The Gun Line MkIII

We’re still in a combat zone, against an enemy that uses deception and stealth (because they can’t face us in a stand up fight…) so access by local nationals is strictly controlled.  Most of the folks on this base haven’t met an Iraqi, and certainy haven’t had the chance to sit down and talk with one…

I was fortunate, one of the vehicle maintenance operations aboard base is managed by an Iraqi, an Iraqi who speaks outstanding English, and has worked with Americans since the start of the war.  While I was getting one of our vehicles serviced, I had the chance to talk with him, and actually get into some deeper subjects; like how the Iraqis felt things were going.

“Haseem” is a slim man in his mid thirties.  His English is laced with properly used expletives when he speaks of foreign nationals coming to his backyard to kill Americans, and there is anger in his eyes.  He has served as an interpreter with the Coalition Forces, and carries the scars of five gunshot wounds, earned while leading American patrols through dangerous areas.  “If the Americans were willing to hunt down and kill the bad guys,” he said, making his point with the stab of a cigarette, “the least I could do was go into the house first.”

He is frustrated at the procedures to get aboard base, “We come in late, and leave early, by the time I get here, I’ve got five trucks waiting…”  Typical concerns of a business manager.

I point out that it won’t be too long before the Americans are out of here, and I mention that I see good signs for the Iraqis; they are actively pursuing the bad guys, kicking them out of their communities, “It’s not the Iraqis I worried about, it’ the Syrians, the Saudis, and all the guys who come here to take a shot at the Americans.”

“Yes! Yes!” he says, nodding emphatically, “And our own ‘religious leaders’-” he spits “who are filling our young peoples minds with garbage!  al-Sadr, he is a thug!  He is known for his father!  His father was a good man, well educated, but the son, he is not!  He is an ignorant savage riding the fame of his father.  He is no good!  al-Sistani, he is a man of peace!  He understands.”

I listen with rapt amazement.  Haseem is a patriot.  A patriot for Iraq.

The Iraqi people are a good, proud people, and to have us here is certainly a frustration for them, but they are well on their way towards breaking out of the mindset forced upon them by Saddam Hussein, and they are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.  I will be glad when this place can be turned over to them with the knowledge that they are firmly in control.  There are many here like Haseem, who want their country back, and work with the Coalition to make it happen.  They understand that there is much to be done, and they are doing it, with their minds and their talents.

Someday, when this is over, I would like to visit here, to get to know this place in the light of peace.  To sit with a group of men my own age, drink chai, and swap stories.  I am proud to be here supporting that goal.

I had the chance to meet another local, “Achmed”, who was 22 years old, a newlywed of 3 months.  We talked about his home in the neighboring village, and how he and his wife wanted babies.  (I told him to keep practicing, it would happen, and he gave me a sly, sidelong look, and then laughed.)  We spoke of children like fathers and prospective fathers, and not once did we speak of war, or strife, or the troubles of the government, or anything other than what two men might speak of about their families and their homes.  I told him about my three boys and my daughter, and he wanted to know a little bit about them.  I told him how proud I was of my children, I told him their names, and want they were like, and my fatherly concerns about them.  When I spoke of Katie Kat, he was interested in how Americans regarded their daughters, and was impressed that I thought Katie Kat would go to college, and become a strong young woman.  (Very significant.)

I enjoyed our conversation, and bid him farewell at the end of the day…

I wish them both, Haseem and Achmed, prosperity and success, and I feel confident that men like these will take charge of this country and do well by it…