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.