Date: Tuesday, November 27, 2007 3:14 PM
From: "Joshua Arthur"
Subject: One for the road . . .
All,
Well, I think this is it. Don't worry, I promise this one won't be a
4,000-word tome like some of the past e-mails have been! I just thought
I should write one final time from this wonderful patch of land over
here. Before I begin, I know I still owe some of you actual replies to
person e-mails and letters you've written, and I hope you don't think
this is my catch-all response! I'm working on writing those, too, but I
wanted to make sure I got this out first. Also, as always, my sincere
thanks to all of you who have continued to keep me and my soldiers in
your heart and in your mind and sent us necessities since I last wrote.
It's hard for me to believe it's been three months since my last note,
but I suppose at this stage in the game, it's about time time started to
pass a little more quickly! Again, thank you so much, though. I and my
soldiers appreciate each and every package with each and every pipe
cleaner, battery, baby wipe, cookie, candy bar, peanut, magazine, and
whatever else is sent! Words will never express how thankful we are for
your thoughts and deeds over the past 13+ months.
First, a quick word on our situation and things in the area. The long
and short of it is that the unit that was here before us - and,
honestly, anyone in this battalion who was here six months ago and could
magically fast-forward to where we are now - would almost not recognize
Ameriyah as it is today: the transformation has been that complete. I
don't believe we have had an IED detonate inside Ameriyah in over three
and a half months, knock on wood. In the area with which I concern
myself now, called Bakiriyah, our most notable incidents in the past two
months have been a man shot while, apparently, trying to have sex with
one of his neighbor's sheep, and locals' complaints about a gay
prostitution ring apparently based out of the horse stables for the
nearby racetrack. I couldn't make this stuff up. We haven't lost any
soldiers to hostile fire since that last IED attack either, and all
indications point to things moving in very much the right direction with
regards to this overall counterinsurgency fight. The bigger concerns
for us now no longer center around fighting insurgents, capturing terror
leaders, or dislodging al-Qaeda in the area. By and large, we think
those tasks have pretty much been accomplished in our area. It would be
nice to take the credit for that, of course, but I think the much larger
share of the credit has to go to the local volunteer force that I've
mentioned in the past. They were the ones who provided the necessary
intelligence and created the conditions for coalition forces to assume
the role of protector, rather than fighter. That's not to say that our
battalion didn't do its share of fighting, because it certainly did, but
even to many of the soldiers who patrol regularly, those days seem a
thing of the past. Only time will tell whether we can maintain this
general area as one which we must "control," rather than "clear" all
over again, but with the support of the local population, our increasing
efforts to bring them essential services, and our push to involve the
municipal government to address local concerns, we hope the area will
remain as quiet as it has for the recent months. The quite has come at
considerable cost both to us, in lives lost and battles fought, and to
the locals in having to live in a walled-off neighborhood with
restricted access and without much power and fluctuating water and
sewage, but all involved seem to accept in the short- to medium-term
that security is essential first for us to try to deliver the bigger
promises we have made regarding improvements in the quality of life. If
we're able to do that - and this is something that units across Baghdad
and across Iraq have been trying to do for some time - then our efforts
will have been worth it. In the long run, the merits of supporting what
in some respects a sectarian militia may prove to be unfounded, and
there exists the possibility that in the end, creating walled-off
enclaves of homogeneous populations will only further sectarian biases.
I read recently in a newspaper article, though, an interview with in
Iraqi woman that sounded hopeful. She said something to the effect of,
"a wall may take 10 years to build, but takes only 10 minutes to tear
down." Hopefully no matter what damage we may have caused or may be
causing with the strategy we've adopted, the residents will be able to
remedy the problems when the conditions are right.
Ultimately, of course, the fate of the area in which we've been working
for the past year won't even be up to us. I think we've been able to do
some good things during our time here, but another unit will come to
take ownership of the area soon, and in all likelihood a different unit
will assume ownership after that. Ideally, in fact, it won't be long
before an Iraqi unit has overall responsibility for this area, and
Americans and other coalition forces are mentors rather than actors. I
don't think that time is here yet, but if things continue as they have
then it is much, much nearer than either we or the prior unit would have
thought possible six months ago or a year ago. The unit that will
replace us, in fact, is more than likely in the very last stages of
pre-deployment preparation, and I wouldn't be surprised if they deploy
within the next week or so. For us, our time in Baghdad is slowly
winding down. I believe as things stand that I'm scheduled to fly to
Kuwait on January 1st, exactly five weeks from today (not that either I
myself nor every soldier in the battalion is counting). I don't know
how long we'll stay in Kuwait, but it should only be a matter of days,
and I should be home sometime during that first week of January. It
would have been terrific to make it back for the holidays, of course, or
even just the new year, but I suppose in a way it's only fitting that I
wind up spending the entirety of 2007 here, not just 95% of it. Some of
you might think it would be kind of depressing to have spent two
Thanksgivings and two Christmases in a row over here - and to some
extent it certainly is - but I can assure you that this Christmas, with
only a week to go until we leave, we'll all be thrilled just to be so
close to being home. It won't ever make up for being gone, of course,
but at least we'll know we're just about done with the whole show. And
speaking of the holidays, while I and my soldiers were absolutely
thrilled to receive so many wonderful things from so many of you last
year, please DO NOT feel the need to send anything this year! In fact,
if you haven't sent anything already but would like to, please don't!!
We've already begun packing things up, and in fact they will stop
receiving mail for the battalion sometime in the very near future. So
not only would I not have space to pack up whatever it is you might have
sent me or my soldiers, I may well not get it in the first place! Just
know that for us, being in the throes of redeployment preparation and
traveling is more than enough to make us happy this holiday season. If
you absolutely must send something that you want me or my soldiers to
have, you could attempt to send it to the unit directly at Fort Hood,
but as we will be beginning our block leave period shortly after we get
back, it might sit around for us for weeks there, too! As I said,
please just know that we'll be thrilled to be home, and for me, being
back in America will be one of the best Christmas gifts I've ever
gotten. I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to doing all of
the things I haven't been able to do in the past year, from enjoying a
glass (or several) of whisky to going for a swim at a pool. I have a
new Jeep waiting for me at home, trips planned to see friends and
family, including an outrageous trip to Jamaica (thanks, Mom and Dad!
:)), and I look forward to seeing many of you as soon as I'm able
throughout the next year. I have some pretty significant changes in
store for myself in 2008, but I'll spare you those stories for now. I
hope this finds all of you looking forward to the holiday season,
enjoying the companionship of friends and family if you're able, and in
good health and spirits to match my own.
With love to all,
Josh
