Postcards from Baghdad--November 9, 2008

Well, I’ve been in Baghdad almost a month. It’s my impression that it was once a beautiful city. Sadly, years of war and sanctions have taken their toll. My team is living on the Victory Base Complex, which is located on the west side of the city, adjacent to the Baghdad airport. While I live in a trailer, I work in Al Faw Palace. (Sounds like a country song.) It is part of a complex of palaces and houses on a lake built by Saddam. At one time there were date groves and a zoo surrounding the lake. Today the area has very view trees and no grass. Mostly the area is covered by tan dust. When it rains, the dust turns to a sticky paste. Yuck.

I’ve taken a bunch of pictures of the areas I’ve visited or where I’ve worked, e.g., Al Faw Palace, Republican Presidential Palace (currently the US Embassy). I’ve mailed them to Sharon so they should be posted shortly. I also sent her a video of a naturalization ceremony where 186 service members become US citizens. General Odierno and Ambassador Crocker were the speakers. It was a moving event. These new Americans really understand the value of US citizenship, something too few native-born Americans get. If you’ve never been to a naturalization ceremony, go.

I’ve had little opportunity to get out and about. I want to interact more with the Iraqis and experience their culture but the security situation makes that difficult. That said, this is a very exciting time to be in Iraq. At the end of the year the UN Security Council resolution (UNSCR) that gives the coalition legal authority to be in Iraq expires. The US and Iraqi governments are working on a status of forces agreement that reestablishes Iraqi sovereignty and lays out the relationship between the two countries once the UNSCR expires. At the end of January, the Iraqis hold their provincial elections. This will be the first of up to a dozen elections in Iraq over the next year. In short, we have front-row seats to the birth of a democracy. Pretty heady stuff.

Thank you to everyone who has supported Sharon, Trevor and me. All of the kinds words, notes and other and things you've done on our behalf have made such a difference. We are so blessed.