29 January 2006
Flood
A couple months ago, I wrote a light-hearted post on the rain in Kuwait. It was at a point when I hadn't seen rain for quite some time--the early August rains of Mississippi in fact. Well, we’ve had a lot more rain since then. So much so, we had what amounted to a flood. Yes, I said a flood. Here are some pictures:
The Iraq-Kuwait border was hit pretty hard too:
The Iraq-Kuwait border was hit pretty hard too:
For us, it caused just inconveniences—detours, items on floors getting wet, some periods of lost electricity, etc. But in Safwan, there were a lot more than just inconveniences. Here are some pictures that were taken about 4 or 5 days after the rain:
Over 150 homes were lost (homes typically house 10-14 extended family members). A refugee tent area was sent up in the city to house those left homeless from the flood. Here are some more pictures:
Without a public sewer system, there were fears that the flood would cause disease outbreaks. Thankfully, nothing significant happened.
23 January 2006
The Hajj
Earlier this month, we witnessed (albeit, from very much afar) the Hajj, or as some call it the pilgrimage to Mecca. The Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam. The Hajj is an act of worship just like the Salat (five daily prayers) and Sawm (fasting in the month of Ramadan). Muslims from all over the world gather in Mecca in the last month of the Muslim calendar and worship Allah. This is an occasion that brings together Muslims from all over the world to one place–the Ka’ba. It’s typical to have well over two million Muslims attend this event. Sometimes, I’m told it reaches up to 4 million people. Think about it, that’s more than the population of the city of Chicago.
Performance of the Hajj is required of every adult Muslim (male and female), if physically and financially able. Many Muslims spend their entire lives saving and planning for the pilgrimage. Some Muslims make the pilgrimage more than once if they are able.
When traveling to Mecca, many (probably most) Muslims travel through Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the major port city nearest to Mecca. We witnessed some people in Iraq who traveled in groups in a southwesterly direction across Iraq toward Saudi Arabia during the time leading up to the dates of the Hajj. I’m told that as they approach Mecca, they stop at one of the designated areas to shower and change into a Ihram (simple clothing), entering into a state of devotion and purity for the pilgrimage.
The Hajj involves a sequence of ritual events that span over several days. On the first official day of the pilgrimage, millions of Muslims travel from Mecca to Mina, a small village east of the city. There, they spend the day and night in enormous tent cities, praying, reading the Koran, and resting for the next day. On the second day, Muslims leave Mina just after dawn to travel to the Plain of Arafat for the culminating experience of the Hajj. On what I’m told is called the “Day of Arafat,” the pilgrims spend the entire day near the Mount of Mercy, asking Allah for forgiveness. This is probably the most important part of the Hajj. Muslims from all over the world who are not at the pilgrimage fast that day.
After sunset on the Day of Arafat, the pilgrims travel to Muzdalifah, roughly halfway between Arafat and Mina. There, they spend the night praying and collecting stone pebbles to be used the following day.
On the third day, the pilgrims move before sunrise to Mina. There, they throw their stones at pillars that represent the temptations of Satan. When throwing the stones, the pilgrims recall the story of Satan’s attempt to dissuade Abraham from following God’s command to sacrifice his son (one of many intersections between the Muslim and Christian religions). The stones represent Abraham’s rejection of Satan and the firmness of his faith.
After throwing the stones, most Muslims slaughter an animal (often a sheep or a goat) and give away the meat to the poor. This is a symbolic act that shows their willingness to part with something that is important to them, just as the Abraham was prepared to sacrifice his son to God. Males also shave their heads (females clip a piece of their hair).
The pilgrims then return to Mecca and perform seven tawaaf (turns or circuits) around the Ka’ba, the house of worship built by Abraham and his son. In other rites, the pilgrims pray near a place called “The Station of Abraham,” which supposedly is where Abraham stood while constructing the Ka’ba. The pilgrims also walk seven times between two small hills near the Ka’ba. This is done in remembrance of the plight of Abraham’s wife Hajar, who desperately searched in the area for water for herself and her son, before a spring popped up in the desert for her. The pilgrims also drink from this ancient spring, known as Zamzam.
At this year’s Hajj, you may have heard that they had over 350 people trampled to death at the stone throwing site. According to the BBC, the Hajj has witnessed many deaths in the last 20 years:
1987: 400 die as Saudi authorities confront pro-Iranian demonstration
1990: 1,426 pilgrims killed in tunnel leading to holy sites
1994: 270 killed in stampede
1997: 343 pilgrims die and 1,500 injured in fire
1998: At least 118 trampled to death
2001: 35 die in stampede
2003: 14 are crushed to death
2004: 251 trampled to death in stampede
I suppose that such disasters can be expected when you have millions of people coming together at one time.
