A PLACE TO ESCAPE

I'm pretty certain this base is in the oft-mentioned "Sunni Triangle".

For a few hours a day, soldiers, airmen and Marines stationed at this sprawling base can take advantage of the best escapism that Hollywood has to offer.

The reason: a recently renovated movie theater that would make movie buffs at bases in Europe or the States envious...

“When we arrived, we looked around and it was just like home,” he said. Concession stands in the lobby sell “American” pizza, drinks and popcorn. Hundreds of cushioned red seats that might grace any theater in the States face the screen. A state-of-the-art Dolby surround sound system is in place. And the movies themselves are the same ones that are still showing at home — give or take a week.

The result is a theater that seats 740, including 130 in a balcony that generally will be opened only when the bottom section is full. Movies are shown three times a day — and they’re free to servicemembers and Department of Defense civilians. The pizza and popcorn aren’t. But Ortiz says the pizza business is booming.

“It tastes like American pizza,” Hill says.

Movies listed on posters outside the theater late last week included: “Twisted,” “Hidalgo,” “The Big Bounce” and “The Perfect Score.” Ortiz said AAFES is shipping the movies directly from its headquarters in Dallas.

VANITY, THY NAME IS...SOLDIER?

The Army has provided 157 soldiers from the 2nd Infantry Division’s Company B, 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment serving at Firebase Aggie, south of Mosul, with a pair of computers so they can surf the Internet and send e-mail.

The most popular Web sites among the soldiers include “Hot or Not.” Soldiers can post their pictures, then find out how “hot” other Web site visitors think they are.

SO VERY GENEROUS

When Spc. Kate Medina meets children in Baghdad, they already know her name.

“Medina, Medina,” they say, tugging at her battle dress uniform and pointing to their new clothes.

It all began with one mass e-mail Medina sent in October. Months later, the donated clothes are still coming in from all over the United States and Germany...

Kristi Jens received Medina’s e-mail on Dec. 3 from a friend who forwarded it to her and decided to take action in the Kaiserslautern military community. She set up clothing drives at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center chapel and at Ramstein Air Base’s Community Center in late February.

“I started immediately to gather things together because I have a soft spot for poor children,” Jens said.

Paying $15 for a pair of shoes is too much for some families in war-torn Iraq, Medina said...

“They wouldn’t have shoes, or [they had] shoes without soles,” Medina said. “They looked like they had just gone to the Salvation Army and put something on.”

It was these encounters with local children that prompted Medina to enlist the help of friends and family. In an e-mail, she described the children’s needs and asked for recipients of the message to donate clothing and blankets.

Little did she know that her e-mail would generate such a response.

TUESDAY, MARCH 30th.

Day 324.

I'm on edge today because I know she is, as they call it, "outside the wire", meaning she has left her operating base and is in some convoy in downtown Baghdad.

Ironically I know this only because she is no longer in command and has the time to correspond with me via an instant message service the Army provides.

When she was in command she was too consumed to update me very often. She left the Forward Operating Base (FOB) much more frequently then...the difference in my world being...I didn't know when she was out.

But today I do. And I'm not happy about it.

THE AMERICA I LIVE IN

The title of this post is a phrase that has been buzzing around in my head for a week or two.

Oddly, at the moment, I don't actually live in America, strictly speaking. But spiritually I do. And the America I live in is the America that actually has stepped up to the plate, and done our very best to make a difference in this world, even though it would be easier and more convenient not to.

A few posts down I linked to the story about parents standing between their children and service to the nation in the Military. See, I find that story interesting because that is not the America I live in.

Well, that story prompted a note from a reader, Barbara. See, Barbara lives in the America that I live in. She is a military mom and an active member of the Lutz Patriots, a group featured here before that puts together care packages for deployed soldiers they don't know. And Barbara has a different perspective on those parents...and she put it nicer than I ever would have. These are her words:

I just can't let the post go regarding the hesitancy of parents to stand behind their children wanting to enlist in the military. The Mom quoted in the Newsday.com article remarked that if something happened to her child she could not stand the guilt.

I would love to sit down and talk with her. In 1991, during the first Gulf War our son, Matt was 13. He and I watched the news regarding Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait. He could not believe that the dictator of a country could just decide to invade another country in an attempt to control it's land and resources, brutally killing many innocent people. Matt made a large poster and placed it on our front fence with red, white and blue letters, stating -- WE SUPPORT OUR TROOPS .

During the next few years he took courses in middle school and high school that would enable him to seek a military service academy appointment. We encouraged that and as a result, he was able to obtain a college degree and subsequent commission as a Marine Corps Infantry Officer. He is now a 1st Lieutenant, and loves what he does.

