1/15/07 0340

A lot has been going on lately...Saddam's execution, Bush's escalation speech, and the best one, 2 Kurdish Brigades about to be sent to Baghdad.

On Saddam's execution...the whole thing the day of, and since then, has been nothing but surreal. We knew shortly before it was announced on the news, that he had, in fact, been hung and was dead.

All the videos that have surfaced since then, just put an exclamation point on the deep sectarian divides here. The Shiites in the "death chamber" taunting him with sectarian chants, the morgue video, just all of it.

The way the whole thing was handled was a complete disgrace.

Not with Saddam being executed, there is no doubt in anyone's mind he was the personification of evil. But the whole idea of justice, the concept of right and wrong, and with what should have been the dignity of those having to mete out this ultimate punishment, was circumvented.

It seemed more reminisce of images of lawless, vengeful lynching's of western days. Or those painful, terrible years in our country's not so distant past, that innocents met this same fate merely, because of the color of their skin.

It was not what it should have been...an evil dictator meeting his day of reckoning for his many days of injustice, his many days of oppression.

Bringing him to that day by those who were supposed to hold themselves to a higher level. Holding themselves in such a way as to show others that a daybreak that revealed an oasis of justice and freedom had sprung up, and the long dark night of their oppression was finally over.

They as a people were finally at the doorstep of the palace of Justice and Freedom.

A justice and freedom that he had denied to all of them during his reign.

Instead it was clearly evident by all reports, that there was nothing more than a gang there, their lips dripping with revenge, to avenge...

Not what it should have been...for not only everyone's best interest, who has an interest in this country. But more importantly for those here who need to make this next step, inside the realization that all Iraqis freedom, are inextricably bound to each others.

Whether they be Sunnis, or Shiites.

This has only continued to shake the already unstable foundation of what is attempting to be built here.

Long overdue Justice, for those who had been wronged, for unspeakable horrors, clear and simple, no more, no less, is what was needed and what it only should have been.

Worse yet, it has been reported in the news that because of the cell phone footage of the execution finding its way to the Internet, and with the other depictions of Saddam's last moments...it is now being blamed for the copycat accidental deaths of children in several different countries.

Now, I hear there is some toy company in Connecticut coming out with a Saddam doll, "Dope on a Rope", depicting his last moments.

The day of the execution, all CF across the country were bracing for a response. Here where I am...a few hours after Saddam's death was announced, only 5-6 rounds from SAF were received on our camp.

That was all. That was good.

However, all morning long, we could hear the Mosques broadcasting on their outside speakers, loud and clear. There are two mosques in Mosul within hearing range of my hooch.

I sat just wondering what they were saying. Hoping it wasn't bad...like a call to arms, like previous messages emitting from Mosques, (and TV stations), in the past have been.

A night or so after they executed Saddam, it was a full moon. By one of the guard towers that night, they reported small arms fire.

Not long after that, it came across the radio of a possible "Broken Arrow", (code for a gate breach), was taking place. It seemed the whole city of Mosul erupted with tracers and gunfire going up in the air. It is not a small city. It is the second largest in Iraq. 2.6 million or thereabouts.

From our position, we look down over pretty much the whole city and I can tell you, it was something to see.

Everyone took appropriate measures, reinforcing the gate, getting folks into bunkers, etc. etc.

Several of these rounds being fired up in the air landed on our camp. One round even pierced a tent that that is set up on the other side of the camp with exercise equipment, just missing someone. It was that someone's, that did not heed the warning to get to a bunker, lucky day.

Nothing else happened that night.

The next day several patrols went out. When they came back later that day. They reported that after talking to many Mosul citizens, (through our interpreters), that word had spread throughout the city, that you could see Saddam's face on the moon.
THEY WERE ALL SHOOTING AT THE MOON, not at us. It seemed the whole damn city was doing this, any side of the city you looked, you could hear massive gunfire, or tracers going up into the air. It was like some parts of the city were competing with others to see who could make the most noise.

This is some of the mentality we are dealing with here.

We watched the President's speech a few days ago now, and most of it left many just shaking their heads.

All this money...more money...he wants to throw at this.

Corruption in the IA (Iraqi Army), and IP (Iraqi Police) is rampant. One interpreter here from Mosul told me awhile back, before he was hired as an interpreter, he wanted to join the IA, but he was told he needed to give the Iraqi man signing up for the IA he needed to give him $200 for an application.

There is not supposed to be any fee.

Even some of these Iraqis that are IA get some training from us, a weapon, and then when they get their first check, they disappear...with the weapon.

Some that do stay, show up when they want to, and when the Americans are not around, do not execute the job they are supposed to.

Now, there are many Iraqis that are doing a great job, but their numbers are not near the amount needed for any kind of a handover to occur. It is difficult to see how this part is going to be "accelerated", as was mentioned in the speech.

Everyone here too was kind of shocked when during Bush's speech, he remarked that the Sunnis and the Shiites want to live together in peace. Don't know who told him that, but it couldn't be any farther from the truth.

They are enemies and pretty much always have been.

Saddam's iron fist is the only thing that kept this civil war from happening sooner. In fact, he may be a continuing catalyst in the deepening of this hatred because of how his execution was handled.

Now we hear they are about to send 2 brigades of Kurds to Baghdad. This will be something to watch unfold. The Kurds have a major grudge to settle with both sects of the Iraqis, for decades of atrocities against their people.

In the past, I have been told by many Kurds here, that they are just waiting for the U.S. to get out of the way so they can go and kill Iraqis.

Now, it seems we are stepping out of their way.

Kurds don't even refer to themselves as Iraqis. Almost all aren't even Muslim. They are mostly Christians. They even, to the dismay of the U.S. authorities have their own country flag. They want to break free of the Arabs.

Their area in the northern part of Iraq is about as safe as can be. There is no bombing, it is no terrorist haven. U.S. soldiers going up there, walk around in Kurdish controlled cities without battle-rattle on, and with no fear of anyone shooting at them, IED's or anything else.

It is going to be interesting to see what happens in Baghdad when the Kurds get there. They are not required to recognize the Geneva Convention as U.S. (and what Coalition Forces remain here), do.

Whoever is sending them to Baghdad knows this too.

Maybe, that is why they are being sent there, I don't know.

Well...my first year here in 2004, I did not take a break and go home. This time I feel like I need to, and get back in touch with the real world.

In a few days I will leave this camp, and head home for awhile and enjoy some...LONG hot showers....my REAL bed...grass, (NOT THAT KIND!!!), the under my feet kind, (you walk on either sand or gravel here, it sucks!)...a good steak dinner, that's not burnt all the time like it is here...and mmmmm...beer...