Performance of the Hajj is required of every adult Muslim (male and female), if physically and financially able. Many Muslims spend their entire lives saving and planning for the pilgrimage. Some Muslims make the pilgrimage more than once if they are able.
When traveling to Mecca, many (probably most) Muslims travel through Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the major port city nearest to Mecca. We witnessed some people in Iraq who traveled in groups in a southwesterly direction across Iraq toward Saudi Arabia during the time leading up to the dates of the Hajj. I’m told that as they approach Mecca, they stop at one of the designated areas to shower and change into a Ihram (simple clothing), entering into a state of devotion and purity for the pilgrimage.
The Hajj involves a sequence of ritual events that span over several days. On the first official day of the pilgrimage, millions of Muslims travel from Mecca to Mina, a small village east of the city. There, they spend the day and night in enormous tent cities, praying, reading the Koran, and resting for the next day. On the second day, Muslims leave Mina just after dawn to travel to the Plain of Arafat for the culminating experience of the Hajj. On what I’m told is called the “Day of Arafat,” the pilgrims spend the entire day near the Mount of Mercy, asking Allah for forgiveness. This is probably the most important part of the Hajj. Muslims from all over the world who are not at the pilgrimage fast that day.
After sunset on the Day of Arafat, the pilgrims travel to Muzdalifah, roughly halfway between Arafat and Mina. There, they spend the night praying and collecting stone pebbles to be used the following day.
On the third day, the pilgrims move before sunrise to Mina. There, they throw their stones at pillars that represent the temptations of Satan. When throwing the stones, the pilgrims recall the story of Satan’s attempt to dissuade Abraham from following God’s command to sacrifice his son (one of many intersections between the Muslim and Christian religions). The stones represent Abraham’s rejection of Satan and the firmness of his faith.
After throwing the stones, most Muslims slaughter an animal (often a sheep or a goat) and give away the meat to the poor. This is a symbolic act that shows their willingness to part with something that is important to them, just as the Abraham was prepared to sacrifice his son to God. Males also shave their heads (females clip a piece of their hair).
The pilgrims then return to Mecca and perform seven tawaaf (turns or circuits) around the Ka’ba, the house of worship built by Abraham and his son. In other rites, the pilgrims pray near a place called “The Station of Abraham,” which supposedly is where Abraham stood while constructing the Ka’ba. The pilgrims also walk seven times between two small hills near the Ka’ba. This is done in remembrance of the plight of Abraham’s wife Hajar, who desperately searched in the area for water for herself and her son, before a spring popped up in the desert for her. The pilgrims also drink from this ancient spring, known as Zamzam.
At this year’s Hajj, you may have heard that they had over 350 people trampled to death at the stone throwing site. According to the BBC, the Hajj has witnessed many deaths in the last 20 years:
1987: 400 die as Saudi authorities confront pro-Iranian demonstration
1990: 1,426 pilgrims killed in tunnel leading to holy sites
1994: 270 killed in stampede
1997: 343 pilgrims die and 1,500 injured in fire
1998: At least 118 trampled to death
2001: 35 die in stampede
2003: 14 are crushed to death
2004: 251 trampled to death in stampede
I suppose that such disasters can be expected when you have millions of people coming together at one time.
11 January 2006
Ar Ramadi
We headed out of Al Asad in the morning, heading toward Ar Ramadi. For those who haven’t been following the news closely or who confuse the various cities in Iraq, Ramadi is part of the heart of the Sunni-based portion of the insurgency. Ramadi is located about 80 miles west of Baghdad and is part of the famed Sunni Triangle. There are fire fights, IEDs, and/or mortar attacks every day in Ramadi. As a result, the level of “attentiveness” when driving to or through Ramadi is always high. The day we came rolling down the road to Ramadi was no different.
Traffic was “well behaved” when we drove into Ramadi. Vehicles stood off from our convey at least 100 meters and there were no threatening actions taken by the civilians we encountered. Just as I was about ready to relax as we moved through the entry control point gate at the Ramadi base, a VBIED (vehicle borne IED) rushed the gate just behind us. The gate guards lit them up with crew serve automatic weapons and killed the three passengers in the vehicle.
We found out that just prior to moving into Ramadi, a couple of insurgents (or as some think, Al Qaeda members) blew themselves up at the glass factory in the city of Ramadi (which is outside the base I was on), killing around 70+ Iraqi Sunni police recruits as well as two American soldiers. We saw the smoke from the explosion as we rolled into the city.
