So the night I informed the Iraqi chain of command, I decided to file a report with our own MPs. They came over around 9pm, and we dropped by the dining hall and the Deputy Commander and the security chief were both there. I had asked the two MPs to be low-key because this was not our backyard. They were two specialists (junior soldiers), so weren't going to throw around a lot of weight anyhow. COL Nazzir said that the MAJ Jabbar had tossed a few rooms on that row, but found nothing. I asked whether they had taken my suggestion to look for the distinctive squeegee that had been taken along with the phone. My logic was that the guy would have hidden the phone, but wouldn't have thought to hide the squeegee. Find the "smoking squeegee," finger the culprit.
They hadn't, but COL Nazzir directed MAJ Jabbar to do so and the MPs went to join him. 15 min later, they came back with the squeegee. They found it just a few rooms away in the room of one of the young soldiers that was in the group that liked to hang out with my roommate -- this was the group I suspected, but didn't want to believe to be guilty. When they asked where it came from, nobody would own up to it, but one of the guys had just left that morning to go on his 10 days' leave that every soldier gets each month. At that point, there was a bit of headscratching as the soldiers' commander and MAJ Jabbar tried to figure out what to do next. I wanted to tell them that they needed to segregate the buddies immediately before they had a chance to cook up a story, lean on them and see who they fingered and how the stories varied. He told me he would bring the soldier back and then compare his story to mine. That didn't make sense to me because of course our stories would be different and then it would be my word vs. his. But, this wasn't our show, and I couldn't force him to run his investigation. Very frustrating -- in a way, this is exactly what we are going through in the entire country. We want to do things a certain way, but have to go through the Iraqi forces now and they're going to do it their own style.
They decided to recall him. Last night I got a knock on my door. There were the two MPs there and the US Air Force Master Sgt who is the liaison officer training the Iraqis. He said that they had found the guy and had the phone and were waiting at the dining hall to meet me. We walked on over. General (retired) Falah was there, the senior man, and someone I knew. He expressed that they were very embarassed by this and wanted to set an example and that the culprit already had his papers stripped, would be drummed out of the Iraqi Army, and was now in jail, where he would be locked away "for years."
We went over to the security chief's office and he told us what had happened. They brought the soldier, Sabouri, back from leave and MAJ Jabbar questioned him closely for an hour. He denied everything, but after awhile, MAJ Jabbar told him to tell the truth and that nothing would happen. He then fessed up and said the phone was in Baghdad. They sent him all the way back (about a 5 hr drive) to fetch it. Sure enough, it was him. Then, MAJ Jabbar sent him to jail.
So, on the one hand, I'm happy to get my phone back. I'm glad they found who it was and that an example was made. There have been thefts before, but they'd never caught someone. But, that night, I couldn't sleep. I was really bothered by the fact that the thief was someone I had invited into my room and shared drinks and I thought, friendship. We talked about families. Even more, I was bothered that his life was probably ruined. In jail, how would his wife and two kids (unless he lied about that) get by? Would he become bitter and vengeful and turn into a criminal, when he could have been turned right? Did the punishment fit the crime?
I don't know... I understand the reason for administering a harsh sentence and making a statement, but I don't want all this on my conscience. I think after this simmers down, I will go and ask for leniency. It will, after all, shortly be Ramadan, and that is a time for charity.
Shortly before I was mugged in SF in 2007, I glanced at my soon-to-be-assailant, and thought, "It must suck for that guy -- people probably automatically think ill of him because he's black, wears a hoodie, and is leaning up against a building as its getting dark outside." In the aftermath of the mugging (and subsequent trip to SF General (hospital)), I was more careful about my environment, but I still think people you don't yet know about deserve a chance and I stil operate that way.
ReplyDeleteI do however feel very different about your particular thief. If indeed it's clear that he stole from you, I feel very little sympathy, especially since there was such a betrayal of trust. Also, it doesn't seem that he was stealing for his or his family's survival. Rather he was stealing simply because he had the opportunity.
I do hope that while being careful, you continue to give people you encounter the benefit of the doubt, but as you know, "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice..."
Coming off the cruise, first opportunity I checked for your news at the Line of Duty blog. Glad to know you got your cell phone back and proud that you're a Shallock Holmes with a heart. You thought about lenliency besides the jail term, just as LC said, givng people the benefit of the doubt. Mercy is the quality not strained; it's the gentle rain falling from heaven (shakespear). Jesus says mercy, justice and faith are the three components of law (Matthew 23:23) and he says we are supposed to forgive 7 x 70 times!
ReplyDeleteIt's truly divine to forgive!
Dad writing from Banff, Alberta, Cananda