other attacks each day. Authorities estimate that more than 10,500 of the victims were Shiite Muslims, based on the locations of the deaths, Jabr said.

Those numbers are small compared to Saddam's days of terror, but that doesn't make them any more acceptable. Some might use this story to declare failure, others - mostly those actually on the scene - just tighten the grip on the hammer.

Thunder6 returns to Iraq from a brief trip Stateside, and writes Proving their Mettle at 365 and a Wakeup:

When I was back home my wife and I decided to drive to Lake Tahoe for the weekend... Shortly after arriving on those beautiful shores we decided to stop at a small little restaurant to let the tangled knot of roads ease their grip on our stomachs. And it was there that I had my sole run in with television news... An immaculately coiffed local newscaster was there on the screen prattling the latest "news" from Iraq. In a perfectly measured voice the anchor rattled off the number of bombings and Iraqi and US casualties like she was reading off the results of a local baseball game...

I didn?t think back to that clipped broadcast until I returned to Iraq. Here in the throbbing heart of Baghdad, swimming in a sea of shimmering heat - that news segment seems almost disingenuous. I?m sure that yesterday, half a world away that same newscaster spent 10 or 15 seconds covering the latest insurgent ambush before moving onto the local weather forecast. And I?m equally certain that someone watched that broadcast and grew a little more despondent about the situation here in Iraq. But what was lost in that syrupy smooth slice of news was a story that shows just how much Iraq has changed, and about how disciplined some Iraqi Army units have become in a few short months.

I heard the story this morning from one of our NCOs who works hand in hand with the Iraqi Army unit that was ambushed...

Major K knows Other stuff you haven't heard

Over the past few weeks the press has been focusing in on the upsurge in bombings by the arhabi here in Iraq. They never show the good stuff, of course, like the raid up near Mosul by another US Army unit freed two hostages.

The Marines are busy too, as documented at Live in Iraq

1/5 Marines produce capable ISF
While a majority of 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment?s frontline forces patrol the urban battlefield hunting for insurgents, a platoon of Marines with Company B have a different role in the securing of this city and the restoration of its infrastructure ? training Iraqi Security Forces.

but that's not all:

5th CAG cares for Haditha Hospital?s wounds
Since the middle of March, Team 4, Detachment 4, 5th Civil Affairs Group, II Marine Expeditionary Force (FWD), has played a vital role in Haditha. The city is known as one of the hottest spots in western Iraq.

During Operation New Market, which began on the night of May 23, the main objective of the CAG team, led by Maj. Matthew D. Chisholm, Team 4 leader, was to assess recent damages done to Haditha Hospital. The hospital was damaged earlier in the month when insurgents occupied the building. The team also wanted to talk to the staff to see how the hospital was functioning and ask locals their opinions about personal care.

And what about the people of Iraq? Here's Professor Shurook Mahdi, of the College of Science at Kufa University in Najaf:

A few weeks ago we watched the prime minister and the cabinet being sworn in. They vowed to be loyal to this country, to serve its people, and preserve its resources. At that moment I wanted to see every last Iraqi citizen do the same. Who ever said it's only the government's responsibility to serve Iraq or deal with corruption? Must we call the ministry of public works every time we need to move a rock blocking the road? Do we need the minister of defense to lock our doors at night and keep an eye on our new suspicious-looking neighbors? Do we call the prime minister every time some paper work is help up in an office? Who ever said you need to be a minister in order to do something good for your country?