Below are a few articles about the incident at the glass factory. If anyone doubts how the agenda or perspective of a reporter or periodical/news agency influences public opinion, compare your feelings after you read about the violence, chaos, blood and gore painted by the typical reports of the event by Reuters http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060105/ts_nm/iraq_dc and the Associated Press http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?display=rednews/2006/01/06/build/world/40-iraq-bombing_v.inc with your feelings about the event when reading a story that tries to get beyond the sensationalism, over-generalizations and lumping together of various violent events: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-ramadi6jan06,1,4360288,print.story?coll=la-headlines-world The stories were written on the same day and represent very different styles and perspectives. You can also notice how the AP author speculates that the only reason the men were there was that they were "desperate" for high paying jobs. Compare that with the on-the-ground quotes taken by the LA Times reporter, who writes of the Sunni's wanting to take control of their own area and situation--a stark contrast to the AP suggestion, and if true, a remarkable positive development over the last year. I’m betting if you heard/read about the bombing before reading these articles, the perspective of the reporter/author was one of the former and not the latter.
The Stars and Stripes did a decent piece on one of the soldiers killed in the attack: http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=34193 One of the officers in my unit knew the LTC that was killed.
We only stayed in Ramadi a few hours. As they were cleaning up the aftermath from the explosion, we received an SP time and route for our next location: Camp Al Taqaddum, or as almost everyone calls it, TQ. TQ is located just south of Fallajuh. Along the way to TQ, we encountered a PIED that turned out to be nothing. The weather turned on us though as we traveled in the late afternoon/early evening; the rain and fog rolled in. Inclement weather is both bad and good. It’s bad in the sense that it makes it difficult to see the enemy, but it’s good in that the enemy has a difficult time seeing you.
We arrived at TQ and stayed at the “barn,” which is a single, old factory-type building that houses everyone (transients) in a three-story or so room. I’d guess that there were probably 100+ bunk beds in the building. It’s always dark in there because there is always someone sleeping (and just coming off a mission), regardless of the time of day.
TQ has what I refer to as “moon dust” sand. It’s a 3-6” layer that has the consistency of powdered sugar. The moon dust is above a hard base, which I believe is just made of compacted sand. When one walks, the moon dust creates a little puff of sand that rises up above one’s boot. When it rains, the moon dust sand turns to a clay-like substance. Here’s a little more background on TQ for those who are interested: http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/iraq/al-taqaddum.htm
After getting some sleep, addressing some maintenance issues, and having the trucks we were escorting reloaded, we left TQ a day or so later at about 2100. Our route was very circuitous, considering our destination. The route is typically dictated by the risk assessment conducted at the time (who is reporting what enemy activity and where, the current medevac situation, weather conditions, etc.). We were on the road for more than 8 hours after leaving TQ. We had to drive through parts of Ramadi, Falujah and Baghdad. Along the way, we saw a few IED explosions hitting the convoy in front of ours (no injuries), but we weren’t hit. Must have been because of singing the song, Greatest American Hero.
Traffic was “well behaved” when we drove into Ramadi. Vehicles stood off from our convey at least 100 meters and there were no threatening actions taken by the civilians we encountered. Just as I was about ready to relax as we moved through the entry control point gate at the Ramadi base, a VBIED (vehicle borne IED) rushed the gate just behind us. The gate guards lit them up with crew serve automatic weapons and killed the three passengers in the vehicle.
We found out that just prior to moving into Ramadi, a couple of insurgents (or as some think, Al Qaeda members) blew themselves up at the glass factory in the city of Ramadi (which is outside the base I was on), killing around 70+ Iraqi Sunni police recruits as well as two American soldiers. We saw the smoke from the explosion as we rolled into the city.
Below are a few articles about the incident at the glass factory. If anyone doubts how the agenda or perspective of a reporter or periodical/news agency influences public opinion, compare your feelings after you read about the violence, chaos, blood and gore painted by the typical reports of the event by Reuters http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060105/ts_nm/iraq_dc and the Associated Press http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?display=rednews/2006/01/06/build/world/40-iraq-bombing_v.inc with your feelings about the event when reading a story that tries to get beyond the sensationalism, over-generalizations and lumping together of various violent events: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-ramadi6jan06,1,4360288,print.story?coll=la-headlines-world The stories were written on the same day and represent very different styles and perspectives. You can also notice how the AP author speculates that the only reason the men were there was that they were "desperate" for high paying jobs. Compare that with the on-the-ground quotes taken by the LA Times reporter, who writes of the Sunni's wanting to take control of their own area and situation--a stark contrast to the AP suggestion, and if true, a remarkable positive development over the last year. I’m betting if you heard/read about the bombing before reading these articles, the perspective of the reporter/author was one of the former and not the latter.
