A visit by Condi...

We had a visit from the Secretary of State a couple of days ago. She was in Baghdad to negotiate the Strategic Forces Agreement which when signed will allow U.S. troops to remain in Iraq after this year.

She had flown into BIAP (Baghdad International Airport) from signing the recent missile defense system agreement with Poland. She met with Prime Minister Maliki for few hours and then came to the CPIC to hold a press conference. Of course it was not that simple. Though we are inside what is considered a secure area, there were hours of inspections of the place to ensure it was safe. It seems safe enough for us is not safe enough for a government official. None the less, we did get a nice visit from the bomb dog who was quite friendly, and who by the way found the premises free from explosives.

The press turn out was rather large. More than we have seen in our time here. As expected all of the questions were related to the contents of the agreement and when will it be signed. Her response, “It will be done when it is done.”

I have worked quite a bit on this agreement myself. Not the negotiating part of it but the public affairs end. It is focused on quite a bit over here, but seems to be virtually unheard of back home. I was stunned when I got here to realize we have to be out of the country by Dec. 31st, 2008 if the Iraqi Government does not invite us to stay. The United Nations mandate that allows us to remain here runs out on that date. I remember thinking, Whoo hooo! I guess we are going home. No, not so fast. And then I thought, since we have a Democratic Senate, they won't sign a treaty that keeps U.S. forces here. Wrong again. I have learned in my exposure to U.S. foreign relations that what I learned in my government classes is not necessarily true. While the U.S. Constitution directs that treaties must be ratified by the senate, all the executive branch has to do is simply not call it a treaty. So instead they call it an agreement. What is the difference you may ask? Nothing. Just the name. So it is called the Strategic Forces Agreement instead of the Strategic Forces Treaty which in both cases is signed by the governments of both nations and dictates relations between them, but in this case it skips the whole bothersome bit of Senate approval. Nicely done. So much for that whole separation of powers and checks and balances bit.

The treaty, woops sorry, agreement has been held up quite a bit on details. Of particular trouble for the Iraqi government has been the issue of immunity, air space, bases, and Iraqi public opinion. There are quite a few private security firms operating over here and the Iraqis want to make sure that the next time they gun down a car load of civilians they will not be protected by immunity. We have not had a good record of convicting contractors or rogue soldiers who have allegedly committed crimes. So the Iraqi government is refusing to sign the document until the immunity clause is removed. They also want to reduce the number of U.S. forces on the ground. There is much talk about us being out of the Iraqi cities by next summer and completely out of the country by 2011, but that will all be worked out in the agreement.

This is all particularly touchy for the elected officials over here. A similar agreement was signed with the British government back in the 1920’s that the Iraqis have not forgotten. There are constant comparisons to the “British Mandate” which brought about rebellion and the beginnings of the middle-eastern hate for the west. The similarities are striking. Will history repeat itself?

There were renewed protests in Sadr City after prayer on Friday. Al-Sadr who earlier agreed to a cease fire is again inciting his followers to speak out against what he calls the “American occupation” of Iraq because of the agreement talks. And to go with the protests we have again been introduced to a renewed effort to blow us up with mortar and rocket fire. I sure did miss those midnight sprints to the bunker.

As the CG always says, "Nothing is easy in Iraq." There are just so many players who want control. It gets rather bothersome that political posturing continually gets in the way of the good of the people. I wonder if what is best for Iraq can also be best for America - or does it really matter.

What will come from all of this? Even at the highest levels no one seems to know. But I do know we will still be here after December.

Iraq in August...

Another tough night for one of our boys. They have seen much and have served with the highest of distinction. I cannot say enough good things about the honorable service of our Soldiers, Sailors and Marines. They make us all proud.

My buddy Lieutenant Commander David Russell and I flew a few flags from the US embassy to mail to those who have been especially supportive of our service here in Iraq.

Please fly them with pride when they arrive. They have flown in the face of the enemy.

I especially like this shot of Iraqi soldiers literally helping an old lady across the street. We really are all the same, with the same values, though we fail to see it sometimes.

This is the old and the new of Iraq. Many in this country still use donkeys for their transportation. Not much of a change since Mary rode one into Bethleham two thousand years ago to give birth to Jesus. And behind the little burro is the newest vehicle in the US army, the MRAP (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected). These new vehicles are responsible for saving many American soldier's lives. The donkey...he just makes us smile.

In case you didn't notice, it is time for school. These Iraqi girls are lined up to receive school supplies sent to the children of this nation by many of you. Thank you.

These kids love school. This whole nation is devoted to education. I suppose oppression creates desire. In a joint venture with the government of Iraq we have opened hundreds of new schools this year.

Shots of Iraq in August

I have said it many times and it is so true I will say it again, the kids of Iraq love the American soldier.

