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Imagine
By Slab
II MEF(Fwd)'s Public Affairs team put together an excellent video about a small group of Marines (to include their Navy corpsman) who are living with and advising a company of Iraqi jundi. Enjoy.
In my four deployments to the CentCom AOR, the time that I've spent with Afghan Security Forces and the Iraqi Army rank up there as some of my favorite experiences. To say that the average Afghan or Iraqi soldier is gregarious would be putting it mildly. The other week I bumped into a former colleague from 2d Battalion 8th Marines. He had just come home from a tour on a MiTT in Fallujah, and of course I spent last summer supporting a MiTT near Habbaniyah. As we compared our experiences, we both talked about how we would both willingly volunteer to go back as part of a MiTT. It is an experience that is difficult to match in any other job. It sure as hell beats being a FOBbit.
In other news, Lex points us to a recent post by Tish Durkin. In Iraq: A Place of Ambivalence, Mrs Durkin takes the anti-war crowd to task on some key points. Mind you, she doesn't give the pro-war crowd a pass either. As Lex points out, no one gets off easy in this one, as she does not choose to seat herself neatly in one corner or the other. I certainly wish that we'd see more writers like Mrs Durkin - people who don't try to paint the war in neat shades of black and white, but who show the limitless ambiguities, and still express some hope despite their misgivings (and Tish Durkin has quite a few). Unlike most opinions about the war, this hope isn't wrapped up in politics, but instead it is rooted in a deep sense of concern and empathy for the Iraqi people.
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Trackbacked by The Thunder Run - Web Reconnaissance for 04/13/2007
A short recon of what’s out there that might draw your attention.
Good video.
This is where the main effort should have been as soon as we ceased offensive operations in 2003. Unfortunately, I think those in the leadership positions really had no clue as to what to do next after the invasion was complete.
Hopefully, we can make this thing work under Petraeus. I fear we're really running up against the clock though.
Stay safe out there.
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two great finds, Slab.
The comments over at HuffPo depressed me. Here's a woman, a professional with years of experience in Iraq, offering one of the best, more level critiques on the war to date, and these ideologues still pay her zero respect. If it doesn't fit the narrative, attack attack attack.
Hey, as mentioned...the pro-war crowd took their licks too. They just seemed to be more gracious about it.
Like Lex said, you can pick them out fairly easily...look for the posts that include LIES or LIAR!!