On the rare occasion that I am able to get on a public computer (while waiting for the phones to free up so I can call Dad and Dad-in-law for Father's Day), I thought I'd upload some photos taken on my last trip out.
This town is Al Kut -- it's not the most prosperous, nor the poorest, and actually is quite stable and secure. It's gotten sort of a reputation as where we want to go. Lots of construction going on and lot lot of Iraqi police and Army presence. They don't seem to actually patrol like we do. They just stand at checkpoints. The Iraqi Police and Army don't get along so you sometimes see checkpoints 100m apart from each other (instead of integrated to cover more ground). Some of it is cultural because of the roles that they played under Saddam. Also, the Army, like ours is from all over the country and is far less sectarian than the police, which are comprised of locals. The challenge with the police is that we often train them, not knowing who is on the take with local militias. I don't think we'll ever be able to win that fight. It's frightening knowing that sometimes the same guys you train to defuse IEDs are actually the ones at night who may be helping the extremists place them or at least looking the other way.
Despite all of this, and the question of what our legacy will be, I see the bright shining looks of hope on the children's faces and it is all worth it.
No, just kidding. I don't care about that. I just was going to say that the river that runs through the city is pretty.
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