Saturday's newspaper, coffee in hand. Pause. Bagdad.
There was fog again this morning, not much, but enough for it to feel like autumn. I sold the Saturn today, a simple and painless transaction happily. Restored my faith that there are good people out there. I wish the buyer the best with the little green car. It did well for me.
So coffee and a buckwheat pancake and a peach and the morning paper. A little pale sunlight as the clouds burn away. I am finding it quiet and thought full this morning. Kaeli is truly gone off to college and this little house now holds me and the cats and once more I can look forward and back somewhat astonished. Wasn't it just a few weeks back that I was taking her to soccer and she was just starting high school? And will the day when she goes to get her diploma and set out on her life's adventure rush toward me as fast? And in the meantime, what life would I like to choose. I look at Mary, with Alecia just stepping into her freshman in high school shoes, and wonder if she experiences this the same way. Being Mary, probably not.
But I know she's touched by the experience too. When we first met, Alecia was just a spunky little gradeschooler. God, I'm lucky- I have a life that is so full and rich. But fast paced.....
The cover article this morning, from Oregonian reporters with Oregon troops in Bagdad, talks about how our soldiers discovered a giant cache of weapons and confiscated them. Which was not unusual except that the weapons were in the police headquarters next door to the Oregon troop base. The writer further goes on to talk about the uncertainty the Americans have that the Iraqi police are really on their side and not siding with the insurgents when they're off duty. Does this seem as if it poses serious questions? For one thing, what does it say to the average Iraqi about 'sovreignity' if the Oregon soldiers come in and confiscate weapons from the police? Not that I blame them. I think I'd be determined to get every rpg and mortar out of circulation that I could. But that doesn't change the impression that it must give to the local people. And the fear that the local security forces might be compromised is probably not misguided. The process of trying to reform the local forces has been accelerated, and in places like Fallujah has depended on former Baathist officers and leaders. That doesn't make for certainty about the loyalties of the local force. So when I hear that the Iraqi security forces are going to take on the insurgents and reclaim the disputed areas in time for 'real' elections, I truly wonder. In the meantime, young Americans are on the line every day trying to sort out the truth of what they see around them, trying to be fair to the people and to encourage good outcomes, and having to watch their backs.
So, I can't help but think that our troops are at the mercy of the perceptions the Iraqis have of them. No matter how much personal faith each individual tries to build, there are larger forces that have to foster a sense of skepticism about the American intent in Iraqi minds, no matter how nice GI Joe is to the kids on the street. For example, the insurgents keep attacking foreign contractors- like the Egyptian engineers this week. Iraq had a highly trained technical and business cadre I believe. How come Iraqis aren't filling those slots? The US had authorized 18 billion dollars for the reconstruction effort- but only had spent about a billion. Do the Iraqi government ministries, who need money to function and gain credibility with the people, have any access to that money or does it just come through US channels? What does that say to the average unemployed Iraqi? And when American helicopters or jets head into Fallujah for another 'strike' on a suspected insurgent hideout, can it evoke a feeling much different than that of Palestinians who watch their property being bulldozed by Israeli soldiers to 'protect' settlements? There's a big hole in the neighborhoods around the mosque in Najaf where American tanks and other forces battled militants. If you lived there, or if you saw the news on tv, would you think 'gosh it's great the Americans are protecting us' or would you think 'I sure wish they would stop trying to protect us'? You wouldn't have to support the insurgency to feel that the American presence might not be a positive thing.
So back to the young Oregonians in uniform at the base in Bagdad. What's the likelihood that they can succeed? I think it's going to be hard. The policy framework and the decisionmakers talk positively but ignore realities.
I am going to ask the woman at work whose son is in Afghanistan for one of those yellow ribbon magnets for my car. One that says 'pray for the troops'. I think we all need to pray for the troops.
DAVIDRITES@ATT.NET
So coffee and a buckwheat pancake and a peach and the morning paper. A little pale sunlight as the clouds burn away. I am finding it quiet and thought full this morning. Kaeli is truly gone off to college and this little house now holds me and the cats and once more I can look forward and back somewhat astonished. Wasn't it just a few weeks back that I was taking her to soccer and she was just starting high school? And will the day when she goes to get her diploma and set out on her life's adventure rush toward me as fast? And in the meantime, what life would I like to choose. I look at Mary, with Alecia just stepping into her freshman in high school shoes, and wonder if she experiences this the same way. Being Mary, probably not.
But I know she's touched by the experience too. When we first met, Alecia was just a spunky little gradeschooler. God, I'm lucky- I have a life that is so full and rich. But fast paced.....
The cover article this morning, from Oregonian reporters with Oregon troops in Bagdad, talks about how our soldiers discovered a giant cache of weapons and confiscated them. Which was not unusual except that the weapons were in the police headquarters next door to the Oregon troop base. The writer further goes on to talk about the uncertainty the Americans have that the Iraqi police are really on their side and not siding with the insurgents when they're off duty. Does this seem as if it poses serious questions? For one thing, what does it say to the average Iraqi about 'sovreignity' if the Oregon soldiers come in and confiscate weapons from the police? Not that I blame them. I think I'd be determined to get every rpg and mortar out of circulation that I could. But that doesn't change the impression that it must give to the local people. And the fear that the local security forces might be compromised is probably not misguided. The process of trying to reform the local forces has been accelerated, and in places like Fallujah has depended on former Baathist officers and leaders. That doesn't make for certainty about the loyalties of the local force. So when I hear that the Iraqi security forces are going to take on the insurgents and reclaim the disputed areas in time for 'real' elections, I truly wonder. In the meantime, young Americans are on the line every day trying to sort out the truth of what they see around them, trying to be fair to the people and to encourage good outcomes, and having to watch their backs.
So, I can't help but think that our troops are at the mercy of the perceptions the Iraqis have of them. No matter how much personal faith each individual tries to build, there are larger forces that have to foster a sense of skepticism about the American intent in Iraqi minds, no matter how nice GI Joe is to the kids on the street. For example, the insurgents keep attacking foreign contractors- like the Egyptian engineers this week. Iraq had a highly trained technical and business cadre I believe. How come Iraqis aren't filling those slots? The US had authorized 18 billion dollars for the reconstruction effort- but only had spent about a billion. Do the Iraqi government ministries, who need money to function and gain credibility with the people, have any access to that money or does it just come through US channels? What does that say to the average unemployed Iraqi? And when American helicopters or jets head into Fallujah for another 'strike' on a suspected insurgent hideout, can it evoke a feeling much different than that of Palestinians who watch their property being bulldozed by Israeli soldiers to 'protect' settlements? There's a big hole in the neighborhoods around the mosque in Najaf where American tanks and other forces battled militants. If you lived there, or if you saw the news on tv, would you think 'gosh it's great the Americans are protecting us' or would you think 'I sure wish they would stop trying to protect us'? You wouldn't have to support the insurgency to feel that the American presence might not be a positive thing.
So back to the young Oregonians in uniform at the base in Bagdad. What's the likelihood that they can succeed? I think it's going to be hard. The policy framework and the decisionmakers talk positively but ignore realities.
I am going to ask the woman at work whose son is in Afghanistan for one of those yellow ribbon magnets for my car. One that says 'pray for the troops'. I think we all need to pray for the troops.
DAVIDRITES@ATT.NET
Comments