You just never know what you will run into on patrol.

This aircraft was damaged when landing so it had to be demolished to clear the runway.



Water, water, everywhere.....water is as important as bullets over here... 125 degrees takes its toll on you. You can never have enough to drink. This soldier is ready.

This is the safest view you can take of Baghdad. I have taken this aireal journey to the IZ many times. The unique beauty of the city never fails to grab me. Besides, we have to look for the guy who may want to shoot you down...

A Good Birthday Froking...Whooo Hoooo

The whole birthday party was a pretty funny thing. Laura wanted to make sure I had a good time so she set up a suprise party for me...rather long range. She coordinated for the past few weeks with some of the guys I work with to pull the whole thing off.

She sent them some cash so they could go out and purchase party favors for the group. She sent a powerpoint slide show with loads of embarrassing photos carefully choreographed to fitting music. She and Sami ordered a banner to be displayed at just the right time. And she sent some very inappropriate reading material. (Which is very popular by the way).

So the day started like any other, we arrive at 7 to listen to the BUA (Battle Update Assessment) which is over an hour of the commading general discussing all of the developments throughout the country. This can be rather long and tedious, but is necessary to be able to do the job. At the end of the BUA the chief stands up to gives the orders of the day for about 5 minutes, but today he and another soldier put up the banner Laura had sent, which was accompanied by the Bee Gees singing Saturday Night Fever and the beginning of the slide show. My boss who is a crusty old active duty Army guy, with 30 years of hate built up inside of him, came into the room saying, "What the Hell is going on in here?" He had heard the sounds of happiness and was intent on stopping that right now. But there was something about the pictures of family that immediately softened him. He just stood there and stared. When it was over he yelled, "Hall, come over here!" in his usual tone of scream, so I figured this would be fun. I love screwing with him. There is nothing worse than a career Army guy trying to deal with a National Guard guy who just doesn't take this whole Army thing too seriously. "Yes, Sir." "Damn it, I want you to".....long pause...."tell who ever did that".....another long pause....."that was damn nice." Then he turned and walked away. I thought I saw a tear there for just a second...

Then the boys handed me a package that had pasted on it a quote from General Order #1. "The introduction, purchase, possession, transfer, sale, creation, or display of any pornographic or sexually explicit photograph, videotape, CD/DVD, movie, drawing, book, magazine, or similar representation depicting pornographic or sexually explicit material shall not be allowed." I slowly opened the package, and inside was the July issue of Playboy Magazine. The war suddenly stopped. I was surrounded by some very eager Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines who had not seen a woman in quite some time. Well not in this way at least.

Now my wife is pretty cool, but I didn't think she was willing to supply me with a book load of femaleness to get me through the tour, so I knew something had to be up. She had taken every page, and every girl, even every advertisement and sanitized them. I mean really, how hot can even the hottest woman on earth be if she has an image of John McCain glued over her finest photographic qualities? The best part was the center fold. "Miss July" had a nice pair of..... compact disks for her bikini top, but there was still hope because she just had a sticky note for her bikini bottom.

Everyone knows how easily those are removed. So as a Marine hand reached from behind me to peal it away, he was bitterly disappointed to find, pasted under the sticky note but over Miss July's.....the snorting ass that is a logo for the US Army, and written neatly above her bikini line the words..."Nothing to see here!" Now you want to see a bunch of disappointed troops, then cover up Miss July.

One eager troop turned the page and removed a picture of two puppies that were glued over a model's...well....two puppies....only to realize these pictues were double protected because a black sharpie had scribbled out the image. Everyone had a laugh and went on with the business of the day.

The day was busy with several major news events occupying our time, but at the end of the day there was to be partying. One of our navy guys was being promoted early because of his position, which is called a "froking". We celebrated in proper style with "near Beer" (non-alcoholic) and several trays of Iraqi food which one of our interpreters had brought in. It was great fun, the merging of two parties into one....a birthday celebration combined with a promotion party and all the beer you can drink...but without the intended effect.

After the food was all cleaned up, a group of us went outside to smoke a few of the Cuban Cigars Laura had asked one of the guys to pick up for me. So there we were drinking "near beer", laughing as we thumbed throgh Laura's creative destruction of the Playboy bunnies to make them Iraq appropriate, and smoking Cuban cigars.

Rather a strange sight we were, but to add to the fun was a small group from the Italian Army sitting near us. Two of them were arguing rather loudly. We turned to see what was disrupting our peaceful moment when crashing into our table came an Italian soldier, knocked there by his Italian girlfreind who is also in their army. "Excuse me" (say this with your best Italian accent) Then looking at us and throwing his hands in the air he said, "Mama Mia! (he really said that) Italian women are crazy! Don't ever get involved with one!"

