Amen... I mean Amman

i finally made it to amman, jordan for a quick one night stay before i head out for london (ten minutes or so). i had a massage, and dinner with a friend that is a reporter returning from iraq as well.

stayed at the four seasons and wow. it was a great hotel and i think i should be treated like that daily wherever i am! the massage actually cost more than my room but was well worth it after nearly four months of sleeping on, we'll call it a mattress, of lesser quality.

well the plane is loading up so i better make sure i am on it. thanks for watching and reading over these past few months and soon there will be another adventure, some new pursuit and i will gladly take you all along for the ride.

cheers.

that's a wrap...

in three days time i will find myself in a different country starting some vacation time and preparing to head home. my three plus months in iraq are officially over and there will be no more trips to projects, just packing an maybe one more iraqi meal.

i have enjoyed my time here in baghdad (as much as one can) and think that i have learned a lot. i have learned what we can do better and how we could reach more people. i have learned patience through testing! i have learned to keep my head down.

this has been an experience that i will carry with me for the rest of my life. i have made friends that will remain here and keep working and friends whom have already headed home. i can say that i was part of this effort, however history will describe it.

so that is about it. i will spend the next two days saying goodbye and packing by backpack for a trip to london. so long iraq; good luck and God speed.

winding down

with just 8 days or so left in my tour here in iraq i am starting to wind things down and prepare for my trip home. it will be interesting to see how i adjust to what used to be normal life and i can't wait.

but as i process my journey i am thinking about all of the great people i have shared my experience with. today one in particular stands out and i wish him all the best.

i won't say much in order to keep some privacy but this friend has done an amazing job of keeping his family safe while working to secure his country. this man is an inspiration to all of us that work at the embassy.

military communicators and the truth

the other day i had the opportunity to participate in a public affairs officers conference in one of saddam's old palaces. to be honest i was impressed with some of the work these military communications officers are doing.

some of them were venturing into the world of youtube and blogging and finding that these new avenues were a good way to get their story out.

but the best part of the conference was the senior military leadership's command to be honest and forthcoming with the media. often at home we think that any message must be one of spin or neglecting the truth but here we have generals telling their communicators that the bad goes with the good and that it is important that the world be given a truthful account of what is going on in iraq.

some of us may not believe such "rhetoric" but as a communicator that prefers the truth it was good to hear.

in other news; baghdad has been pretty quiet as of late. most of the insurgent terrorists have fled the city due to the new security plan and while this creates challenges for surrounding communities, the one step at a time approach seems to be working.

people may have to go through a lot more check points but being able to do so without harm is well worth it.

viewing the bombed out palace

yesterday i had the opportunity to visit one of saddam's palaces that was destroyed by a couple heavy bombs during the initial days of the war. "believer's palace" still stands; at least you imagine a whole building as the walls are standing but go inside and you realize just how devastating an american bomb can be.

the interior of the palace was in complete ruin. in what was probably a great hall with a domed rotunda we witnessed the small whole where the laser guided bomb made it's grand entrance and then realized the rubble beneath where it detonated. this was a working palace the moment it was hit. but the guts of the building are just that, guts lying in piles that my group climbed through.

there was a sophisticated bunker in this palace and surrounded by shock absorbers this structure still remains with it carrier air conditioning system in place and its german design proving itself. however the bunker is flooded. it turns out that the german designers did not take into account water pipes imploding and putting the bunker under water; we can only "imagine" what remains trapped in this water grave.

as i walked through the palace i thought to myself that this is where we should take anyone on our "list." we should give them a glimpse of what can happen; even without troops on the ground. but then i realized i rather the world see the freedom and prosperity we enjoy because of our ideals.

job fair in iraq?

yesterday the national iraqi assistance center held a job fair and close to 1000 iraqi applicants waited in long lines for the opportunity to find employment. and this was not an event for cleaning crews, these applicants were professionals, engineers, linguists, and educators.

the striking thing about the fair is the line out side the hotel to get into the event. iraqis don't like standing in lines for the sole reason that they become targets of terrorism when they are in lines. at checkpoints, in markets, a line is a risk. but here iraqis stood in a long line for a long time. employment is that important.

economic security is a big part of the plan moving forward in iraq and these individuals are not waiting for a handout they are testing line and crowds to find a job.

i was with a reporter and she mentioned how the snack table was still full and in here experience at iraqi events the snacks were the first thing to go. but here those in attendance were more concerned with finding a job then getting free cookies.

one job at a time, one step towards peace.

shameless self promotion...

i was interviewed by a nebraska newspaper recently about my tour here in iraq. you can check out the article here.

update on "joey"

this evening a couple colleagues and i headed over to the csh (hospital) to see some of the kids and we learned that "joey" and his sister thoha are heading home. believe it or not a special unit located the children's mother who was not killed in the bombing despite reports. i can only imagine the look on her face when an army private and 5 or so navy seals opened her door and said "we have you children."