Matt has just completed two deployments and is 25 years old. When we ask him what he enjoys about the military, he loves telling us what he learns from more experienced men who are his senior, and also what he gains from teaching those younger men in his platoon. He has traveled all over the world in his young life. But most of all.... he just loves serving his country. The sight of those Trade Center Towers falling will never leave his memory. He just has an inherent God given conviction that there is right and wrong, good and evil .... and that our country is fighting a just war against terrorism.

I would tell that Mom quoted in the Newsday article that the military is not for everyone....but if she could read the letters we receive here in Florida from young enlisted men and women thanking us for care packages, she would change her mind. The most recent letter that touched me was from Jason, deployed to Iraq: " I am standing tall for our country. I just love it. And the good news is ... I just reenlisted over here."

I would tell her that I see young people every day, hanging out in malls for hours, with no direction or goals beyond what they are going to do that evening.

I would tell her that my guilt would have come from telling our son " No... I'm afraid to let you go into the military. " I am so proud of him and what he has become. And every day I just place him in God's hands.

Yep...that is the America I live in.

GOOD NEWS!

The Army & Air Force Exchange Service announced Thursday that it has 11 copies of “The Passion of the Christ” and will first show them to troops stationed outside of CONUS.

AAFES says it has begun shipping the film to overseas theaters. The first stops for the 11 prints are Hanau, Vogelweh, Vilseck, Mannheim and Würzburg in Germany; RAF Mildenhall, England; Balad, Iraq; Yokota East, Japan; Balboni and Osan in Korea; and Courtney on Okinawa, Japan.

“The Passion of the Christ” will be circulated among 60 theaters throughout Europe and the Pacific, including Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom locations.

THE DOMINO EFFECT

The Bush Doctrine pays dividends.

Syria has asked Australia to use its close ties with the United States to help shake off its reputation as a terrorist haven and end a US-imposed diplomatic freeze, it was reported here on Saturday.

The Weekend Australian said Syria had sent a delegation to Canberra and had hosted a series of visits by Australian parliamentarians. Secret talks have centred on trying to change Syria’s reputation and mending its relations with Washington. Australia’s close relationship with Washington, and its much-higher profile in the Middle East, prompted Syria to appeal to Canberra for help, the report said.

The approach follows Libya’s recent British-sponsored rapprochement with the West, in which Australia also played a role.

ANOTHER DESERTER

Fleeing to Canada? That is so 1960s.

A US soldier is seeking asylum in Canada after attending meetings at a Quaker meeting house which changed his views on violence.

Hinzman is believed to be the first U.S. soldier to seek asylum in Canada because of his opposition to the war in Iraq. Since his arrival, at least one other soldier has joined him, according to a Canadian Broadcasting Corp. report...

Hinzman is now officially a deserter. Master Sgt. Pam Smith, a spokeswoman for the 82nd Airborne Division, said he has been listed in a federal law enforcement database.

But, she said, "Unless he is actually pulled over by police at a routine traffic stop or whatever, he could be a deserter for the rest of his life."

The military does not pursue deserters.

"We're fighting a war," she said. "We don't have time to go out looking for people who desert."...

Hinzman said he is ready to live with the consequences of his decision. It could mean he might never be able to return to the United States or that he may forever be labeled a traitor or coward by those who disagree with him. "As a soldier, I had signed up to defend the constitution, not to invade another country," he said.

Hinzman has a selective memory. His oath included more than he recalls

"I, _____, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God."

THE WASHINGTON POST HAS TOO MUCH MONEY

I mean, if they paid someone to conduct the poll that reaches this conclusion...

Headline: Poll finds military families tiring of lengthy deployments

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES

There are many things to complain about in Iraq, and by the time the Orient Express arrived at the Syrian border the Iraqi passengers on board had exhausted most of them.

"Bombings, kidnapping, robbery, unemployment," summarized one weary businessman. "Who'd want to stay here?"

But the mood changed abruptly when Syrian border guards began to evict from the train those unable to afford a bribe.

Iraq may be plagued with violence, but a taste of life in Syria --the last Baathist stronghold and a place with more than a whiff of the old Iraq -- convinces most Iraqis they are better off without the paranoia and corruption of a police state.

The symbolism of the scene at al-Rabia police station was clear.

"It's just like traveling back in time to the old Iraq," muttered another businessmen, Mohammed Ahmed, as the Syrians did their work.

The guards stood next to a huge poster of President Bashar Assad. On the Iraqi side of the border a similar picture of Saddam Hussein has been replaced by a political slogan.

