last post from iraq

Well friends, my time here is reaching an end. I am in my final days in Baghdad. This will be my last post from Iraq. Sometime in October you will hear from me again. If you would like, e-mail me at BootsInBaghdad@yahoo.com and I will make sure you are notified when I post again sometime in October. Boots In Baghdad will continue to be up and running from the states. I have a couple hundred pages of journal entries and thousands of pictures. I have a few ideas with what I am going to do with Boots In Baghdad. Regardless, it will be up.

I can’t even begin to describe to you what it feels like to be on the verge of going home and returning to life. This journey began a year ago… an eternity ago. And, for the world I wouldn’t trade the last twelve months of my life.

I was looking back at some of my journal entries over the past year. It is amazing how much I have already forgotten. Perhaps more amazing are the memories that I will never forget. My journey began with B Co, 1-156 Armor. Bravo was attached to 2-156 Infantry for this deployment. Once we arrived in Iraq Bravo was assigned to 141 FA BN as part of a Force Protection Task Force. I spent the first few months at ECP 7 guarding the perimeter of Camp Liberty and the Baghdad Airport.

These first months contained some of the longest days of my life. We were at ECP 7 when the Marines and 1st Cav hit Fallujah. We were doing 24 hours on and 24 hours off. Then we switched to 12 on and 12 off…every single day. I spent Thanksgiving at that gate, I spent Christmas at that gate and I spent New Years 2005 at that gate. I loved the guys I was with, but I hated the job. This is part of a journal entry from November 13, 2004. My romanticized view of war is apparent, displaying more than anything my naivety and youth:

Every time a convoy leaves that gate it breaks my heart. I see them return with wounded. I see their destroyed vehicles dragged back in tow… in pieces. I belong out there. I became a soldier to be out there. I became Infantry to be out there. Out there is home. I came here to sacrifice, to pay for freedom... to bring justice to those who wish to take that away from my nation and my nation’s friends. And to those on the streets of Iraq who wish to harm me and my friends, my country and my countrymen, I say this; you better be prepared, because I have been preparing for this for twenty-one years. I will match your ruthlessness, I will surpass your destruction, I have exceeded your skill in tactics and weapons, your courage crumbles at the thought of mine, and long ago my faith and commitment to my God and my America crushed your petty god and your weak faith. I am coming for you. With a peaceful heart I will destroy you. The whites of my eyes are the last thing you will see before you kiss the feet of my God.

Yeah, just a little piss and vinegar. Here is part of another entry from November 18, 2004:

Yesterday and last night at ECP 7 were uneventful for the most part. Sometime around 1300 or 1400 we took a mortar round. Clark and Mitchell were at the gate, I was under the tower’s stairs, SSG Giglio and SGT Johnson were in the hummer, and SSG Davis and SGT Moore were in the tower. We heard this loud whistle screeching through the sky. It sounded like a jet was headed straight for us. Clark screamed, “I-N-C-O-M-I-N-G!” I was already half way to the ground. Mitchell dove over the bench and landed next to me. SSG Giglio and SGT Johnson weren’t far behind us. It was close. Very close. Luckily, whoever sent it didn’t arm it. They definitely were aiming at us. Later that evening we were around the hummer eating and we heard explosions off in the distance. They were about 800 meters to our 12 o’clock. We heard a boom really close to our 10 and an RPG hit the SF compound about 600 meters away. Then we heard another screeching whistle. We all hit the ground and fast. I bruised me knee. SSG Gig landed right on top of me and Mitchell. Afterward I went up in the tower. I figured if they were going to attack they would do it then. And whoever sent the bastards had eyes on us. After the mortars I get this amazing feeling. I guess it is the adrenaline rush. Sometimes I crave it. I was hoping there would be more, that someone would try to run the gate…

While I was home on leave SSG Giglio’s humvee was hit with an IED (improvisational explosive device). He was sent home with 3rd degree burns. He is an incredible NCO. I wish him nothing but the best.

I had a lot of good times at ECP 7. I was certainly with some great guys. It wasn’t until February that Bennett (my buddy and fellow volunteer from the Florida Guard) and I were re-assigned to HHC 2-156 scout platoon. Shortly thereafter we were moved into Samurai, HHC’s light infantry platoon. It was apparent after my first Samurai mission that I was finally home… doing the job I loved.

This is my journal entry from February 18, 2005...my first Samurai mission:

On the afternoon of the 16th Bennett and I met at the HHC TOC to SP for a two day three night mission. It was awesome. We headed out on M113’s (armored personnel carriers). They dropped us off and once night fell we marched 11 clicks, carrying everything we had. There were six teams… each had its own designated OP‘s. All night we observed and then right before dawn we all met at a rally point. The rally point was this bombed out (***OP SEC***). I passed out after doing some looking around and woke up to gun fire. I grabbed my rifle and ran to a window and saw…(Sorry, you’re going to have to wait for this story).

Shortly after 1800 a mortar round hit. It was CLOSE…about 30 meters, right on the other side of the building. Everyone ran and took cover. CPT D sent two fire teams out into a nearby field to question some people and called up the description and direction of a red truck that took off after a second round impacted. Nothing came of it. Around 1930 all the teams regrouped and headed out to the new OP’s. One of the teams called in seeing six armed men around midnight. CPT D called up Demon (D CO) and asked them to come and raid the house that these men were suspected of being in so that we didn’t have to compromise our position. Demon couldn’t do it so we were all called off of our OP’s and all the teams met up at a rally point. Teams one and two pulled the cordon of the house while teams three and four raided the house. I was on team one. Nothing was found…”

We were taken out of sector and got back to the base the next morning. I loved the missions we were doing. Shortly after we joined Samurai, in March, I started Boots In Baghdad. Samurai was one of a handful of units doing the types of missions we did in Iraq. A month or so later the Command Sergeant Major of Coalition Forces Iraq, CSM Mellinger, as well as the Command Sergeant Major of America’s National Guard, CSM Gipe, would join us on the end of a three day mission for a foot patrol…to “see what this Samurai Platoon was all about."

