News from Bagdad
This is the re-post of a blog written by a Charlotte Observer Columnist in Baghdad:
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Day 33 - Bright, Shiny Things
Attended an informal luncheon with Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch and a couple of other one-stars today at Camp Freedom in the Green Zone.
The names of U.S. military bases here are unsubtle. There’s Camp Victory. Camp Prosperity. FOBs Hammer, Warhorse and, if it were up to me, Slaughterhouse 5.
I made a B-line to the ham cold cuts. As previously mentioned, our excellent chef doesn’t do pork. He’s also not big on burgers or steak. He does a great chicken-and-rice. And, to mix things up a bit, he does an equally great rice-and-chicken dish.
All the media power players were on hand, seated in a semi-luxurious horseshoe-shaped dining table, draped in white and maroon linen. New York Times. LA Times. USA Today. NBC News. ABC News. NPR. CNN. The Charlotte Observer.
I didn’t write a daily. But the takeaway message from Lynch is as follows:
1) There is no civil war in Iraq, at least as far as he can tell. (Hmmm.)
2) The U.S. media overplays sectarian violence. He’s not seeing a lot of Sunni vs. Shiite bloodletting where he operates. (Double hmmm.)
3) In one town, locals bang sticks on poles in a kind of Morris code to alert local police after insurgents have struck. One of the generals was astounded at this semi-covert means of alerting authorities. (Privately, I wonder if it’s because the locals lack adequate cell phones or other telephony networks.)
4) The Iranians are openly ferrying arms, rockets and other ordnance to militia fighters. Lynch’s troops found more than a dozen Iranian-made rocket installations, all armed with washing machine timers, on Friday. All were aimed at FOB Hammer, south and west of Baghdad.
5) The U.S. military in his “battle space” (four provinces to the south of Baghdad) is not arming local security volunteers. Instead, they’re providing them with vests. This will let everyone know they’re working as informers and helping keep the peace. (Say what?)
6) Iran is not in Lynch’s battle space. (That neighboring country, however, is a member of the “axis of evil.”)
After the informal briefing, I approach one of the one-star generals to ask about the vests. Are they official-looking Iraqi civil defense vests, with patches and such? Or are they the cheeky, fluorescent kind that crossing guards the world over use?
It’s the latter I’m told. Glow-in-the-dark vests. For informers. Hoo boy.
Posted by Mike Drummond at 11:48 AM
Faith, Hope & Love
CA
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Day 33 - Bright, Shiny Things
Attended an informal luncheon with Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch and a couple of other one-stars today at Camp Freedom in the Green Zone.
The names of U.S. military bases here are unsubtle. There’s Camp Victory. Camp Prosperity. FOBs Hammer, Warhorse and, if it were up to me, Slaughterhouse 5.
I made a B-line to the ham cold cuts. As previously mentioned, our excellent chef doesn’t do pork. He’s also not big on burgers or steak. He does a great chicken-and-rice. And, to mix things up a bit, he does an equally great rice-and-chicken dish.
All the media power players were on hand, seated in a semi-luxurious horseshoe-shaped dining table, draped in white and maroon linen. New York Times. LA Times. USA Today. NBC News. ABC News. NPR. CNN. The Charlotte Observer.
I didn’t write a daily. But the takeaway message from Lynch is as follows:
1) There is no civil war in Iraq, at least as far as he can tell. (Hmmm.)
2) The U.S. media overplays sectarian violence. He’s not seeing a lot of Sunni vs. Shiite bloodletting where he operates. (Double hmmm.)
3) In one town, locals bang sticks on poles in a kind of Morris code to alert local police after insurgents have struck. One of the generals was astounded at this semi-covert means of alerting authorities. (Privately, I wonder if it’s because the locals lack adequate cell phones or other telephony networks.)
4) The Iranians are openly ferrying arms, rockets and other ordnance to militia fighters. Lynch’s troops found more than a dozen Iranian-made rocket installations, all armed with washing machine timers, on Friday. All were aimed at FOB Hammer, south and west of Baghdad.
5) The U.S. military in his “battle space” (four provinces to the south of Baghdad) is not arming local security volunteers. Instead, they’re providing them with vests. This will let everyone know they’re working as informers and helping keep the peace. (Say what?)
6) Iran is not in Lynch’s battle space. (That neighboring country, however, is a member of the “axis of evil.”)
After the informal briefing, I approach one of the one-star generals to ask about the vests. Are they official-looking Iraqi civil defense vests, with patches and such? Or are they the cheeky, fluorescent kind that crossing guards the world over use?
It’s the latter I’m told. Glow-in-the-dark vests. For informers. Hoo boy.
Posted by Mike Drummond at 11:48 AM
Faith, Hope & Love
CA
Labels: Iraq, Middle East, War
posted by Dr. C.A. Friend @ 1:02 PM
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