The Slain Soldier of Salah Ad-Din.

Here is a very moving email that Kenneth wrote on his way back home from Iraq this Sunday.

As they say in Maine, Ye Cahn't Gi' Thar Frahm Heer...

Well, it looked like we were going to fly out of here this morning, but the military cancelled our plane to meet other requirements. That left 70 Chief-of-Mission personnel (non-military) for the second day in a row scrambling to change their onward travel plans. After finding out about our situation , the Embassy is trying to get us a plane. These flights are contracted by the State Dept to move COM personnel personnel in and out of Baghdad, but the military diverted the aircraft for a higher priority -- something that is rarely done. Its tough on the morale of those who are hoping to begin R&R or are ending their tour and have travel commitments. We are all hoping that the Embassy is able to resolve the problem and that we'll be able to fly out soon. We have apparently set a record for staying the longest in this transient compound (Sully) of any group in recent memory trying to fly out. If we don't fly out tomorrow, we have been told the whole mission may be scrubbed, and we will be sent back to the IZ to start over again the process of booking new milair reservations. At that point, it would be doubtful that I would make it back to Warsaw in time for the June 14 good-bye barbeque or perhaps even for our flight to the US on June 17. One has to book a milair reservation more than four days in advance notice and the flights often fill up several weeks in advance. Sorry for the bad news, and to leave the family with so much uncertainty. We may have word this evening about a flight tomorrow. Inshallah.

Maybe onwards to Warsaw...

The skies are clearer, although there is still some wind, which picks up the dust.

We have a flight scheduled to leave here late this morning, so by mid-afternoon I should be in Amman. I don't think I'll have time to go to the Dead Sea, which is too bad, as I probably won't travel through Amman again. (There is a minimal layover in Kuwait and I can fly direct from there to DC on United with no stopovers, so in the future I plan to go that route. This will give me more of my R&R time actually at home rather than traveling.)

It's not easy leaving Iraq...

Well, the sandstorm forced the cancellation of this morning's flight, which was to have come in from Kuwait and then taken us to Amman. They are planning to resume flights at 1800. Whether we will fly late in the day or have to wait until tomorrow is still not known. If I get out tomorrow, I'll be able to take the Lufthansa flight on June 10.

Maybe onwards to Warsaw...

We made it to Sully compound at Baghdad Int'l Airport (BIAP) just before 3am. We made the trip (about 40 mins) in a large armored bus, called the Rhino, that does shuttle runs between the IZ and BIAP. (Its called the Rhino because, for some at least, it has a similar appearance. I got a room (shared) at Sully and slept for two and one-half hours. Then arose for the 6:30am check-in, when we learned that the flight had been cancelled due to the duststorm. The flight has been rescheduled for the morning of June 11, weather permitting. One guy who rode on the Rhino was relating how he had been stuck at BIAP for four days due to weather. It's not something I like to think about. There isn't much to do here other than read, sleep, watch movies, and do some work on the computer.

Onwards to Warsaw...

The sandstorm here continues to threaten my travel plans. It forced the cancellation of my helo to BIAP (Baghdad International Airport) this afternoon. I'll instead take the Rhino shuttle late tonight to BIAP and then catch a very early Sunday flight to Amman. Let's hope that the dust storm does not cancel the flight to Amman, or at least that I get to travel on Monday. Otherwise, I'll miss the Lufthansa flights to Frankfurt and Warsaw.

When You Get the Urge for Going

The helo that was to have flown me to Baghdad tomorrow (Friday) has been canceled.

That my meetings in the Embassy with various offices get wiped out is not my biggest concern; it's that I now have only one day to make it to BIAP - Baghdad International Airport - that place through which all of us serving in Iraq must pass when arriving or departing.

If you had a whole day anywhere else in the world to make a flight connection, that would seem like more than enough time. Here, however, that's not the case. Some people travel three or four days in advance to hedge against the possibility that their helo flight is canceled for weather or competing priorities. (The flight itself is a big like taking an amusement park ride. The helos bob and weave over the tree tops, never flying in a straight line. If you enjoy those kinds of rides, it's fun; if you are inclined toward motion sickness, this isn't your favorite means of transport.)

But back to the issue on my mind -- getting on that C-130 on Sunday to fly to Amman and then connecting onward to Warsaw. My three months on the ground in Hillah have been rewarding. The job of leading a 40-person PRT comprised of a wide variety of personnel is not awfully different from that of a DCM. The Management and Regional Security Office (RSO) elements in the Hillah Reginal Embassy Office are separate from the PRT, so there is not a unified management structure, and of course the tasks at hand the challenges one faces are not common to an Embassy . . . at least not in a developed and stable country.

In that regard, we were reminded this week about the danger of working here when an EFP hit one of the military vehicles only several hundred meters from our compound. Fortunately no one was killed, but two soldiers were wounded. That it was possible for the terrorists to plant an EFP in such close proximity to an Iraqi Police check point raises concern, of course.

I have just completed going over our personnel and determining when contracts need to be renewed. Fortunately, all of the State Department direct-hire employees (known as 3161s) want to renew their one year contracts. So too do the BBAs -- Bilingual/Bicultural Assistants. These are mostly naturalized Americans, with roots in Iraq or another Middle East country. Without them (and our Locally Engaged Staff (LES)), the PRT's ability to achieve its mission would be severely handicapped.

Today I signed an MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) with the head of the Iraqi Fish Production Society IFPS) through which a PRT-originated project run by an AID contractor (INMA) will provide one million carp fingerlings. The photo below is of the IFPS President and me signing the MOU.

Carpe carp! There are many fish farms in Babil, and they are quite noticeable flying to/from Baghdad, dotting the landscape. The waters of the Euphrates are diverted to fill these man-made fish ponds, which employ lots of folks. Many of the fish farms fell into disuse and disrepair over the last decade as the Iraqi economy declined and as the security situation worsened.

Babil is more secure now, although not enough yet to have the Iraqi Security Forces here assume Provincial Iraqi Control of the security portfolio. With the improved security, we (the USG) are looking to try to catalyze renewed economic activity that will create jobs.

Many of the young men who fall in with insurgents, or help them on a part time basis, do so because it provides an income. If those same young men have constructive alternatives, the lifeline of the terrorists can be choked off. The month of May witnessed the lowest number of US military deaths since the conclusion of the liberation. Overall, acts of violence throughout Iraq are way down. These gains remain fragile, however, and the approaching provincial elections will test whether the political parties are prepared to resist the temptation to engage in traditional (violent) politics. It will not be easy to have a democratic election in a country still in conflict, even if at much reduced levels.

Footnote: At 9:30pm I received a call from the 10th Mtn HQ informing me that I have a helo to the IZ tomorrow. All you have to do is wait a little bit and things change around here -- this time for the better. This may be my last post in Iraq until early August.