Henry's Web Log

The British forces have been exceedingly polite as US troops move into Basra. By nature, they’re very polite people, but I’ve discovered a hidden plot: the UK is revoking our independence. In a proclamation secretly assembled last Spring (while we were busy bumbling around with the election), our British “friends” devised a clever plan: distract us with Basra while concurrently re-colonizing America. At great personal risk, I’ve decided to publish this plot, just to see if anyone cares.

The proclamation starts off:

In light of your failure in recent years to nominate competent candidates for President of the USA and thus to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective immediately. (You should look up 'revocation' in the Oxford English Dictionary.)

Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume monarchical duties over all states, commonwealths, and territories (except Kansas, which she does not fancy).

See the entire revocation of independence document for yourself (PDF, 62 KB)

If I haven’t said it directly, let me be clear- this job has been non-stop since arriving in Basra. Typically, the day starts at 7am and goes to 10pm, 7 days a week. In addition, there are late-night or early-morning missions for supporting our convoy soldiers. So as you can imagine, the days start to run together. A highlight for me has become the weekly modern protestant service. Chaplain Chang from the 793rd MP Battalion leads a 1 hour service that includes hymns (thankfully, we soon got guitar players, because a cappella was NOT pretty). In this short video clip, you can see we have a screen projector (you can’t go anywhere in the Army without PowerPoint!), and a 2x4 wooden cross. Of course, the communion linen is Army khaki, and we even have Bibles with the digital camouflage pattern.

Other welcomed breaks from the long days include working out in the gym or running inside the COB. We used to have an MWR (Morale, Welfare and Recreation) tent, but recently had to give it up for bedspace. Another, bigger MWR facility is being built, though. So given the alternatives, being at work all waking hours is the logical place to be.

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The ancient name for the city of Mosul is Ninevah. Eric and Ethan know the story of Jonah and Ninevah thanks both to their Sunday school teachers and also from the Veggie Tales’ Jonah movie*. In the movie, Jonah drags his feet because he doesn’t want visit the town where people are constantly slapping each other with fishes!


Today, Mosul is once again on the map of Iraqi hotspots. See this NPR story on Mosul. (summary: 2004 saw fierce fighting, and now it’s one of the last “strongholds,” where stronghold is a relative term).

Not to spoil the end of the Veggie Tales movie for you, but Jonah uses the power of information to convince the citizens that there’s a better way. Jonah is hesitant at first, believing that God really ought to smite the Ninevites. But Jonah comes around and uses teaching and diplomacy to persuade the citizens that there’s a better way. They go back and forth a little bit, because it’s easy to fall back to your old ways of feuding.

At our stage of the Iraqi conflict, our weapons aren’t really bullets and tanks, it is Information. Telling, showing and teaching the people of Iraq about the infrastructure: clean water, schools, sewage, reliable power. Commerce. And giving them the freedom of movement to experience this themselves. We can be close by, just in case a few poor sports want to fall back to their feuding, but mostly we want to teach, coach, and reassure the citizens that life can be better!
* Learn about the Veggie Tale's Jonah movie

I had the opportunity to recon some of our posts within Basra recently. It was a great opportunity to see what it’s really like outside of our COB, how the Iraqis are doing, and how the real soldiers are living!



In the photo below, you can make out the edge of the Euphrates river, Shat Al Arab, in the background.


In this shot, the cockpit glass is a little foggy, but you can see serveral homes and brick businesses in the dry dirt just yards away from the river.


Further away from downtown Basra, there were lots of mud huts. Shepards, canoes in the canals, dry fields, and a sparse lifestyle that could have been the same centuries ago.