Boots on the Solid Ground

Mrs G already linked these stories in the Dawn Patrol, but I can't let them go without comment.

Michael Totten's visit to Kurdish Northern Iraq - don't miss it. We've been following his travels through the Middle East closely here, and are very much appreciative of his reports. Americans - the world, for that matter, need to see and read of this. More importantly, people in the rest of Iraq do too. I've said this here repeatedly: The Kurdish North isn't Iraq without America, it's Iraq without "insurgents".

Those who are willing to invest in the Kurdish region now stand to be well positioned in a very few years. The rebuilding of Iraq will be a monumental endeavor, and great rewards await those bold enough to move soonest.

(An earlier look at the "Dream City" here. A note on the Kurdish regional government's efforts to attract investment here, and a brief examination of the political background and future here.)

Not far from the Kurdish region you'll find Tall Afar, a city that could lead the way in recovery in Iraq. The 3rd ACR has certainly helped give them a foundation of hope - but now they are coming home.

So what's to be built on that foundation? Expect some excellent answers to that question from milblogger Sapper Sergeant. He's moving in as the 3rd moves out, and offers this honest account of his first impressions of the city (and the Army) as it is today.

I hope we can look forward to more, but given the anti-blogging attitude that seems all too common I'm a bit concerned about his comments that by command decision "there will be no internet in the hootches." (Hootches, good friends, are the living quarters of the GIs. The term pre-dates the Iraq excursion.) Like I said, I hope we can look forward to more, but the Army is it's own worst enemy in the information war.

But that's a topic for another day. For now check out both these stories. There's good news to be found in Iraq along with the bad. (But you already knew that. So tell a friend.)