Unbridled Restraint

After my last blog entry I told myself I would start posting more often and clearly I failed during this past month. Since then, however, I have been encouraged by my good friend Luke Addison to keep up with the blog more diligently. After more than three months of being in the middle east I have grown accustomed to life here. I forget all too easily that business as usual for me here is far less than normal for friends back home. Our base is hit by rockets every week or so and now the attacks seem more like an inconvenience than anything to get worked up about. The fact that I am at this moment typing on my MacBook with a 9mm pistol on my belt and a loaded magazine in my pocket is quite forgettable to me but I must remember this is not the norm back in the states (even for good NRA members like me). Just a couple of months ago I was a filled with excitement and anxiety before each patrol or escort mission, but now these missions are just ordinary activities. While I work very hard to guard against complacency in myself and in my men, inevitably we adapt to our environment and adjust our sense of normalcy. I am going to make an effort to remember this rather than discarding writing ideas because they seem dull. In case this blog takes a turn for bland you can send complaints directly to Luke. Before I even stepped foot in the middle east I was excited about keeping friends informed not only on what I would be doing here but also about what is going on in the war here. It seems now that at some point while no one was looking Afghanistan, long held as “forgotten war” switched places with Iraq as the campaign in the limelight. I suppose relative peace and strategic success just isn’t sexy enough to talk about. I hope these posts will help provide you, my friends and family with a more consistent view of the war that is now on its 2,505^th day. If not, hopefully these words will at least be an effective cure for those struggling with insomnia.

Lately my biggest challenge as a platoon leader has been keeping my men motivated and invested in our mission here. You must understand the average American soldier is not terribly excited by phrases like “tactical restraint” or “advisory assistance” (the latter is actually the new catch phrase and overall description for our mission here in Iraq). My platoon is a conglomeration of Infantry Mortarmen, Field Artillery Forward Observers, and Cavalry Scouts. Many are here in Iraq for there second or third tour and are chomping at the bit to knock down doors and kill the enemy. It would take very little effort to garner a confession from any of them of desiring a confirmed kill in combat. While I try to guard against my own delusions of grandeur, I must confess I still am excited by the potential for a gun fight. I must remind myself and my men, however, that the fight in Iraq is largely past the days of gunning down insurgents and hunting IED triggermen. But, in many ways our mission now is more crucial than the more violent days of 2005, 2006, and 2007. Our new mission still requires great courage from our soldiers, but courage of a new brand. Our intent with every mission and interaction with the Iraqi people and the Iraqi army is to build rapport and relationships. In practice this means that we make ourselves more vulnerable in order to display trust to our Iraqi army partners. When we arrive at their compounds we take off all of our helmets and bullet proof vests as a gesture of fidelity. We have abandoned many aggressive tactics used frequently just a year ago to protect U.S. troops like firing warning shots at civilian vehicles that intermix in our convoys that could be VBIEDS (Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Devices). We no longer roll through the city with Bradley Fighting Vehicles and tanks, but rather use armored trucks in order to try to blend in at least slightly better than before. Our rules of engagement and command oversight cause us in many cases to have to wait to be shot at until we can engage an attacker (and even then only if we can assure little to no collateral damage). Our restraint, however, is key to the strategic gains made every day and are exemplified by the steady growth of the Iraqi Government’s legitimacy. We must show ourselves to the Iraqi people as a friend rather than a bunch of cowboys who are quick on the draw but slow to discern. This is hardly a fair description of U.S. forces in Iraq but it still echoes as a stigma surrounding our presence in parts of this country.

In less than two months history will be made when Iraq will hold full democratic elections. No other Muslim nation in world history has ever done such a thing. Iraqi people have freedom and excitement about their future that was never thought possible under Saddam Hussein. I just finished a two hour conversation with my interpreter about life in Iraq before 2003. He said he took seven years to go through college not because he was lazy or a bad student, but because under Saddam there was little to no hope even for an educated Iraqi to have a good life so he had no motivation to work hard. Now Iraqis are getting to choose their own leaders without any foreign influence or broad threat of violence. While Iraq still has many problems, there is excitement in the air when you talk to locals who are starting to figure out what it means to be free. Citizens of surrounding countries are also beginning to see the freedoms enjoyed by Iraqis under the post-Saddam government. I was so encouraged last week when I was watching a Lebanese newscast and listening to one of our interpreters translate and provide context. The interpreter, a former Iraqi citizen and now a highly educated American explained how unrest is developing in neighboring countries like Iran and Syria because their people want a hope of freedom like that which now grows in Iraq. I have great hope that the shockwaves of what is happening in Iraq will be felt in this region for many years to come. Also, without Iraq, our nation’s only ally in the middle east is Israel. While I am personally prone to political affection for Israel in the same way that I rooted for Stallone in Rocky III against Mr. T, our relationship with Israel is hardly a diplomatic foot in the door into the middle east. (God bless them, they will use a sledgehammer as a flyswatter…and they will not pity the fool). Iraq on the other hand can become a viable, Muslim ally in a region which traditionally rejects us. I keep reminding my men with slow but steady success that our presence here, “boring” as it may be is absolutely crucial to the long term preservation of the new government of Iraq. Iraq’s security forces are growing in efficacy and legitimacy every day, however, if we are to leave prematurely or without a firmly established partnership the whole situation here might collapse like a Jenga tower at the hands of an impatient child. Our presence here provides confidence to Iraqi Security Forces akin to an older brother watching his younger brother's back during a neighborhood brawl. We will let them get some scrapes and bruises, but we are right here if things get out of hand. Iraq’s geographical position residing in between Iran and Syria make the neighborhood seem all the more dangerous and our long term partnership all the more crucial.

Link to an interview I did with Army Public Affairs