Mosul #7

I like this mural which was done by one of our flight medics. Here you see the medivac chopper out running Death's outstretched hand.

Compared to last year, things have been very quiet this Ramadan. We are still enjoying limited casualties but we know the bad guys are still out there watching us. Everyday we hear large explosions throughout the city and there are always little incursions and tests to see how we respond. For example, last week, they (AQI “al-Qaeda in Iraq”) convinced 4 young boys ages 13-15 to approach our wire to see how we would respond. I can not understand how they think it is OK to parade these children in front of machine gun nests with guards who are understandably antsy. I can not imagine what would have happened if these kids had gotten too close. We have guards that are US soldiers but we also have Ugandan security forces and who knows how they might respond. They also use this same tactic to try to slow down our convoys. They will make children walk in front of fast moving armored vehicles in an attempt to get them to stop and thus make a more effective attack. Our soldiers, of course, are ordered not to stop. This is very disturbing.

One of the most upsetting things that recently happened is an example of how AQI uses the mentally handicapped to test our defenses. Two weeks ago, they took a mentally handicapped person and made him ride his bike close to one of our guard posts and then detonated his suicide vest. There was nothing left but a grease spot on the wall. This futile act accomplished absolutely nothing except the death of one innocent person. It sickens me how AQI places no value on the lives of the innocent.

We have been attempting to establish a doctor exchange in hopes of training local nationals. Apparently, the prospective physicians, here in Mosul, are too afraid that they would be killed by AQI. This “doctor swap” has been a big success in other parts of Iraq but not here in Mosul. Apparently Mosul is the last stand of AQI as they have lost control in all other major cities. They have chosen to draw their battle lines here partly because of the proximity to Iran and Syria and thus a steady supply of weapons. As said before, the local nationals (LNs) have realized that AQI offers only madness and death. The LN’s are providing us with a wealth of intel that has allowed us to intercept large weapons caches as well as contraband (for example cigarettes) that is sold on the black market. The proceeds are used to fund the insurgency in an attempt to disrupt everything including health services, security, electricity, water and almost anything else that would undermine the legitimacy and competency of the current government. The sad thing is that they just don’t care who gets hurt in the process. I guess I just can’t comprehend the mindset of this group of people. Most average Iraqis are just trying to survive in this very harsh land. Why would AQI not want them to have the basic necessities of life? Are political gains worth the total destruction of civilized life? I guess this is evidence of our respective cultural divides but maybe it is unrelated. Maybe it is just madness.

Pedro