Day 89

There's not much action outside the wire for my squad. A lot of sitting around and waiting. One day we fired four mortar rounds at an unspecified target. The next night we fired illumination rounds (flairs that burn for 30 seconds or so) in order to see what effect it would have. There is a curfew in place and anyone prowling around at night will be shot.
The joint security site was attacked by bombers this past week. A man in a dumptruck full of explosives drove right up to the gate and blew up. I was in the stryker when it happened. You could only have seen it from the second story roof because of the large concrete barriers surrounding the building. I felt the wave of the explosion though. No one was hurt, but it left a crater ten feet deep. The next day there was another bombing at the train station across the road. The whole side of the building was blown out. Apparently whoever occupies the 'train station' these days sympathizes with the Iraqi army.
I talked with an Iraqi interpreter who shed some light on the conflict brewing in the country. He said that there are different factions, not necessarily divided by religion but by region or political interest. The Iraqi parliament is in disarray and there is constant fighting between the members. Representatives are killed, threatened and disobeyed. It seems there is no way to take control besides military action. There is no telling whose side the bands of unofficial Iraqi police are on. The people in the villages and communities are caught between taking action and supporting their leader and obeying the threats of terrorists that threaten their lives. In fact, many of the people that attack our compound are not criminals themselves, but are forced into service by threats to their families. Many of the suicide bombers have their hands taped to the steering wheel. The bombs are then detonated with a remote device, or once in place the explosives are shot from afar.

There was a small 4th of July celebration yesterday at the barracks. We played volleyball and ate hamburgers and hot dogs. All of the commanding officers were there. It was uncomfortable because of the heat and the situation we're in. I forced down some food and talked with a few people I hadn't seen in a while.