We have accomplished some incredible things and had some close calls.

This is part of another entry of one of those nights that I will never forget. The entry is from June 20th, 2005, shortly after I returned to Baghdad from my two weeks of R and R:

Last night I was in bed about to fall asleep. It was around 2130. SSG Burns came in our room and told us to get our gear and get to the trucks ASAP. We weren’t really sure what was going on. His sense of urgency and his tone made it apparent that something bad was happening.

Within minutes we were on the humvees ready to roll. Our platoon sergeant, SFC Leger, called us in for a briefing. It turned out that there were insurgents, somewhere between fifty and a hundred, running through the streets of Hariya arbitrarily shooting innocent civilians. We had been in Hariya a couple of nights before doing some raids with the Iraqi Army. Hariya definitely isn’t a good neighborhood. There were several families that had been confirmed dead.

I wish I could describe the feeling I had. We all shared it. When I first heard what was happening, my heart started beating faster, deeper. My level of anger, my fury, was at a level inexplainable with words. I pictured the kids. I pictured the families. The only thing they were guilty of was deserving freedom. I was nearly salivating at the opportunity of encountering the ruthless cowards who had resorted to killing innocent women and children because they were too scared to face us.

I got into the dismount seat, the seat behind SSG Hemphill, my truck commander. In the other dismount seat on our humvee, behind SPC Prince, the driver, was SGT Mencacci, our medic. We couldn’t get out of the gate fast enough.

We arrived in the area shortly thereafter. Normally after curfew the dark streets are empty. Last night, there were people out. In the alleys I could see shadows running back and forth. We split our four vehicle patrol into two groups to cover more ground. The Commander took two trucks and SSG Hemphill had our two trucks. There were people just randomly sprinting across the streets. We were rolling through alley ways. We stopped periodically to question people on the street. They claimed to have seen nothing, making it apparent that the bad guys were around somewhere.

After about thirty minutes the CO called us all back together. Somewhere out there D Co was patrolling as well. We were to provide support for each other if something were to happen. When we met up with the CO we started stopping to search cars. We pulled up on a van full of Iraqi males. All the dismounts maneuvered on it. I was covering down a side street when there was a burst of machine gun fire. It was close.

SPC Castle, the lead gunner, had fired warning shots at a car that wouldn’t slow down. The driver was drunk, oblivious to anything and everything around him. All we could do was turn him around and tell him to go home.

At this point we all started heading for the trucks to move on with the mission. As I was walking to my humvee I heard more gun fire…. Again, close as hell. This time it was from the rear vehicle. A small pick up truck was heading straight for us. SPC Luquette and SGT LeJune had fired warning shots. Then the truck kept going so SPC Miller and SPC Evans hit the engine. When the truck kept coming Lejune and Luquette lit up the cab. When the gun fire stopped the truck was still rolling, slowly coming to a stop.

SGT Champagne and I were the first dismounts to the truck. With everyone covering us we each took a side of the truck. The driver got out. I grabbed him and checked him out…we still didn’t know who they were, why they were out past curfew, and why they were barreling straight for us. Then I looked up. There was a teenage kid with blood gushing out of his face and head. There wasn’t any doubt in my mind that he wasn’t going to be alive much longer. He was screaming frantically and grabbing at his face. His right eye had glass in it. It was bad. I screamed for the medic.

SGT Mencacci came running with his bag and started working on the kid. The dad, clearly intoxicated, ran to get his family. The family ran up, screaming. SFC Leger came up and kept the family back so Mencacci could do his job. We all took up positions pulling security. I scanned down the main street. I was numb, pissed, frustrated. I felt sick. Periodically I would glance back and watch the kids mother leaning over her son, crying, screaming, as he bled there on the pavement.

Mencacci was able to stop the bleeding. It turned out the bullet had more than likely been a ricochet from the hood. It went in his cheek, bounced around in his mouth, knocked out some teeth and then came out above the cheek bone on the other side. It turned out he would live. He probably wouldn’t see out of his eye again. He was lucky to be alive. We put the kid in my seat, where Mencacci could keep an eye on him, and drove him to the hospital. I got a ride back with D Co.

As bad as it was, we did everything right. We shined spot lights, then fired warning shots, fired into the engine, then into the cab. We were in a bad neighborhood well past curfew in the car bomb capital of the world. No matter how many times I replay the incident in my head there isn’t anything we should have done different. It is just extremely unfortunate that things worked out the way they did.

I constantly look back on that night. I probably will my whole life.

Serving in first B Co and now HHC, with the 256 Brigade Combat Team, Louisiana Army National Guard, has been a tremendous experience. I couldn’t have asked for a better unit to be a part of in combat.

Over the past year, the 256 Brigade Combat Team has suffered many casualties. The families and friends of these soldiers know all too well the cost of freedom. These fallen soldiers have gone on to serve forever in the armies of the heavens. They are examples to us all that only through sacrifice is freedom obtained and the American way of life preserved. The American people cannot afford to ever forget these soldiers or the many that fell before them. I assure their families that their losses, while tragic, were for a worthy and noble cause… your sacrifice ensures the peace that millions of other American families enjoy generation after generation. Thank you and God be with you.

To the Iraqi nationals who have opened their arms and embraced me and my friends, specifically the soldiers of the Iraqi Army’s 5th Brigade,
Shu Kran, Fi Aman Allah.

To the faithful readers of Boots In Baghdad, thank you all for your endless support, your encouragement and your prayers.

To the men and women of the 256 Brigade Combat Team... It has been an honor.




May God continue to bless the United States of America.

