Freedom's Sanctuary in Iraq
-Patrick S Lasswell
The snow covered sanctuary of freedom in Iraq: Kurdistan.
In Iraq, insurgents use Iraq and Syria to avoid the Coalition forces as is normal in this kind of fight, but our troops fighting for Iraq's freedom against the various flavors of fascism have their own sanctuary. Here in Northern Iraq, the Coalition moves freely amongst the friendly and supportive populace. In all the insurgencies the US fought last century, Haiti, Nicaragua, Vietnam, and others, there never was a place like Kurdistan. Good roads, nice markets, and utterly safe from terrorists is literally an unparalleled combination and it must be hurting the Anti-Iraqi Forces.
Convoy at the Mall. I think the Hummer on the truck [HMMWV on the HEMTT for you military folks] got dinged, but it probably just had an fender-bender and is getting taken to a repair depot.
Yesterday while traveling between Dohuk to Erbil, I saw two convoys traveling through Kurdistan, one moving and one stopped. The stopped convoy was outside the local Mazi mini-mall and resting. There aren't many places in Iraq where the troops can climb out of the tortoise-shell of protective armor, put on their soft caps, and get to know the people here as friends.
Peshmerga Assistant Rex is alert and on the job in Northern Iraq checking for bombs.
After four years of operating here, the terrorists have not killed a single Coalition troop, a record the Kurds are very proud of. The Kurdish Peshmerga forces are extremely thick on the ground on the border, but they are also awake, alert, and serious about their jobs.
Driving easy through the land of Zero IEDs. Sign on the lead vehicle indicates that you better get out of the way, in Arabic. No Kurdish translation needed.
A big part of insurgency theory is that you grind the people fighting to preserve freedom down by giving the government troops no resting place. Because the government has to protect everything, they can protect nothing. In Iraq, theory takes a kick to the head in Kurdistan. We can and are shifting forces with impunity beyond the insurgent's and terrorist's reach. This time, freedom gets a sanctuary.
If this informed you, please feel free to help pay my mortgage.
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Comments
Great photos and post!
Posted by: John W. | March 20, 2007 05:01 PM
Hey,
Thanks for your comment. But I don't live in Iraqi-Kurdistan. I live in the Netherlands, Europe. We can always chat through mail ( vvanwilgenburg (at) gmail.com).
Posted by: Vladimir van Wilgenburg | March 21, 2007 02:51 AM
Peshmerga Assistant Rex is quite handsome. Is he a German Shepherd, Tervuren or another breed?
He was allegedly given by Americans, that's all I can say. We met at a checkpoint and I took pictures because I miss my dog. The Peshmerga with him were very fond of him.
Posted by: M'lissa | March 21, 2007 10:13 PM