As the night wore on we continued to enjoy the Italian opera which ended as all great shows, with a burst of anger, followed by a kiss, and an exit to where only our imaginations could take us.

It was yet another surreal Iraqi moment as we ended the day drinking legal German beer, smoking Cuban cigars, eating Arabic food, and watching Italians fight and fall in love again.

What a great day, and certainly one I will remember for a long time. The gifts were great. I received 3 bags of chocolate candy (very difficult to get over here) a box of Captain Crunch (from the Cousins family-Thanks!), a dozen Cubans, an embarrasing presentation of great memories, a magic carpet, and 61 birthday cards from some of the nicest people in the world. Thank you all for your support and thoughts. Thank you Sami and Laura for orchestrating such a great day even though I am half a world away. You all made a great day for a soldier far from home.

English Teacher... Even in Iraq (with addendum)

I just got in from teaching my English class to Arabic students.

What a great experience. Sgt. Murphy and I teach the class twice a week to a group of 20 members of the Arabic media who want to learn English so they can better interact with U.S. forces and diplomats. They are phenomenal students. I have taught everything from summer school to AP Language, but I have never encountered a more eager group of students.

Today when I closed class with my parting, “Ma a salaama”, while placing my hand on my heart and extending it toward them, the class all said, “No! Please, we want more class.” (Obviously, I have a long way to go) They began a series of questions about past, present, and present progressive verbs. After I answered those questions and gave many examples, they gave me an essay on spiders and asked me to read it to them as they followed along. They then asked me to quiz them on the essay. I kept saying, “alle”-“Class is over”- “alle” It was lunch time, the meal was waiting, but none of them would leave.

I had to get them out because we had two generals conducting a press conference in 20 minutes. They finally put away their books, but still did not leave. The class then lined up and one-by-one walked up to me to thank me for teaching them. Yeah, this happens after every class. This is the class ritual. So I shook the hand of every man and placed my hand over my heart for each of the women. I am certain my students back home will do the same when I get back next winter.

It is difficult for them to get to class though. This is not because they don’t want to come, but because they risk their lives to come. They have to travel through some of the most dangerous parts of Baghdad to get there. Some days my students do not make it, because they have been threatened for “cooperating with the Americans”. They take it most seriously when their families are threatened. (But I am still tough, and am standing by Kearsley High School’s eight-absences-and-you-are-dropped policy.)

One of the men did not come for several weeks. We were told he had been killed because he had been attending my class. Sadly the possibility was so real that we accepted it. How do you deal with that? Thankfully it was not true. Imagine, students risking their lives and those of their families so they can learn. I just don’t know if I am good enough of a teacher to be risking that much. But, I have prepared myself for something horrible to happen to at least one of them this year.

The biggest problem I face is a common problem for all teachers. There is just such a range of students. I have those who can almost carry on a conversation in basic English, all the way down to a man who just looks at me and points to the (usually wrong) words on the page. But he tries. There is probably more chatter than most teachers would be comfortable with as I introduce new words. Especially since my Arabic is very weak. There is a whole bit of commotion and pointing at words, and sometimes almost an argument between them about the Arabic meaning. But then they smile and turn back to me to let me know they have settled it and want more.

The female students are a whole different challenge. In Iraqi culture it is inappropriate to make eye contact with a woman who is not your wife. American teachers are all about eye contact. That is how we know the student understands. But here we are not even supposed to speak to them. But I do. I just see them all as I remember my aunts back in the 1960’s, as the women sit in class with their scarves and head coverings. The most difficult case is a woman from Saudi Arabia. She knows no English, cannot even repeat after me. It seems the words just will not form in her mouth. She comes to class dressed in the full jet black, head-to-toe burka. She tries, but the cultural barriers are insurmountable.

So for those of you who thought I may lose my teaching touch while here, rest assured, I am getting some of the most challenging practice possible. Besides, it is a weekly reminder of what a great profession teaching is. It is inspiring to see the risks these people of Iraq will take to attend class.

After class today one of the men pulled me aside to show me a picture of his sister in America. “Dearborn. My sister lives Dearborn." He pointed and smiled, "This her child in favorite place.” She was sitting in a 2nd grade classroom. Then he proudly announced, “She top of class.” He explained how important education is to his family. Then he said, “You will help get my children to America? I promise, they will be best in their class.”

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Addendum: Today in class we had several students missing. At the end of class two of the men came rushing in apologizing about being late. When asked what happened one of them responded, "A bomb! We were attacked by a bomb!" He looked a little rough, and scared, but alive. And belive it or not, he still came to class. You have to love these people. Later in the day in the news there were reports of the explosion resulting in 6 people killed.