With sincerity and respect,

Mark Partridge Miner
Boots In Baghdad

Kadhimiya car bombs, FOB Justice mortar attack and new video of America unleashing HELL

On the night of the 21st two VBIED's (car bombs) were detonated in Kadhimiya, just outside the gates of our base. Our platoon, Samurai, was sent to the scene of one of them to assess the situation. A very nice and popular family restaurant was destroyed. Several innocent Iraqis were killed, including children. The peaceful citizens of Kadhimiya were outraged. By the end of the night the local citizens had turned in all individuals involved to the Iraqi Army. Kadhimiya is one of the safest areas in Baghdad because the people that live here stick together and don't tolerate terrorism.

We returned to our base to get a couple of hours of rest before we headed back out at midnight. Around 2015 (8:15pm), I was outside talking with SPC Castle and SPC Ransonet when five mortar rounds impacted on our base and the defensive positions along the river were engaged with small arms fire. The attack was launched from right across the Tigris River.

The beautiful sound of heavy machine guns returning fire is almost as beautiful as hundreds of red tracers piercing the night sky. Luckily, SPC Daigle was on the roof of the building we live in. He was able to record the tail end of America unleashing HELL on some terrorists. You'll notice the terrorists quit returning fire. I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of this. It is an awesome clip. To see it click here.

Samurai Platoon

Row 3 left to right; me, SSG Hemphill, CPL Luquette, Row 2 left to right; SPC Castle, SGT Fisher, SGT Shanks, SGT LeJune, SGT Hawker, SGT Champagne, SSG Burns, Row 1 left to right; SFC Leger, SPC LaValley, SPC Miller, SGT Mason, SGT Hart, SPC Suire

an abundance of American ignorance

You can expect some negative comments on Boots In Baghdad. I stumbled across WhyWeHateBush. So, I went there and wrote this:

you are all incredibly stupid

Wow, I don't even know where to start. I suppose I should start with Iraq, because I am here right now. So you say Saddam had no WMD's? Perhaps you should ask the hundreds of thousands of Iranians, Kuwaitis, Kurds and Iraqis that suffered their wrath. So you say that Saddam Hussein didn't have links to terrorism? We have arrested dozens and dozens of members of Al Queida members in Iraq, not to mention the foreign fighters coming in from Afghanistan, Iran, Syria and Jordan all linked to various terror cells. If any of you really cared about what was happening in Iraq you would attempt to educate yourselves a little bit. Since the invasion the U.S. and other members of the coalition have helped accomplish the following: Build over 3,000 schools, now there are over 20,000 schools up and running with over 6,000,000 students being taught by over 300,000 teachers. We have given life saving vaccinations to over 3,000,000 children. Over 26,000 Iraqi businesses have been started. The Iraqi people have received over $25 billion dollars in oil revenues. Over 1,000 construction projects have been completed and 2,500 projects are underway. There are over 76,000 soldiers in the new Iraqi Army, another 12,000 in training. There are over 92,000 Iraqi Police Officers on the streets with 3,500 coming out of training every day. Iraq's stock exchange has been up and running for over a year. Not to mention a ruthless tyrant has been jailed and a nation liberated.

I am an American Soldier. I dropped out of college and volunteered to come to Iraq. I have been here for eleven months. I can say without any doubt in my mind that I have accomplished great things this year. I have touched many lives and made a difference. I have defended the people of Baghdad (who want us here) from terrorists that want more than anything for the U.S. to leave prematurely so that democracy fails in Iraq. I have visited hundreds and hundreds of schools and hospitals and given them supplies and medications. I have trained and worked side by side with the brave soldiers of the Iraqi Army. I, with my friends in the U.S. Armed Forces have accomplished great things in Iraq for the people of Iraq. More importantly, we have been defending your freedoms. We have been sacrificing so that you can sit and insult us without consequence. So enjoy it. Because I can tell you first hand it isn't free.

Unfortunately, the majority of my generation shares the ignorant sentiments represented at WhyWeHateBush. I started this web page specifically for them. They, however, are too busy talking to listen.

understanding the unknown

The most eloquent series of words couldn’t ever accurately describe the feeling you have when you hear a falling mortar just seconds after one has impacted less than thirty meters away. No matter how hard anyone tries to explain it, you’ll never know what it is like to hurriedly scramble to the base of a palm tree, put your arms over your head and wait for that falling round to hit. Some experiences, no matter how hard you attempt to grasp and understand, cannot be fully comprehended until you experience them yourself.

I sat last night at BDOC, the Iraqi Army’s Base Defense Operations Center, reading Lolita In Tehran by Asar Nafisi. I found the book at Iraqi In America. Azar Nafisi, who now resides in the U.S., used to teach literature in Tehran. The book is the story of how she and several of her most dedicated female students would secretly gather at her home and read and discuss literature that was banned by the Iranian government. The book offers an in-depth window not only into the oppressive nature of post-revolution Iran, but how difficult life can be for women in extreme Islamic cultures. The world Azar Nafisi showed to her small group of students, much as the world we try to understand through her well articulated writing, are worlds almost incomprehensible to each other. Azar explains:

I formulated certain general questions for them to consider, the most central of which was how these great works of imagination could help us in our present trapped situation as women. We were not looking for blueprints, for an easy solution, but we did hope to find a link between the open spaces the novels provided and the closed ones we were confined to. I remember reading to my girls Nabokov’s claim that “readers were born free and ought to remain free."

Later on it is described what female students went through when entering the university.

I would first be checked to see if I have the right clothes; the color of my coat, the length of my uniform, the thickness of my scarf, the form of my shoes, the objects in my bag, the visible traces of even the mildest makeup, the size of my rings and their level of attractiveness, all would be checked before I could enter the campus of the university, the same university in which men also study. And to them the main door with its immense portals and emblems and flags, is generously open.

