Major K.

The BBC

I was contacted a week ago by BBC Radio 5 via e-mail and asked for an interview.  I have received several requests before from others and did not respond as I did not want the attention to my blog that getting approved for an interview would bring.  However, things were a little slow at that time and I had already found out that my higher command knew about this blog, so I figured I'd give it a whirl.  I contacted my public affairs officer and they inspected my blog and figured it would be ok.  Being on the intelligence side in an infantry unit, I pretty much avoid the press anyway, as a lot of the things I know, I cannot talk about.  By the time the PAO did approve the interview, the program had already aired on the BBC, but they decided to go ahead with the interview anyway, for a possible follow up to the show. 

The interview was unfortunately what I have come to expect from the BBC and the MSM in general.  Mostly negative, leading questions about the situation here, why people here feel their dignity is being violated by house searches, etc.  Ross, my interviewer, also asked why so many bloggers think the press has it wrong.  I told him that it was because they only covered a tiny percentage of the whole story.  They never talk about the reconstruction projects underway, the smiles, the many people who thank us for giving them their country back and beg us not to leave too soon, the warm greetings and the kids that run out to our Guntrucks waving whenever we drive by.  I told him that I am well aware the fact that in modern journalism, "if it bleeds it leads."  Part of the problem is that although I am in one of the hotter areas of Baghdad, we see very few journalists around here.  Most of the time, they stay in the comfort and relative safety in their hotels in and around the green zone broadcasting from their balconies surrounded by private security.  They only come here for large operations and leave shortly thereafter. 

Yes, there is awful carnage here.  Sometimes it is heavy, but most of the time it is pretty light.  The carnage here is only a small piece of the story in certain areas of the country.  I also explained to him the 3 P's, and the reality of the fact that most of us on the "front lines" - as if there were such a thing, have yet to fire a shot.  I was slightly irritated by the line of questioning and its underlying presuppositions, but I made sure that I focused on the first 2 of the 3 P's, and ended the interview pleasantly.  Although he is north of here in Mosul,  Michael Yon is a journalist that I consider one of the good guys.  That is probably why he is a freelancer and not beholden to anyone.  I like that.  Check him out.  Hat tip:  Michelle Malkin.

Getting the hang of this Democracy thing...

This is what progress looks like.  It is slow, painful, and usually accompanied by a lot of cigarette smoke, especially in this area of the world, where it seems like everyone smokes.  This is the local council of Sheikhs meeting with the local leaders of the Iraqi Police, Iraqi Army and US Forces.  There was plenty of arguing about security, the tactics of the Iraqi Army, and the Sheikhs using their influence to root out the arhabi in their neighborhoods and report them to the Iraqi authorities.  Our interpreter was struggling to keep up with the number of people speaking.  As usual, almost everyone was looking out for themselves, but the key was this.  No one got shot, stabbed, slapped, punched or thrown out a window.  In fact, they Iraqi leaders of the meeting admonished everyone to watch their tone and be respectful toward each other in spite of their disagreements.  Just like meetings back in America, much more was said than was actually accomplished, but the fact the these folks are getting together without being at gunpoint is another sign that we're moving in the right direction.  They all walked away, and will live to meet again next week.

Interesting

It is amazing what the rest of the world does without.  We complain that we don't have the latest X-box or playstation, while people here don't have shoes or regular electricity.  Wealth is measured in many ways.  Income is only one way of measuring it, but this is a good way to get an idea where you stand.  Check it out.  Think about it next time you are jealous of Bill Gates.  Hat tip to Randy at Ethos.

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.  As usual, innocent civilians have been hit the hardest, followed by the Iraqi Security Forces.  You can say what you want about their competence and their ethics, but you cannot question their courage.  I have infinite respect for their bravery.  In our area, an indirect fire attack killed a handful of kids who were in the wrong place at the wrong time when some scumbag arhabis tried to attack a checkpoint.  Also,  a suicide car bomber, succeeded in only blowing himself up while his following sponsors in another vehicle who tried to follow up with an impromptu ambush on the IP's were outflanked and captured by the Iraqi Army from a nearby checkpoint.  Good on 'em.  This particular battalion is known as "The Lions."  They are far from perfect, but they sure got it right this time.  In spite of all this,  arhabi activity in our zone is decreasing, partly due to the leathernecks out west like Howdy and Hurl, as well as the continuing efforts of our guys and the Iraqis.  Baby Steps.  Rome was not built in a day....

My cup runneth over...

Many of you know that my wife and I are expecting our first child.  She is currently 19 weeks pregnant.  We had discussed at length whether we wanted to find out the gender of the baby ahead of time or "be surprised."  I had normally been more traditional in this regard and figured I would always wait until the birth.  The fact that I am over here has changed my mind.  I don't know why it matters, but it does. We decided that we would rather know ahead of time via an ultrasound picture.  We have been blessed with a flawless pregnancy so far.  Yesterday, she was far enough along to get an accurate picture that would let us know the gender.  It is going to be a boy!  We both have been just hoping for a healthy baby of either gender, but secretly hoping that it was a boy.  I am elated beyond words.  We are discussing names now.  Life is good.

Checking in

Our unclassified internet at the HQ is down - again!  I am blogging from the internet cafe for $2/hour.  It is still hot, sandstormy, and luckily fairly quiet in our AO.  More Iraqi Army units are coming in here every time I turn around, but they each have their own ministry that they work for, so information sharing and coordination is a big focus here on the ground.  Growing pains again...