"It makes me realize how far other countries have got to come," Ahmed said....

The train was soon making its way across the plains at a stately 30 mph. The passengers were ushered back to their cabins at the border crossing. On the Iraqi side, customs officials came to politely inquire if any passengers were carrying guns or bombs or looted archeological items.

There was no welcome to Syria. At the border, guards began ejecting people from the train. Those who had enough money were allowed back on.

Others, including this reporter, were taken to the local police station. Hours of paperwork followed.

One guard, asked if he thought the tumultuous events across the border augured change in Syria, replied: "We have noticed no change across the border. Everything is exactly the same as it has always been."

GEE, I WONDER IF SHE'LL BE CALLED TO TESTIFY?

And I wonder if she'll be on every news channel, morning show and Sunday political talk show on the dial. And I wonder if every word in her book will be presumed to be true and accurate.

Doubtful.

Presidential adviser Karen Hughes kicked off a six-week national book tour Sunday with unblinking support for President Bush and the war in Iraq.

Speaking about her memoir "Ten Minutes from Normal," Hughes said she was upset by recent claims from former White House counterterrorism chief Richard Clarke that the administration didn't take the threat from al-Qaida seriously enough before the Sept. 11 attacks.

Hughes called Clarke's criticism the "Washington blame game."

"The only person responsible for the al-Qaida attacks on America was al-Qaida," Hughes said Sunday. "I've been very distressed and almost sickened as I've watched over the last week the distortion that I've seen."

Since every blogger on the planet has hashed and rehashed Richard Clarke's book, testimony etc, I'm not going to do the same here. But I've had a behind the scenes discussion with a reader on this issue...and I'd like to ensure he sees this link.

Perhaps it was the best decision he could make under the circumstances. It's too bad Clarke cuts no one in the Bush administration the same slack he so easily cuts himself.

THE RECRUITER'S NEW ENEMY

Parents.

While statewide recruitment goals haven't suffered because of the Army National Guard's growing role in Iraq, some local recruiters say the war is making their jobs more difficult.

"The war is an issue," Sgt. First Class Thomas Dwyer told the Daily Record of Parsippany. "Kids go home thinking they want to do it, and then their parents hear the word military and they think they'll go to war."...

"One mother said to me that her son could join when he was 18," Dwyer said. "She said she wasn't giving him her signature because if something happened to him, the guilt would be on her shoulders."

I know that a lot of parents of deployed soldiers read this website frequently.

In view of those mentioned in this story, I salute you for recognizing that service can't always be "somone else's job".

GIVE THE UN A GREATER ROLE IN IRAQ?

They had one.

What would you call an international scam that involves nearly $11 billion in bribes and payoffs, the involvement of corrupt officials in very high places, the diversion of funds intended for starving and sick children into private pockets and the reluctance of top U.S. allies and partners to cooperate with an investigation of it all?

Well, you could call it the most underreported story of the year, and you would be right. Or you could call it what it is: The brewing United Nations scandal over Iraq's oil-for-food program.

So where is the outrage?

UPDATE ON THE DOG

The one who survived the assasination attempt.

ARMY sniffer dog Blaze found a cache of Iraqi rebels’ weapons — on his first day back at work after an assassination attempt.

The English springer spaniel unearthed the arms during a random search of a house near Basra...

And on his first day back, he showed why — unearthing an AK-47 rifle, three full magazines, a bayonet, 200 rounds of ammo, a sniper rifle sight, two Duska heavy machine-gun barrels, and a rocket-propelled grenade launcher.

They were at an address in the same Az Zubayr area, south west of Basra, where he was run down.

AND HE DOESN'T GET THE 25 MILLION DOLLARS

So much for family loyalty.

Saddam Hussein was nabbed in December after a relative who was one of his most trusted bodyguards ratted him out to U.S. troops, a new report says.

The man who led American G.I.s to Saddam's dirty bunker on a farm near his hometown of Tikrit, Iraq, was Mohammed Ibrahim Omar al-Musslit, a trusted relative known to Iraqis as "the fat man," the BBC says in a report to be broadcast tonight.

Musslit gave the secret away quickly after being arrested and interrogated by U.S. forces, the British TV network says...

Musslit was arrested in Baghdad and flown to Tikrit, where he broke under a few hours interrogation, spilling all he knew.

"He was then made to point out the remote farm where Saddam Hussein was hiding," the BBC says...

Because Musslit did not volunteer the information, he will not get the $25 million reward for Saddam's capture.

OF COURSE, HE'S FRENCH

You just can't make this stuff up...