As hard as I tried to imagine an oppressive environment like this in the U.S., at one of the schools I went to, I just wasn’t able to fathom it. We can try to put ourselves in a situation like that, but until it is reality we can’t ever come close to understanding.

A book about Iranian women secretly reading literature might seem like an odd choice for a twenty-two year old American Infantryman. I suppose it’s interesting to me because I have spent hours upon hours talking with male Iraqi soldiers, translators, farmers, business owners, students, teenagers and kids about their lives both past and present. But, I can only recall two times I have spoken directly to Iraqi women. Having been here eleven months, that just goes to show the differences in our cultures.

I’ll never forget driving from Camp Buehring in Kuwait through the desert to the firing ranges before we came into Iraq. I’d seen deserts on maps and could have given you the Webster definition of vast. Looking out into the wide open emptiness of the Kuwaiti desert and seeing nothing for miles and miles, as far as the eye could see, was the first time I could truly comprehend the vastness of the desert.

Sometimes it just isn’t possible to truly understand and comprehend certain experiences, places or emotions from watching or reading about them. I’d seen mortar attacks in movies and documentaries and read about them in books. Until one is falling on you, you just can’t understand.

Walking through a crowded market in Baghdad. The first time I heard a mosque’s call for prayer. Waking up to outgoing artillery. Jumping out of a Blackhawk into sector. Helplessly hearing your friends taking heavy fire three clicks away. Low crawling through the mud in the rain to get on a roof before the power comes back on. Watching a mother scream and cry while leaning over her wounded son. Experiencing Iraq.

I guess what I am trying to say is if there is one thing I’ve learned this year, reading may serve as the foundation to education. However, the void of comprehension and understanding can only be filled by experience. I suppose that once you reach a suitable balance of the two, you begin to realize just how much you don’t know and just how big this world can be.

We as American’s are extremely fortunate to have the freedoms and opportunities we do. We live in a place where dreams are obtainable and anything is possible. No matter what our race, gender or beliefs we are treated equally and with respect. Hopefully we never truly understand how great we have it.

Cliff Knizley

Make sure you check out www.CliffKnizley.com. He is an incredible musician and aside from the song available for your listening below, his web page provides some absolutely incredible and complex guitar playing.

This is a great song that was written and composed by Cliff Knizley from Florida. I hope you all enjoy it.

great web page

Chances are if you've been to Boots In Baghdad more than once or twice you may enjoy GoInfantry. I would encourage you to check it out and consider joining the forum. It is free and it is fun. I joined and there are some really great discussions. Anytime there is an opportunity to learn a little and teach a little it is hard to lose. If you do join make sure you let them know you heard about it here.

I added another video to Boots In Baghdad Films. The video was taken by CPL Wes Mathews of a weapons cache getting destroyed by EOD. If you recall the post Courage, about an Iraqi woman that approached us while on a foot patrol with all sorts of great information, this was the cache of weapons found the next day thanks to her.

To view the explosion fast forward to about four minutes and forty seconds. Be advised there is explicit language.


On April 12, 2005, Membrain posted the following post on his blog The View From Here

Cpl. Glenn Watkins
This is a follow-up post to my last regarding the tragic death of Cpl. Watkins. I found this information on Red2Alpha's blog 'This is Your War'. I can't recommend his blog to highly. His writing style is unique and riveting and offers a different perspective than some of the other Soldier's Blogs I've been following. Here is Red2Alpha's account of the Memorial Service for Cpl. Glenn Watkins.
-------------------------------------------------
Saturday, April 09, 2005

Saying Goodbye

The memorial for CPL Glenn Watkins was held on the dusty basketball court near Battalion Headquarters. Bars of sunlight stabbed through the steel grey layer of clouds, shifting with the winds aloft.

C for Charlie sat on rough wood bleachers, in front of us sat Alpha Company on folding metal chairs. I felt like and intruder, like walking in on a family fight at your friends house. This was Alpha's private grief and I wouldn't have wanted all these outsiders watching as I said goodbye to one of my buddies. For the most part it was a good memorial, the Battalion Commander, LT COL. Tall, spoke, the Chaplin, Major Blessing, and two of CPL Watkins buddies - both of whom were visibly upset. What bothered me most. Though, was all the pomp that went with it. It could have been much simpler, a formation, the field cross, and some words about the man. This was to parade ground, it was somebody's idea of how to have a memorial, like a movie set and we were all just actors in the scene. The video cameras and photographers didn't help either. To me it cheapened the man's life and all he sacrificed by extending an extra year so he could serve with his old friends in Alpha. CPL Watkins was married, with four children. And he stayed here, in Iraq, so he could be with his old unit... And paid for it with his life. Think about that next time you have to stay late at the office or some other bullshit that you think is a burden to do in your safe civilian life.

Nobody spoke in the crowd, which is unusual for a group of Grunts. Usually somebody will make some kind of comment on something. I thought a lot about my reasons for being here, about my Dad, and Wendy. I wondered, if I were him would I stay an extra year? I tried to feel something for this Soldier that I had never met. I did feel a nameless loss, there was and empty place in my chest for the loss his family feels but I was never really sad until the end when the Alpha

Company 1SGT called roll.
"PVT Smith!"
"Here First Sergeant!"
"SGT Jackson!"
"Here First Sergeant!"
"SPC Alpert!"
"Here First Sergeant!"
"CPL Watkins!"

Everyone stands at attention, in the quiet a flight of Blackhawk helicoptors peels off to the north.
"CPL Glenn Watkins!"
I can feel my throat tighten up and tears come to my eyes.
"CPL Glenn James Watkins!"
Taps.