Speaking up with good ideas. But is he a lone voice in the wilderness, or one of many beginning to speak up without fear? Here's Alaa, The Mesopotamian:

You see, each side of the struggle must try to use his strong points. The terrorist can hide and work like ghosts and melt away amongst sympathetic or intimidated population. He will strike like a snake and run away. His main weapon is this ability to hit, run and hide. His main strength is this invisibility, and of course, his utter unscrupulousness and cruelty, and willingness to destroy. Destruction is always much easier than construction; what is built in a year can be destroyed in a second. What are then the strengths of the anti-terrorist side? We must try to think hard and try to discover that and use it. Well, in this case, we have the world?s most advanced nations technologically coupled with the will and determination of the majority of a population. These are no small advantages. The guts and sacrifices will be gladly provided by our people and our security forces who are getting stronger and more determined everyday, and have proved to the whole world their resolution and acceptance of the sacrifices. The Great Friend?s most valuable contribution will eventually be this technical support aspect that is his strongest point, if he has the mind to it and the realization that it is in this way that he can be most effective and supportive.

Iraq the Model has more news on Operation LIGHTNING:

As part of the lightning operations in Baghdad, the Iraqi security forces arrested 49 terror suspects in the districts of Hurriya, A'amil, Ghazaliya and Mada'in in and around Baghdad.

*****

But surely you read all about that in the NY Times already. Along with this story from Iraq

Two American soldiers were killed Thursday night when their helicopter was strafed by small arms fire and crashed outside Baquba, a Sunni Arab city just north of Baghdad that is a haven for insurgents, the military said.

The crash came as Iraq's Defense and Interior Ministers announced plans on Thursday to deploy 40,000 Iraqi security forces throughout Baghdad in a large cordon-and-search operation aimed at catching insurgents and restoring order to this largely lawless city.

<...I deleted several paragraphs about other things going on in Iraq here...>

The helicopter crash occurred at 10:50 p.m. in Buhriz, a southern suburb of Baquba. American soldiers on patrol on the ground came under fire and called to the helicopter, and one other, that were on routine patrol nearby, said Major Richard L. Goldenberg, a military spokesman.

The helicopters made several low passes over the area and both drew fire, he said. One helicopter received only minor damage and managed to land safely at an American military base nearby, but the other crashed, killing both soldiers on board.

And that's the end of that as far as the NY Times is concerned. I suppose somebody has to tell the terrorist side of the story though. But if all I had was the NY Times and didn't know better from personal experience I'd think we were losing.

Not just personal experience though - I've read the milblogger version of that story.

Within 30 minutes of the report that we had a flyer down, my Panzers we rolling out the gate en route to the crash site. One of my platoons (currently the battalion QRF) was rolling within 10 minutes to the crash site and was the first on the scene.) I did not know the pilots, but I knew their call sign. I worked with them the day before. (see Troops in Contact) It didn?t matter to me that they were outside of my AO. Or that it was close to midnight after a very long day. It didn?t matter to my men either, although most were all roused from their sleep to get rolling. Others were on their ?off? shift from guard duty. They knew that they would return from this mission and go right back out to the perimeter, their buddies having covered down on a double shift already. They rose to the challenge, transferred necessary equipment from their M1114?s to the tanks and BFVs, and we hauled ass.

There's more on recent media coverage of the current battles in Iraq here.

*****

I mentioned at the top that Mrs G had the day off. That's not completely true, because she's spending it helping to decorate for the High School Prom. Here in Germany, sixty years after the end of World War II, the children of American GIs are approaching the end of the school year.

In Iraq, the students of a war-torn land, are...

...approaching the end of the school year.

Nabil

Only 14 days, and my exams will start, they start in the 5th of June, and they end on the 19th of June, and then I will be free for ever, but again I will have problems on which college to choose, for now I am like a prisoner, because I was like locked up in my room for 51 days, everyday, I get in the morning start studying at 7 am to 9 am and then I take a rest, after that I start at 9:30 am till 1:30 pm and then I take a rest and then I start at 3 pm till 6 pm and then I take a rest, and then I start at 6:30 pm till 9:30 pm and then I take a rest, and then I start at 10 pm till 11 pm and thats IT for the day, I kept doing that for about 51 days, I started this studying vacation in the first of April and today is the 21th of may and that means that I've been doing this crazy studying for about 51 days, and still have 14 days to go.... and I am dying right now, since that 51 days I only went out of my home three times, two times to school and once I visited my friend. I think now you have an idea about what I am doing, but what kills me is that my parents always tells me that you're not studying alot, you're not taking this seiriously and stuff like that, I just ignor them when they do stuff like that.....
well, thats all what I got for now....