A cigar-chomping French attorney who has represented a rogue's gallery of Nazis, serial killers and genocidal dictators said yesterday he's taking on a new client for "the trial of the century" - Saddam Hussein.

Jacques Verges, 79, told reporters he got a letter from one of Saddam's nephews telling him he had been chosen to represent the deposed Iraqi dictator.

He made clear he intends to try to turn the tables on his client's accusers by trying to put U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on the stand.

U.S. officials say they will bring Saddam to justice for alleged crimes against the Iraqi people, but the time and date of the trial have yet to be set.

Saddam is being held by U.S. forces at a secret location.

"If I have to choose between defending the wolf or the dog, I choose the wolf, especially when he is bleeding," said the controversial Verges, who has been nicknamed The Devil's Advocate.

And then there is this perspective from the Iraqis.

Iraqis believe that plans by a French lawyer to take up the defence of Saddam Hussein after acting for a long list of unpopular clients highlights the "criminal" record of the former dictator.

Jacques Verges "has always defended gang leaders and Saddam is one of them," said Nureddin Dara, a Kurdish judge who is also a member of Iraq's US-installed interim Governing Council. "I don't think that his decision to defend Saddam will have any consequence on the trial," he said.

DETERMINATION

Her Olympic dreams were put on hold 24 years ago when Saddam Hussein's regime forced her to become a swimming coach and lifeguard at one of the dictator's presidential compounds. Now that Saddam is gone, Hamdiya Ahmed al-Sammak has taken up her athletic career again, training in the javelin throw five days a week despite daunting odds.

She won't say her age but is apparently in her early 50s. Al-Sammak is also blind in one eye and has a throwing arm that was broken in 1990 and never set properly.

She still holds the national women's record for the javelin and has won medals at home in swimming, running, equestrian, discus and hammer throw.

BAGHDAD BEAUTIFUL

When the local leadership has time to focus on projects such as these, I wonder, just how bad can it really be over there?

Based on recommendations from Baghdad?s elected advisory councils, CPA?s Baghdad Central office plans to disburse US$10,000,000 within the next three months for city beautification projects.

Eligible types of improvements can include:

- Creation and rehabilitation of city parks, rest areas, public squares, playgrounds, and recreation areas,
- Installation and repair of lighting to illuminate outdoor public places,
- Erecting sculptures and painting murals on approved locations,
- Landscaping public areas using plants, shrubs, flowers and grasses,
- Repair of sidewalks and footpaths which have significant damage...

?Baghdad Beautiful? funding is limited to the types of beautification projects listed above. Baghdad has tremendous needs for improved public works of all kinds, and these are being addressed through other programs. ?Baghdad Beautiful? projects are limited to above ground, readily visible projects, based on the principle of providing the greatest benefit to the largest number of people.

Work will begin as soon as projects have been identified and prioritized by the advisory councils and contracts have been approved. The 1st Armored Division will implement this program and play a central role in its success.

A SANE LOOK BACK

Mark Steyn recalls the "top ten quagmires of the week" from a year ago.

If it seems cruel to dredge them up, I do so because, the current ballyhoo from Democrats would make you think the administration policy in this area has been a disaster. It hasn't. Indeed, for 2½ years now, the naysayers to the Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld-Rice approach to the war on terror have been close to 100 percent wrong on everything.

John Kerry, in his macho way, told Rolling Stone, apropos the Iraq war, that he never expected President Bush to f*** it up so much. In fact, Mr. Bush didn't asterisk it up at all. It's one of the least asterisked-up operations in history.

The freak-show left prancing around on the anniversary demonstrations is one thing, but sensible people of all persuasions ought to be able to give the administration real credit for it did in Iraq these last 12 months...

(2) "The head of the World Food Program has warned that Iraq could spiral into a massive humanitarian disaster." (The Australian, April 11, 2003)

One year on: No humanitarian disaster. Indeed, no "humanitarians."

The NGOs fled Iraq in August and nobody noticed, confirming what some of us have suspected since Afghanistan: The permanent floating crap game of the humanitarian lobby has a vastly inflated sense of its own importance and is prone to massive distortion in the cause of self-promotion.

This is a really good piece...go read it all.

MONDAY, MARCH 29th.

The 323d day.

And I send my thanks to those who have written in the last few days to share with me your joy and anticipation of my darling wife's scheduled return. It is an amazing thing to feel loved by strangers scattered around the globe.

I do thank you.

Some have asked what the future of the website will be once CPT Patti returns home. And my honest answer is that I don't know right now. After her brief visit over Christmas I was convinced that upon her return home I would stop doing this. But at this point I'm not certain. Indeed, things will change...but I'll just have to see how it goes.