At the end, we all stood and waited for or turn to saulte the memory of the man, embodied in the field cross. A pair of dusty desert boots, at the base of his M-203, muzzle down, helmet placed on the stock. Watkins dog tags fluttered and clanked in the breeze. We all saluted the cross and photos of him at the base, some knelt and bowed their heads in prayer, others left something, spent casings, notes, pictures. I had nothing to offer, though I wanted to leave something. Instead, as it came to be my turn, I promised to not forget this man or those he left behind.It's the least I can do."Everybody's acting like we can do anything and it don't matter what we do.

"Maybe we gotta' be extra careful because maybe it matters more than we even know." - PVT Eriksson, from the movie 'Casualties of War'




Lay me down in the cold cold ground
Where before many more have gone
Lay me down in the cold cold ground
Where before many more have gone
When they come I will stand my ground
Stand my ground I’ll not be afraid
Thoughts of home take away my fear
Sweat and blood hide my veil of tears
Once a year say a prayer for me
Close your eyes and remember me
Never more shall I see the sun
For I fell to a Germans gun
Lay me down in the cold cold ground
Where before many more have gone
Lay me down in the cold cold ground
Where before many more have gone

Where before many more have gone

Joseph Kilna McKenzie: Lyrics

Thanks to Membrain for the good find. I got chills when I read it.



Web pages to check out:
GoInfantry
Jack Army
Mudville Gazette
The Armed Forces Site Ring

new pictures and video

I have posted two video clips at Boots In Baghdad Films and am working on getting more up.

New pictures have been posted at Boots In Baghdad Photographs.

new post coming soon

thoughts on the press

We went out this morning and did school assessments. School assessments consist of going to the schools in our area and seeing what they need, whether it be supplies or increased security. We have been joined by an Iraqi television journalist. He is a nice guy and will be with us for a few days. A couple of days ago we went into some of the poorer parts of our area and handed out several hundred chickens. There are pictures at Boots In Baghdad Photographs.

I have a program on this web page that allows me to see which links direct traffic to my site. When I have the time I like to browse through them. A lot of them are forums discussing various topics in and around the war on terror and the situation in Iraq. A few days ago I came across an online forum hosted by an American university that was discussing the role of American journalists in Iraq.

There were many differing opinions offered. One was that for a journalist to be objective when reporting international events, they couldn’t regard themselves as American citizens, only as citizens of the world. That may very well be the case. I don’t necessarily think that to be objective you need to go quite that far.

I can be very critical of the United States when it is deserved. However, I love America. While it isn’t perfect, I believe it is closer to perfection than any other nation or civilization has been or will ever be. In all that I do, the best for the American people and the United States is my primary concern. This holds true in my thoughts and opinions regarding Iraq. I think in this instance it just so happens that what is good for America is good for Iraq. That, however, is a whole other post.

I don’t have a problem with how a journalist chooses to regard, or disregard for that matter, their nation and their countrymen. I do however feel that there is a HUGE void in western journalism. Bad things happen here. There isn’t any denying that. However, good things, great and incredible things, are happening every day. If objectivity were the goal, why is there so little mention of the good? Now, I am by no means an expert in journalism, but I would think that reporting the good in proportion with the bad would be the key to objectivity.

By only reporting the bad, an entirely different picture of the situation is created. The disservice isn’t so much to the United States as it is to the people of Iraq and the rest of the world. Perhaps a journalist's loyalty to the U.S. isn’t where objectivity is threatened, maybe it is the loyalty to better ratings and career advancement that are the problems.

So, I guess I hope that as the Iraqi media follows the path of the western press, they don’t follow step by step.

Just a thought.

futures

We have been doing a lot of the same old stuff lately. Patrols, Guard Shifts and QRF (quick reactionary force) shifts. As we near the end of our tour, less than eighty days now, I am doing more and more self reflecting on what I am going to do when I get home as well as what we have accomplished thus far. I think there are several things that need to change and many things that can’t change in order for there to be success here in Iraq. I continue to passionately believe that the successful implementation of democracy in Iraq is absolutely necessary for the preservation of freedom and democracy in the United States. In the coming weeks I will dabble into various issues and plan on releasing more in-depth opinion on the matter once I return home. My reasons for waiting are obvious.

I have been working with the Iraqi soldiers consistently at one of their gates which secures the outer perimeter of our base. It is an incredible opportunity to get to know the Iraqi soldiers and what life is like for them. The other night, SGT Hawker and I had a long and insightful conversation with one of our translators. This translator speaks excellent English and is extremely well schooled in western literature and politics.

In our discussion I brought up the talks going on between the U.S. and Iraqi governments regarding amnesty for insurgents. He brought to our attention that the The Iraq Observer, a nationwide newspaper here in Iraq, reported a little over a week ago that somewhere around seventy-five insurgents who had confessed to killing Iraqi soldiers and civilians as well as American soldiers were released and set free. I have been unable to find any coverage of this in western media. If any of you have seen any coverage of this please post any information you may have as well as thoughts or insights on the comment board.

In the right sidebar I have posted a couple of news articles that provide further information on issues I have discussed, specifically Syria’s support for terrorism in Iraq. Also, there is a link to an article by Kenneth Pollack, who I regard as THE expert on Mid East policy. I encourage you to check out the articles as well as the Saban Center for Middle East Policy web page for further information. The link is also located in the right sidebar.

Tonight I was sitting with an Iraqi soldier when he began telling me about getting shot by an insurgent. He remembered laying on the operating table and the doctor telling him, “When you wake up, you might not have your leg.” He said when he woke up and saw he still had his leg he began to cry. The doctor and the nurse joined him in tears of relief.

By the time he had finished another soldier had joined us. They discussed the loved ones they had lost to the insurgency and told me of a more recent attack on some Iraqi soldiers. Then he looked at me and said, “these insurgents worship the same God that I do, they speak the same language that I do. You worship a different God, speak a different language, and come from the other side of the world. Yet, despite our differences you and your friends are here to help me and my family, while these insurgents try to kill me and my family.”