The Stars and Stripes did a decent piece on one of the soldiers killed in the attack: http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=34193 One of the officers in my unit knew the LTC that was killed.
We only stayed in Ramadi a few hours. As they were cleaning up the aftermath from the explosion, we received an SP time and route for our next location: Camp Al Taqaddum, or as almost everyone calls it, TQ. TQ is located just south of Fallajuh. Along the way to TQ, we encountered a PIED that turned out to be nothing. The weather turned on us though as we traveled in the late afternoon/early evening; the rain and fog rolled in. Inclement weather is both bad and good. It’s bad in the sense that it makes it difficult to see the enemy, but it’s good in that the enemy has a difficult time seeing you.
We arrived at TQ and stayed at the “barn,” which is a single, old factory-type building that houses everyone (transients) in a three-story or so room. I’d guess that there were probably 100+ bunk beds in the building. It’s always dark in there because there is always someone sleeping (and just coming off a mission), regardless of the time of day.
TQ has what I refer to as “moon dust” sand. It’s a 3-6” layer that has the consistency of powdered sugar. The moon dust is above a hard base, which I believe is just made of compacted sand. When one walks, the moon dust creates a little puff of sand that rises up above one’s boot. When it rains, the moon dust sand turns to a clay-like substance. Here’s a little more background on TQ for those who are interested: http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/iraq/al-taqaddum.htm
After getting some sleep, addressing some maintenance issues, and having the trucks we were escorting reloaded, we left TQ a day or so later at about 2100. Our route was very circuitous, considering our destination. The route is typically dictated by the risk assessment conducted at the time (who is reporting what enemy activity and where, the current medevac situation, weather conditions, etc.). We were on the road for more than 8 hours after leaving TQ. We had to drive through parts of Ramadi, Falujah and Baghdad. Along the way, we saw a few IED explosions hitting the convoy in front of ours (no injuries), but we weren’t hit. Must have been because of singing the song, Greatest American Hero.
09 January 2006
Al Asad
A one and a two and a three . . .
That’s how we started every leg of the mission, singing that song. For those who don’t remember, didn’t know, or aren’t old enough, that’s the theme song to the early 80s television show, Greatest American Hero. I admit, I had forgotten about the show, but it brought a smile to my face when someone reminded me of it. The truck commander for this vehicle apparently has all the series of this show on DVD (who would have guessed there was a market for that). Any way, the crew I was riding with on this mission sings the song at the start of every leg of every mission. According to the crew, this ritual has kept them safe through IEDs, mortar attacks, and small arms fire. As it would turn out, this mission was no different.
The fog was just breaking when we left Navistar. We were going to make one short sleep stop along the way before getting to our first destination, Al Asad. Al Asad is a camp in the famed al Anbar province.
Despite going through some of the “hottest” areas, our trip to Al Asad was mostly uneventful. Although, on the trip to Al Asad, I was amazed by a certain stretch of a single lane road, about 20 miles or so in length. This road was pockmarked with so many IED sites that you couldn’t travel 100 meters on this road without seeing scars from an IED. There were some places on this road that there were 5 or more IED explosion markings within as many meters. The gunner in our truck started to take some pictures of a few of the spots as we were traveling when it dawned upon him how vulnerable he was taking the pictures from the exposed turret. He quickly tucked his head back into the truck in order to avoid unnecessary exposure. As it turned out, it was a smart move.
About 10 minutes after we made it through this 20-mile stretch, we heard on the radio that a PIED (another military acronym, meaning potential improvised explosive device) was spotted along the route we had just past through by the convoy that followed us. When the unit that spotted it was calling it in on the radio, they took small arms fire. This is likely an indicator that the AIF were intending the IED to explode and were covering the kill zone with sniper(s). Thankfully no one was hurt.
We arrived at Al Asad within 24 hours of departing from Navistar. I had never been to Al Asad before. It primarily consists of Marines. From the news, I know that the Marines have been very busy with operations in the last six months or so in the al Anbar province. Although, contrary to my expectations, the atmosphere at the base seemed somewhat laid back. The base was fairly remote, but it was of good size. It had some relatively nice Haaji shops.