it turns out that the father was the target in the bombing. he was an iraqi police officer, working to secure his country, and was assassinated with the bomb. his wife, the young mother of the two children, was not with them at the time and is happily awaiting the children's return.

a small miracle for all involved. a mother who assumed that all was lost is preparing to welcome her children home.

the military nursing team is losing one of their favorite patients but hope remains.

holding sultan

the nurses at the combat support hospital have nicknamed him "joey" but his sister tells us his name is sultan. his parents were killed in the bombing that broke his 5-year-old sister's leg and left glass in his skin.

we visit the hospital every so often to say hi and give a small gift to some of the kids that are brought there and often their stories are the ones that drive us to work a few hours longer and put in that much more effort. it is the stories of these children and other iraqis that i wish the community would more fervently guard against and stand up for change.

another patient was a young (early 20s at the most) soccer player who was on the national team; last week he lost both of his legs to a car bomb. each story is horrible and tragic. insurgent terrorists strike without reason and almost prefer the innocent victim.

we have to get to a place where these stories are no more.

i have a nephew that was born just weeks ago and obviously i have yet to hold him. but today i got to hold a little boy that needed some love. if this is the only way i can make a difference in iraq, i am okay with that.

rice visit and new security plan

the new baghdad security plan is in effect now and despite a pair of bombs yesterday it has been going smoothly. on saturday reuters was reporting that only five bodies had been found in the city (when a typical day would bring 50 dead bodies). there is still a long way to go. most of the sectarian violence makers are hiding out in iran (that is kind of like harboring terrorism) and could be waiting for the surge to be over or overly excited american forces withdrawal. time will tell.

either way it goes i hope and pray that for these people there is peace. it has to be tiring to have your guard up constantly and feel trapped in your own neighborhood. one of the first things i plan on doing when i get back to dc is taking a good long run covering several miles of unencumbered terrain. the people that live here can not do that without extreme danger of going through the wrong neighborhood.

sectarian violence is ridiculous. the western world most recent acts of this violence have been in ireland but in american history i am not aware of violence between different sects of the same religion (and maybe i have missed something).

in other news, secretary of state rice visited on saturday. i had the great pleasure of working with the press at the meeting with the iraqi prime minister. it was a good experience and one of those "i was there" moments.

just 30 days left for me in iraq. it will turn out to be longer than the original planned 3 months but worth it.

supplying the iraqi army

i took some reporters out to the taji national depot yesterday and toured the facilities that manage all of the logistical needs of the new iraqi army. it is quite the operation.

i was actually surprised by the level of preparedness of the iraqi army having just been constituted a couple years ago. it shares many generals with the former army but now they are paid more (keeping them loyal) and have better technology and resources to secure their nation.

of course they have a long way to go but i trust that with coalition advisers giving guidance they will make their way to peace.

life goes on...

flying over baghdad the other day i was amazed that life keeps on moving on. here is a city rapt in violence yet people still go to work, children still play and somewhere in the middle of it all people smile on occasion.

much like the children in iraq; the population can be lost in the statistics and it can be easy to blame the entire nation for small sects of hate but the lives of good people, working for change goes on everyday.

meeting ali

a couple posts back i talked about the loss of capt. brian freeman and the work he was doing to change lives in iraq. one such story is that of ali. ali is an eleven-year-old with a heart defect that greatly reduces energy and his body's ability to survive. sadly, if ali were to miss any treatment as his body launched into his teens he would experience even less mobility and potential death. but ali had a champion in brian freeman and soon ali will be lying in a new york hospital bed recovering from surgery fixing the problem.

yesterday i had the opportunity to meet ali for the first time and he is an amazing boy that one day hopes to be a soccer star!

a few members of my team, joined by the navy captain in charge of the national iraqi assistance center (a office that works on health care cases like this one finding patients care since their own system often lacks the expertise needed) took a reporter from the washington post to interview ali and his father.

back in the states, conn. senator dodd has been using capt. freeman's death as a statement of how the congress should oppose any new efforts in iraq. but capt. freeman wanted change not absence from iraq. brian thought it best to have those trained in areas work in those areas (just as the president announced a new civil/military outreach to hire experts for various military jobs.) and the example brian set as a caring individual working tirelessly for children like ali will live on here and hopefully at home.

ali is a testament to one man's dedication and an indication of the way forward in iraq. he is a member of iraq's greatest generation - at least a generation with the greatest opportunity. i pray that his health improves with surgery and ali returns to iraq ready to lead, not only on the soccer field but among his peers and his nation.

why we are here

with the bombs in the background and the death on the news we can often lose site of why we are here. i am not talking about the reasons for war - those have long been debated - but i am talking about why we must care about and be vigorous in the reconstruction of iraq.