We all sat there silently pondering his statement. I thought of how in a couple months I would be leaving here, traveling thousands of miles away and decades ahead, to a place where freedom and comfort are so constant they are seldom acknowledged. These soldiers and the people they protect will remain here. For them this fight will last many more years. They will all make many more sacrifices. Their faces, their personalities, their stories and their families will stay with me forever.

I am going to post more frequently from now on. I will be commenting more and more on policy issues regarding Iraq and will continue to share personal experiences. There are some new pictures at Boots in Baghdad Photographs. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to post any video to Boots in Baghdad Films anytime soon. I have tried several times, however, with the state of our internet connections it just isn’t practical. Once I return home I will post dozens of video clips.

As always, thank you for your endless support.

nation of dreams

I want to begin by apologizing for allowing so much time to pass since my last post. We have been extremely busy. Sorry to worry you. Thank you for your e-mails and comments of support and concern.

I appreciate all of your comments regarding amnesty for insurgents. Valid points were made by all and the discussion certainly proved to be productive. I still believe that for amnesty for insurgents to be considered by national leaders is way too premature. The way things have been going since the 16th when I posted the article even strengthens my belief the insurgency is crumbling and desparate.

On the evening of June 30th, Boots In Baghdad MAY be included in a radio program about military bloggers in Iraq and Afghanistan. For more information check out Radio Open Source. For a list of stations click here or to see how you can listen live online click here. And to all the potential guests generated from the radio show, welcome to Boots In Baghdad. I encourage you to browse through the archives to get a glimpse of how things are going in Iraq from the perspective of a soldier on the front end. You may enjoy some of the following posts from the past:

-Courage
-ABU GHRAIB IS UNDER ATTACK
-Brick Wall Rolling
-One Last Night of Chaos
-Yes, We CAN Win this War
-Shadows in the Darkness
-From the Suburbs to Downtown

Hopefully within the next week Boots In Baghdad Films will be up and running. There will be a link appearing underneath Boots In Baghdad Photographs to the right. I will be posting various video clips in hopes of offering further insight into the lives of American soldiers here as well as what life here is like for the local populace and the soldiers of the new Iraqi Army. The new page is ready to go, I just need to find the time to upload the video clips.

We have been extremely busy lately working side by side with the Iraqi Army. We have been doing mounted and dismounted patrols, raids, as well as guard shifts. It seems like every day the Iraqi soldiers are getting more professional and better at what they do. Their numbers are constantly increasing as well. The locals continue to show their support for the coalition and frustration for the insurgency.

On the evening of the 19th we were called out of bed and sent out into sector because there were reports that somewhere between 50 and 100 insurgents were going through a residential area and arbitrarily shooting innocent Iraqi civilians. Most of the car bombs have been targeting Iraqi civilians. The insurgency is no doubt a bunch of ruthless terrorists who are getting more and more desperate. They are starting to understand they aren’t going to win this. The Iraqi people are supplying great intelligence. The threats that our translators, Iraqi soldiers and Iraqi police are receiving are no longer having the effects they used to.

This evening again we were called out on an emergency mission that wasn’t scheduled. We raided several key targets with the Iraqi Army. Rolling through the city afterwards on the way back to the base we were in a convoy with about ten Iraqi Army trucks. The Iraqi soldiers were in the beds of the trucks. The locals of all ages lined the streets cheering on their new Army. Progress is certainly becoming less and less subtle. I knew exactly how these Iraqi soldiers felt. I was reminded of being marched in a single file line behind the USO volunteers through the Atlanta International Airport, having the entire airport cheering for us. No feeling in the world comes close to the pride felt when the people you bleed and sweat for show their love and support.

For the people of Iraq and these Iraqi soldiers those feelings are magnified as they together battle the hardships of living and surviving in the harsh and merciless environment that is home to them here in Iraq. The support of the people is the key that unlocks the boundaries of a soldiers passion. NOTHING can defeat a soldier with passion. Today on the streets of Baghdad I witnessed a mere fraction of the national transformation that has been occurring.

I have always believed that success is taking your dreams, making them goals, and working hard to accomplish those goals. Iraq, in my opinion, is changing from a country struggling to survive to a nation of dreams and goals now working harder than ever to achieve and conquer goals that just a few months ago seemed by many to be impossible. The streets were not flooded with Shia's and Sunni’s today. They were filled with the people of Iraq... thanking, cheering and supporting the men and women who sacrifice daily on their behalf. There is definately a strengthening sense of determination.

Bear with me these last couple of months. We will continue to be busy. I'll do my best to keep you informed.

I have posted some new pictures at Boots In Baghdad Photographs.

what the hell is this?

U.S., Iraq Consider Amnesty for Insurgents

By PAUL GARWOOD, Associated Press Writer

U.S. and Iraqi officials are considering difficult-to-swallow ideas — including amnesties for their enemies — as they look for ways to end the country's rampant insurgency and isolate extremists wanting to start a civil war.

Negotiations have just begun between U.S. and Iraqi officials on drafting an amnesty policy, which would reach out to Iraqi militants fighting U.S. forces, say officials in both the Iraqi and American governments.

But foreign extremists like Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, responsible for Iraq's bloodiest attacks, would not be offered any amnesty, the Iraqi and U.S. authorities told The Associated Press in recent days.

The amnesty proposal is seen as a key weapon to split the insurgency between Iraqi and non-Iraqi lines and further alienate foreign fighters like al-Zarqawi.

Iraq's minister for national security said Sunday an amnesty policy is being drawn up, but he said insurgent groups first must do more to convince authorities they are serious about making peace.

"Those who had committed homicides and caused blood shedding for the innocents will be excluded from this amnesty," said the minister, Abdul Karim al-Inizi. "Talking about issuing an amnesty soon is premature as this depends on whether the insurgents want to take a step forward."

Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Barry Venable said the Iraqi government has raised the amnesty issue and "we look forward to working closely with the Iraqi government as this idea develops."

"Any successful counterinsurgency strategy requires the U.S. and Iraqi authorities to do everything possible to split the insurgency and persuade as many Sunni elements as possible to join the peaceful political process," said Anthony Cordesman, an Iraq expert with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, who says he has been involved in informal talks.

"This does not mean blanket amnesty," he said. It could, however, mean negotiations that lead to "pardoning or ignoring the actions of movements and opposition elements that supported the insurgency when this was done out of nationalism, fear," Cordesman said.

The Pentagon is helping formulate an amnesty policy, but officials stressed on condition of anonymity that the work is being carried out in response to requests by Iraqi authorities, who are desperate to be seen as leading the process.

"These (amnesty) discussions are in their early stages. Any kind of amnesty program would have to be driven by the Iraqi government, not the U.S. government," a U.S. defense official said on condition of anonymity, citing security and political concerns.

But he added that the American government "hopes people who took part in crimes against Iraqi, U.S. or coalition personnel or civilians would face justice."

The middle men are influential leaders from the once-powerful Sunni Arab minority, whose ranks have spawned the bulk of Iraq's anti-U.S. insurgents. Sunnis enjoyed the patronage of Saddam Hussein, a secular Sunni himself, but lost out after his fall.

Some Sunni leaders have said they have been meeting with associates of anti-U.S. militant groups to try to persuade them to lay down their arms.

Exactly who any amnesty would apply to remains unclear, but the U.S. and Iraqi governments say they have begun drawing up such a policy to curb the stream of suicide bombings, assassinations and kidnappings.

The issue is politically charged with the potential to enrage many Iraqis and Americans.

"I think eventually we will probably talk with people who have killed Americans," said Kenneth Katzman, an expert on the Persian Gulf region with the U.S. Congressional Research Service. "We may not see anybody at the table who has killed U.S. soldiers but we will see groups represented who have killed Americans."
The diplomatic efforts are being driven by a growing realization that military force alone can't end the insurgency.

Iraqi officials say "many" homegrown militant groups opposed to the U.S.-led occupation want to join the post-Saddam political process now a sovereign Iraqi government is in place.

But the government says it won't negotiate with al-Zarqawi and other jihadists using Iraq as a battleground to wage holy war.

Iraqi authorities reinstated capital punishment after the June 28 handover of sovereignty from the U.S.-led occupation authorities. Several convicted murderers responsible for beheading Iraqi policemen were sentenced to death last month.

During the past two weeks, leaders from Iraq's Sunni and Shiite communities announced they have been meeting with insurgent groups to try get them to lay down their arms.

"Over the past six months, we have been in touch with people representing about 80 percent of the Iraqi resistance in different parts of the country, who are asking how can we guarantee anything positive from the other side," said legislator Salih al-Mutlak, leader of a Sunni Arab umbrella group.

Al-Mutlak said his group, the National Dialogue Council, has been a go-between for U.S., British and Iraqi officials on one side and Iraqi insurgents on the other.
Al-Mutlak said Iraqi insurgents have demands of their own: They want guarantees that attacks against Sunni cities will stop; that thousands of detainees will be released from U.S.-run prisons; and — most importantly — that the U.S.-led occupation will end.

"They want to reach an agreement, but would like to see evidence that the other side is really positive," al-Mutlak said.
___
Associated Press writers John Lumpkin in Washington D.C., and Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Baghdad contributed to this report.
Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

I am of the firm belief that if you kill an American, whether it be a soldier or civilian, you must be brought to justice. No question, without fail, you will pay for your crimes. Killing Americans is an act of war. We are currently engaged in a war against terrorism here in Iraq. Whatever happened to, "you are either with us or against us!"?

If you help kill American's in a completely indirect way, you are still helping kill Americans. I am still not over the whole Al Sadr thing. We should have killed him. He was responsible for the deaths of American soldiers. If insurgents in Iraq are given amnesty, I will reach a level of rage most people couldn't imagine. I am counting on my nation's leaders to step up and keep their word on this one.

As for the Iraqi people. They are with us side by side. They are suffering and have been suffering and are sick of suffering. If you think it is going to help America's relationship with the people of Iraq to give amnesty to the insurgents and the groups that have been killing their children, their parents, their siblings... their COUNTRY, then you need to get out of your D.C. office and spend a day with me. These people are strong and they are dilligent. They are not ready to surrender their dignity. They have pressed on too long and sacrificed too much to give up now.

I completely understand the intricacies involving the situation in Iraq right now. Fighting a guerilla insurgency of terrorists is a very complex and difficult task. However, I think this amnesty talk is way way way too premature. We are nowhere near that level of desperation. We are still winning this war. We are still making progress. The insurgency is crumbling slowly... but it is crumbling. There isn't an overnight solution. So, quit looking for one.

What are your thoughts on this ?

***Make sure you check out new pictures at Boots in Baghdad Photographs.***

back in Baghdad

Well after a few days of travel I am back in Baghdad. I am currently at Camp Liberty and should be returning to FOB Justice within the next couple of days.

I had a great time with family and friends while I was home. Thanks to all of them for their love and hospitality. I was, however, ready to get back here and finish what I started.

I have posted pictures from back in the day at Boots In Baghdad Photographs. They are all pre-Boots In Baghdad pictures but ought to hold you over until I have some new pictures and new experiences to share with you. There are also a couple of pictures from my R & R up there.

Boots In Baghdad is now accepting fiscal donations. To contribute see the right sidebar.

Thank you all for your patience and continued support the past few weeks. I am eager to get out there and pick up where I left off.

stuck in Kuwait

I have been in Kuwait for almost thirty-six hours now waiting for a flight to Baghdad. I was supposed to leave last night but the flight got cancelled. I have a formation this afternoon to find out when my next flight is scheduled. I'm just ready to get back to my guys and back to my war. I'll let you know once I'm back at FOB Justice and begin working again. Take care.

