Ramadi

This first entry is a testament to my procrastinating nature. I had grand plans to start this upon arriving in Kuwait for my second combat tour on August 5, 2006. It is now over nine months later. I am writing this blog at first for myself--mainly to keep up a writing discipline; secondly, because I know most of you reading this are interested in what is going on here, probably especially my part in it. As such, please feel free to ask me questions, as this will provide me some content.

In case you came about this blog indirectly, or don't know me personally, I am an Army Captain currently stationed at Camp Ramadi. I work for a Task Force (battalion-size element). Our area of operations encompasses a chunk of Ramadi as well as some surrounding countryside.

Following are some recent media articles that offer a decent perspective of what is currently going on in Ramadi. The first article lays out the general context for Ramadi's current success, while the others specifically mention my unit. My view of the situation is this: some courageous Iraqis decided to take responsibility, and luckily enough (for them and for us), we had an Army unit that was intelligent enough to embrace them, and wise enough to not mold the Iraqi's initiative into their own narrow image of what a pro-US Iraqi movement had to look like. The lion's share of the credit goes to the Al Anbar Salvation Council, however, as you'll see from the articles.

"An Army Colonel's gamble pays off in Iraq" - Jim Michaels, USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2007-04-30-ramadi-colonel_N.htm

"In what was once one of Iraq's deadliest cities, local police curb violence" - Todd Pitman, AP
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/iraq/20070413-1241-iraq-policingramadi.html

"In Ramadi, a ragtag solution with real results" - Chris Kraul, LA Times
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-kidcops7may07,0,4179768.story?coll=la-home-headlines

"Soldier and sheik like brothers against Al Qaeda" - Moni Basu, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/shared-blogs/ajc/georgiansatwar/entries/2007/04/29/soldier_and_sheik_like_brother.html