Touch Football in Iraq

Humvee View

I took this video out the window of a humvee while we were on our way out to Joint Security Station Suwa. JSS's are outposts in the community manned by both Iraqi Police and Coalition Forces. This one in particular is in the Al Tash region, which is on the outskirts of Ramadi.

If I had to pick one adjective to describe the Iraqi landscape it would be "dusty", there is no sand, just a really fine brown dust everywhere and consequently a "dust haze" blankets almost everything, especially when rolling around in humvees.

Driving along almost every single child would run out toward us waving with both hands. The soldiers I was traveling with told me that they have been known to hand out soccer balls, which means the Iraqi children have come to think of humvees as big ice-cream trucks...only for soccer balls.

Meeting with Sheik Raad

Sheik Raad Sabah Alwani

Yesterday I went into Ramadi with a team of Marines and one Army PsyOp officer (a police officer from Kansas City). The purpose of the trip was just to get some "face-time" with Shiek Raad and talk about any issues that needed attention.

The U.S. Military in Ramadi has been scheduling weekly meetings for some time now. The issues discussed today included...checking in on widows through the winter, getting people food and dealing with an altercation between an Iraqi Police officer and a doctor.

The Sunni Sheiks are kind of like Alderman...they can fix things and get stuff done...which is why the miltary has turned to them. It's unfortunate they didn't try to engage the Sunni tribal at the beginning of the war.

Before the Security situation improved there were multiple dealth threats against Sheik Raad and dozens of men with machine guns still guard his front gate. His friend Sheik Abdul Sattar Rishawi was killed on September 13th, the first day of Ramadan for Iraqi Sunnis.

As guests in his house, Sheik Raad also fed us, which was my first real Iraqi food since arriving...lamb kabob, dolmas, chicken, cucumbers and Seven-up! It was delicous. After the meal he left for ahile and then returned with a 22-ounce can of BEER! I was shocked that an Iraqi Muslim would drink in plain sight. I guess it pays to be a sheik.

About this time I got to slide in a few questions. Our first exchange asked through the military interpreter went like this:

Adam: What does he think needs to happen for Iraq to have a strong central government that can manage the whole country?

Translator: He said a powerful government without Democracy.
Adam: He doesn't think Iraq is ready for Democracy?
Translator: That's right, he doesn't have faith in Democracy, he says it's not good for the Iraqi people.

Raad said that what Iraq really needs is a powerful leader...someone who can stand up to Iran and Syria. And, it just so happens he wants to be appointed regional governor of Anbar Province...and his is the guy that the Army wants to help them promote peace and democracy!

Coalition of the Random

Much of the less complicated support details in Iraq are handled by soldiers serving in third- world armies.

For instance, most of the mess halls in Iraq are guarded by Ugandans. You'll find Peruvians checking ID cards and pulling guard details all over the green zone. Saddam Hussein's Al Faw Palace is guarded by Marines from the island nation of Tonga.

Tongan Marine guarding Al Faw Palace

Likewise the facilities contractor KBR, Kellog Brown and Root, employs almost exclusively third world employees, from India, Pakistan, Vietnam, the Phillipines...ect. The reason behind all of this of course is money and the fact that these people are willing to work for less of it then Americans. I can only assume that it must be worth it for them, since they're here.

It does give Army bases and places one otherwise restricted areas an unexpected multi-cultural dynamic.

I have been asking myself however, with so many poor and impoverished people looking for work right outside the wire of the bases, wouldn't it be even more cost effective to give Iraqis some of these jobs? It might even have the strategic benefit of stimulating the economy and easing tension.

Saddam's Chair

Chair given to Saddam by Yasser Arafat

Flying in a C-130 to Baghdad

Ok, I have to admit that I was kind of excited to get to fly in a military airplane. Ever since I was a kid I've had an interest in planes. The C-130 is a Vietnam-Era, prop-driven, troop and equipment transport. It can accommodate 75 or so soldiers (or journalists!).

Pictured above: My escort Lieutenant Dennis Sadorra from San Diego riding with me in the C-130. This photo was taken before the gas fumes made me queasy.

One of many things I hadn't planed on was the fumes. When those engines start the whole passenger/cargo area fills with the smell of aviation fuel...and it doesn't go away. Then there's the noise; we're talking, LOTS of noise. It was good thing the bus driver who drove us to the flightline was handing out earplugs. Finally there is the issue of banking, dipping, climbing and otherwise whipping the plane around. Let's just say the captain does not put on the fasten seatbelt light during turbulence.

Missouri army unit fights PsyOps war in Iraq

In Iraq, psychological operations, known as psyops, are at the front edge of the U.S. -led coalition's military campaign.

Psyops tactics often take a chapter from the Madison Avenue playbook, by identifying a target audience and then selling that audience an idea.

The message of the 307th Psychological Operations Company, based at Jefferson Barracks in St. Louis, is that the Iraqi Coalition Government offers the best chance for peace in that country.

KWMU's Adam Allington is traveling to Iraq to report on the 307th. Before he left, Adam spoke with Major Shawn McLain, who's the company's commander.

McLain says their latest tour differs from his company's previous two deployments.

>> Listen to the full story (mp3 format).

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