Is it Christmas?

The past couple of days have been difficult here in Iraq. We had hoped for a peaceful holiday season especially after the Arabic Hajj had been the most peaceful in a long time. But it seems the insurgents are doing everything possilbe to ruin the holiday by killing Americans on Christmas.

Yesterday morning the first thing I noticed was the Peruvian guards were in 'full battle rattle', body armor, kevlar helmets, and weapons at the ready. We had not seen this posture since back in the fall. Yesterday when I reported in to work we learned that we would be operating under heightened security measures, of which the outcome is we are pretty restricted and when we do move we are armored up.

Today there are no Hadji busses running, we are in IED protected vehicles, and instead of the streets being patrolled by Iraqi security forces, our American boys and girls are spending their Christmas morning checking every vehicle that moves to ensure it is not laden with explosives.

Perhaps this will all be a revelation to me compared the the Christmas' I have come to know in America. Instead of caroling, and families getting together, we will have the experience of the early Christmas' in which you were in fear for your life. What does it feel like to be a hunted Christian, where if you slip up you will be the target? Ah, I remember, Christianity in its origin is a religion of the persecuted. And eventhough this holiday is rocognized as a holiday in Iraq, there will be no WWI-like Christmas truce this year.

Last night I was able to go to the ambassador's Christmas party for an hour. It was as all things in Iraq, rather surreal. The state department workers showed up in their suits and ties, with long trench coats, the women in their gowns. It was much like an affair of state. We, were there in our battle uniforms as were the Marines who guard the embassy. There was a distict difference. There was much great food, which we could have, and much refreshment, which we could not (you have to love GO1) So, no eggnog for us, even though the ambassador repeately invited us to have some.

He did make a few comments. "Christmas of 2007 was the beginning of hope in Iraq and Chrismas 2008 is the realization of that hope... A year ago we were faced with the greatest catastrophy of our generation, but because of your efforts we have turned Iraq into an example of what can be accomplished with hope and perseverence... There are few people in the world who can claim to witness the great events of history- you are the few who can say you contributed to those events".

I had always wondered what conditions surrounded these events. I soon learned. I went back to the media operations center for several more hours. The first thing I learned when I got back was three soldiers had just died today, the frightening part of this for me was where they were killed and what they were in. It matched perfectly where my daughter is and what she does. Merry Christmas. Fortunately for me, I have access to information and was able to confirm it was not my family who would forever remember Christmas as the day their child was killed in Iraq, it would be others. What a miserable realization.

Just after midnight I called for transportation back to my sleeping quarters. My 'sleigh ride' was in an up-armored Chevy Suburban loaded with soldiers in full battle gear all singing "Deck the Halls" as we worked our way through checkpoints. The night sky was lit by a solitary star in the West. No shit. It hovered just over the horizon in the moonless sky. We rambled along bounding from speed bump to checkpoint, laughing, and joking, and singing songs, randomly flashing our 'security badges' to the machine gun toting security checkpoints all along the way... we shall not have our spirits dampened.

When I got back to my CHU I turned on my computer media player and the song that came on was "I'll be home for Christmas...if only in my dreams". How true. I can see how these songs were so popular and have endured because of the WWII generation. There is a whole era who lived not only history, but also, loss, loneliness and postponed Christmas.