The billeting arrangements were interesting. The tent we slept in was large and filled with bunk beds (which is usually the case—although, some camps only have cots). The bunks though had some of the worst mattresses I’d ever seen (except for ones covered in mold and/or sand fleas). You could feel virtually every spring in the mattress itself when you touched it. When I sat on one mattress, I broke through the bunk bed support springs (I’m just under 200 pounds and did not jump) and the mattress quickly fell to the floor. Luckily, I was spared the embarrassment as I was the only one there at the time as my guys had gone out to move the trucks and bring in additional bags. The second bunk I tried at least supported my weight. Regardless of the bunk chosen, when one sat on the center of the bed, the mattress formed a “v.” Someone commented that they were kind of like hammocks. Not a big deal, I’ve slept in worse places. Just kind of funny.
When we got up in the morning, we received the route to our next destination: the beloved and ever-peaceful, Ramadi. I’ll write about that segment as well as our trip around Falujah when I get a moment in the next couple of days.
Look at what's happened to me,
I can't believe it myself.
Suddenly I'm up on top of the world,
It should've been somebody else.
Believe it or not, I'm walking on air.
I never thought I could feel so free eee eee.
Flying away on a wing and a prayer.
Who could it be?
Believe it or not it's just me.
It's like a light of a new day,
It came from out of the blue.
Breaking me out of the spell I was in,
Making all of my wishes come true ue ue.
Believe it or not, I'm walking on air.
I never thought I could feel so free eee eee.
Flying away on a wing and a prayer.
Who could it be?
Believe it or not it's just me.
That’s how we started every leg of the mission, singing that song. For those who don’t remember, didn’t know, or aren’t old enough, that’s the theme song to the early 80s television show, Greatest American Hero. I admit, I had forgotten about the show, but it brought a smile to my face when someone reminded me of it. The truck commander for this vehicle apparently has all the series of this show on DVD (who would have guessed there was a market for that). Any way, the crew I was riding with on this mission sings the song at the start of every leg of every mission. According to the crew, this ritual has kept them safe through IEDs, mortar attacks, and small arms fire. As it would turn out, this mission was no different.
The fog was just breaking when we left Navistar. We were going to make one short sleep stop along the way before getting to our first destination, Al Asad. Al Asad is a camp in the famed al Anbar province.
Despite going through some of the “hottest” areas, our trip to Al Asad was mostly uneventful. Although, on the trip to Al Asad, I was amazed by a certain stretch of a single lane road, about 20 miles or so in length. This road was pockmarked with so many IED sites that you couldn’t travel 100 meters on this road without seeing scars from an IED. There were some places on this road that there were 5 or more IED explosion markings within as many meters. The gunner in our truck started to take some pictures of a few of the spots as we were traveling when it dawned upon him how vulnerable he was taking the pictures from the exposed turret. He quickly tucked his head back into the truck in order to avoid unnecessary exposure. As it turned out, it was a smart move.
About 10 minutes after we made it through this 20-mile stretch, we heard on the radio that a PIED (another military acronym, meaning potential improvised explosive device) was spotted along the route we had just past through by the convoy that followed us. When the unit that spotted it was calling it in on the radio, they took small arms fire. This is likely an indicator that the AIF were intending the IED to explode and were covering the kill zone with sniper(s). Thankfully no one was hurt.
We arrived at Al Asad within 24 hours of departing from Navistar. I had never been to Al Asad before. It primarily consists of Marines. From the news, I know that the Marines have been very busy with operations in the last six months or so in the al Anbar province. Although, contrary to my expectations, the atmosphere at the base seemed somewhat laid back. The base was fairly remote, but it was of good size. It had some relatively nice Haaji shops.
The billeting arrangements were interesting. The tent we slept in was large and filled with bunk beds (which is usually the case—although, some camps only have cots). The bunks though had some of the worst mattresses I’d ever seen (except for ones covered in mold and/or sand fleas). You could feel virtually every spring in the mattress itself when you touched it. When I sat on one mattress, I broke through the bunk bed support springs (I’m just under 200 pounds and did not jump) and the mattress quickly fell to the floor. Luckily, I was spared the embarrassment as I was the only one there at the time as my guys had gone out to move the trucks and bring in additional bags. The second bunk I tried at least supported my weight. Regardless of the bunk chosen, when one sat on the center of the bed, the mattress formed a “v.” Someone commented that they were kind of like hammocks. Not a big deal, I’ve slept in worse places. Just kind of funny.
When we got up in the morning, we received the route to our next destination: the beloved and ever-peaceful, Ramadi. I’ll write about that segment as well as our trip around Falujah when I get a moment in the next couple of days.