A Star from Mosul

I was going to die from laughing yesterday, thank goodness I didn't.. What would mom think if I died laughing at desperate poets?

We had an Arabic lesson, the teacher is very serious and usually yells at the students but he acts very nicely with us because we're a good and calm group.. Yesterday, we had to study three poets who write what is called (Free poetry), in which the poet doesn't end all the verses with the same letter as the normal Arabic poems are.. We read a poem for each of those poets, all Iraqis.

The poems were really, really desperate, miserable, and SAD.

Dr Humanity is a bit more advanced in his studies:

Long time don't post,,, errr, I know that but I have now the hardest final examination in my life till now!!!! & I will finish this Red Alert [not the video game :)] in 8th of june 2005 so till then I will be in alarm so forgive for not blogging & I will re-post again ,, I promise.

I did my pharmacology exam yesterday & did good but I am afraid that I will not pass this exam so plz pray for me to pass my exam :)

<...>

One morning, as I was sleeping after a long night studying, I heard a bell ringings, but these ringings where for demanding help. So I went out with my short & T-shirt & found our neighbour who was in hurry & he ask me immediatly to bring my Sphingomanometer & stethoscope to measure the blood pressure of his grandpa as he was feeling unwell that morning, so I went & I found him very tired & have dizziness & confusion.

I measured his Blood pressure & I found that his BP was 70/30 [normal=120/80 mmHg]
& recognize that he had a shock & most commonly either hypovolmic or cardiogenic shock so I tried to give him fluid as we where took him to hospital. then we reach the emergency room in Ibn Sinaa hospital & the medical staff took care of him.

The good thing is that this was the 1st time that people ask for medical help & the second that I used the Sphingomanometer & Stethoscope I bought it through ur support to the blog & I really get use of it.

I think he's going to pass those exams.

Of course, there are also those students who will rush out of their school at any opportunity to attack American soldiers...

*****

You don't get these stories in the news much. These are the little things, the small stories of real people in a war-torn land. The big media has too little space, and big stories to tell. The important things:

Pictures show Iraq's Saddam in his underwear
It is not the first time pictures of U.S. detainees in Iraqi jails have been leaked to the media.

A year ago graphic photographs of the abuse of detainees in the notorious Abu Ghraib jail outraged world opinion and were described as the best recruiting campaign for Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda.

There was also just enough room on ABC's website for this follow-up, headlined:

Bush promises probe into Saddam underwear pictures.
Saddam's lawyers expressed outrage.

"In our opinion this is a violation of all international agreements and human dignity, therefore we must sue the people responsible and the providers of these pictures, because if you look closely you can see that they were taken from his prison cell," lawyer Ziad Khasawneh of Saddam's defense team said.

"This is considered as another Abu Ghraib and we will take the necessary legal actions which we have already started," he told Reuters in Amman.

I'm sure that if the Saddam's underwear probe reveals anything significant, Reuters will provide the crucial coverage.

Iraqi blogger Kurdo responds:

Iraqi Tarzan: The greatest photo of the year. I don't care if they sue this newspaper or not, I don't care if this is against Geneva Convictions.

I personally was scared from Saddam even in my dreams. I have seen this guy in my dreams and I have started to shiver. To see this man (Sa'ed Al-Ra'es) (Mr. President) as he used to call himself like that in a pair of Iraqi underwear, is the strongest message for all his victims that it is time to live in peace for ever.

*****

I can't help but end on that note: it is time to live in peace for ever. Could such a thing be possible? I don't know.

The Mudville Gazette is the on-line voice of an American warrior, who prefers to see peaceful change render force of arms unnecessary. Until that day he stands fast with those who struggle for freedom, strike for reason, and pray for a better tomorrow.

The untold story from Iraq is one of rebuilding.

Got a hammer?