Kurdish Media on Syria

KurdishMedia.com had an interesting article yesterday entitled "Syria Should Stop Playing With Fire."

There are no American troops in Syria. And there are no other active, armed movements bent on destroying the Syrian government, whether Kurdish or Islamist. So, why this violence against our people? Why do we still have hundreds of Kurds in jail, tortured daily? Why do the Kurdish families receive daily, the bodies of their missing loved ones? And now we have the tortured and mutilated body of Sheikh Khaznawi, a genuinely peace loving, progressive, Sunni Muslim cleric, a rarity in Syria, Western Kurdistan and the Arab Middle East. Ten thousand people in Qamishlo demanded from the Syrian government, in vain, his safe release soon after "the disappearance".

Someone needs to step up to Syria. Shexmus Amed goes on to say:

But it is high time that the USA too abandoned their softly softly approach to this Baathist dictatorship. Not only does Syria continue to facilitate the passage of Jihadists into Iraq to be used as suicide murderers, but it also acts as a "liberated zone" where terrorists can enjoy some rest and recuperation before returning to carry out more raids in Iraq and Kurdistan. Early last month the US Marines engaged an apparently large and well armed group of Jihadists on the northwestern regions of the Al-Anbar province, trying to infiltrate into Iraq. If Syria was genuinely interested in cooperation against Jihadists, then they would have carried out a parallel operation on their side of the border to prevent the retreat of these terrorists back into Syrian territory.

Instead Syria is allowed to play cheap and dirty politics. Large chunks of intelligence apparatus and military forces withdrawn from Lebanon have now been stationed in Syrian Kurdistan. Such is the twisted world of the Middle East that even the peaceful liberation of an Arab country, under pressure from the UN and the US, occurs to the further detriment of an already brutally oppressed part of Kurdistan. One could have reasonably expected that Syria, always complaining of limited resources in its fights against Jihadists, would employ this extra military and intelligence capacity to combat Jihadists on its own territory, instead of arraying them against the Kurds.

The USA should put Syria on notice. If not, the Kurdish leaders in Arbil and Suleymaniyah should do so. If Syria does not stop the ongoing murder and persecution of the Kurds in its own territory and if it does not stop the crossing of Jihadists and fascists into Iraq and Kurdistan, then the very existence of the Syrian state may be in danger. Not only will the Kurds feel entitled to assist, politically and militarily, their brethren in Western Kurdistan, but the USA also may well be amenable to the partition of Syria’s Kurdish territory and its incorporation into Southern Kurdistan. Thus, at least the Arab yoke will forever have been thrown off the entire length of Kurdistan. The great Sunni Muslim cleric and Kurdish patriot, Martyr Sheikh Muhammad Mashuq Khaznawi, would have approved.

I can't say I disagree. It is certainly time for the U.S. to start getting serious about pressuring Syria to change their ways. I've said before and I say again, American soldiers are dying in Iraq because of Syria's wreckless support for terrorism both within Syria and in Iraq. To read the entire article click here.

I leave Sunday morning to return to Baghdad. I look forward to once again giving you the story first hand.

dear baghdad

Dear Baghdad had a great Memorial Day post.

I write to you on what is known in America as, Memorial Day, a holiday where both the fallen heroes and the serving men and women are honored by the people of the United States. Washington, DC is the home of the Arlington National Cemetery, the World War II Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial among others, thus thousands of veterans and those who support the troops get in their motorcycles and pour into Washington to participate in what is known as "Rolling Thunder."

He goes on to address the challenges Iraq faces with the insurgency.

Take it any way you want, everything begins with the end of the insurgency and it must end in a way where the mainstream perceives it as a dark chapter in the New Iraq's history. As long as the insurgency is continuing, the very hope (the only thing that we have gained from Operation Iraqi Freedom so far) can be lost amid the bloodshed and the bombings.

If you have some free time check out Dear Baghdad. I myself am a big fan.

I'd like to welcome the readers of the St. Augustine Record to Boots In Baghdad. To read the article in today's paper go to www.staugustine.com.

another day

I got home to Jacksonville on the 20th and am having a blast. My buddy, Jimmy Bennett from Orlando, had been on leave and got back to Iraq right after I left. He sent me an e-mail letting me know how things are going:

Everyone....This morning at 4am was my first real duty day since being back from R and R. I was at the front gate of Justice with Sgt. Fisher , Lucky and Mencacci. Lucky went to chow at 0630 and Fish went riding around with SSG Burns. Mencacci and I were working the gate and watching the Iraqi National Guard do P.T. and Drill and ceremony when we heard a succession of explosions. BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM .....At first we thought they were early morning car bombs or roadside bombs until we heard the whistle of a Mortar bomb fly right over our heads. As soon as we heard them we took cover behind a cement barrier and covered our heads with our hands and waited for the explosions. DUD!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was a Dud !! The one that landed closest to us was a dud. jeez. It's a good thing all of you are praying for us because I didn't have time to do anything but cover my head and say "oh sh*t" Ya'll should have seen the Iraqi's making a beeline for their building. They were laughing as were Mencacci and I. Laughing , I guess, because we were alright. Here comes the rollercoaster analogy.........You know how when you blast out of the incredible hulk at the Islands of Adventure at Universal Studios, ya get scared and then you can't stop smiling. Well that's the feeling .....almost. My platoon has got more purple hearts and confirmed kills these past 2weeks than in the past 7 months. We are working with Iraqi National Guard and American Special Forces. We are pulling Base security and conducting combat patrols including raids non-stop. This is definitely the front lines of this war.

Bennett, thanks for the update. Don't have too much fun while I'm gone.