today i had the enormous honor of joining a team of military and state department folks destined for a baghdad elementary school to teach students about dental hygiene. the team was led by yasir bahrani, an iraqi-american dentist who is serving in the naval reserves at the embassy. yasir is set to go home on sunday but he was sure to get in this visit with the children before he left. over 200 students received a new tooth brush and tooth paste thanks to colgate.

as i sat in the crowded auditorium at the school i was filled with hope for this country as i saw the faces of a new generation of iraqis. these kids are not going to have it easy. they will be responsible for the future of their country more than any generation before and we will be counting on them. but the light in their eyes indicates that the country will be in good hands.

as a photographer i always miss one shot; you know the one you wish you had taken. i missed one today. as one group of students was filing out of the room, the children were finding their way to the americans in the room to thank them. i was positioned next to navy commander bob collins just as a little boy moved beyond the typical handshake for a hug. while the camera missed the shot, the image will be etched in my memory.

this is why we are here.

loss of a treasure...

it has been a rough few weeks here in iraq and in the course of war we lost a great man that i had the honor to meet through work. captain brian freeman was working tirelessly to arrange and organ transplant for an iraqi child through contacts in new york and he was coordinating with our team to apply media pressure. each time brian was in baghdad he would make time to stop in to our office and give us updates and because of his work he ranked as one of our favorite officers.

last week brian died as a result of injuries received when his meeting in a central iraq city was ambushed. just a couple of years older than me at 31, brian is survived by a young wife and two children.

we knew brian as passionate and dedicated. may his legacy lead to change here.

more.

just today the visa was approved for the iraqi child to travel to the u.s. for treatment - a lasting testament to capt. freeman's caring work.

the schedule is not your own

this week i was scheduled to spend four days in a province north of baghdad with a reporter to highlight the work of one of our provincial reconstruction teams (prt). the prt we visited is just outside of tikrit and they are doing some amazing work.

quite by the luck of the draw a great team of civilian and military professionals have come together to support and advise iraqis as they build their new democracy and stabilize their cities. while the country has a long way to go; the members of the prt work long hours each day of the week, meeting with iraqi elected officials, iraqi judges, health care providers, all in an effort to provide iraqis with the basis from which they can decided how to manage their institutions and government.

while some of this work is dangerous for americans it is more so for iraqis. and this is exactly what motivates the staff to keep working; they find inspiration in the dedication of iraqis. these are people that face kidnapping or death simply for meeting with americans but these streets belong to them and they have a vision of a better future and are sacrificing themselves to realize the vision.

but the schedule is often not your own and we had to head back to baghdad early. wednesday in baghdad the fiance of another reporter, an american working to promote democracy, was killed when her car was ambushed. as the reporter traveling with me was the bureau chief, he had to get back to take care of his team. due to the loss it has been a tough few days for many who both knew the woman and her fiance well.

this is iraq. great potential and dedicated workers forced to contend with unfair and meaningless death and murder. this is what will have to change if iraq is to see a new day of freedom and democracy.

still clicking

i apologize for my absence. it has been a busy few days while i try to bring some work to a close. life here in the green zone is good and the people and their personalities can keep you occupied.

in the coming weeks i will be traveling through the country a bit to size up some of the iraqis' activities as they rebuild their country and i plan on taking plenty of pictures. i encourage you to keep an eye out for the next issue of newsweek and an article about the forensics lab at the police college. they have a ways to go before they match hollywood's csi but the work they are doing is important and indicates iraqi determination not only to solve crimes but to secure their country.

in other news; i have set my return to the states. i will arrive just in time for april fools day after spending some time in the british isles. i am looking forward to it but have a lot of work to do before then.

thanks for stopping by and look for more soon.

going for a dip

despite the title of this post i have not jumped in the pool here at the palace yet; and doubt i will before i head out in march. when i took this job i remember my boss saying something along the lines of "hell freezes over," so i knew it would get colder here than my western mind could imagine the desert to be like. this morning i learned that iraq is having one of the colder winters of recent history.

now colder to someone in iraq is a high around 50 degrees and lows in the 30s so those of you in the northern u.s. may see that as resort temperatures but it really is cold i swear. for example our trailers have shared bathrooms and when the rooms are heated (by a noisy window unit) the common space or bathrooms are not. you can move pretty quickly in the morning when you are shivering! of course it beats having to leave the trailer and walk to the shower.

just monday about 50 or so people (mostly military who had not been out partying the night before) took the polar plunge in the palace pool. brave souls. yes it looks inviting and refreshing but when we put the pool in context with the weather things change.

while this post is fairly meaningless the one thing we should take away from it is that iraq is not hot year round and winter nights and mornings can be pretty cold. so when planning travel to iraq i suggest mid spring...