Traveling...

Dubai International Airport. There is a sign outside the initial security screening checkpoint that clearly states, in several languages, that ticketed travelers are the only individuals permitted beyond this point. Yet, as I approach the screening belt, I am forced to wait for 3 local men, who are obviously not traveling, while they argue in Arabic with the security guard and wave and point incessantly at the bank of ticketing desks beyond the security checkpoint. This is certainly a secure area, I think to myself incredulously, amongst a few other thoughts I won't repeat.

Once safely inside, having finally been waved ahead of the local men, I am stopped by passport control, a customs agent, whatever. He asks me standard questions, like, "Did you pack your own luggage? Was it in your control at all times? Did anyone give you a package to carry?" I notice a crowd forming behind me. People don't typically observe the bold yellow lines on the floor that are supposed to scream, "Wait here until it's your turn!" So when he asks me where I've been, where I'm going, what business I'm in, etc., I answer him in a low voice. He leans in to hear me when I nearly whisper, "Iraq." He repeats, "Iraq?" in a voice loud enough for the strangers behind me to hear. I nod in affirmation. I nearly whisper, "Contractor", and he repeats, "Contractor?" Again, in a voice loud enough for strangers behind me to hear. "Let me see your military ID," he says. He is obviously familiar with contractors and our identification. I discreetly pull it out of my bag and hold it before me, my back to the crowd. He holds it up, visible to all. I then say, "Sir, can we please step to the side a bit? I would prefer to remain discreet about all this. I don't want everyone knowing my business." I motion my head back to the crow behind me. He follows my nod and then understands and steps forward with me. Of course, it would be too much for him to ask people to step back from the line.

Later on, I'm in line waiting to enter the gate area for my flight. A man behind me, who is obviously a contractor in Iraq - I can tell from the backback, boots, etc. - asks in a friendly manner, "Where ya' headed?" Still frustrated at the indiscreet display of my personal business downstairs, I decide I will not have this conversation and instead say, in a friendly, upbeat tone, "Same place you are, apparently!" and smile big. He appears a bit confused and chuckles. I then turn my attention to the progress of the line and he doesn't say another word. Inside the waiting area, I overhear several conversations around me. I know more about these people and their business than I care to - where they work, what they do, pay rates, camp locations. Don't they realize we're easy targets here...? Don't they realize that anyone here could be listening and taking notes? Maybe it's just me, but I prefer to be the most anonymous traveler in the airport. I even keep my passport in a plain black leather case so that i don't flash my Americanism at every security checkpoint. And I keep my boarding pass in my bag until the last possible moment prior to boarding. Perhaps it's paranoia. Or perhaps it's simply observation of opsec and taking responsibility for my personal safety and security when in strange places or vulnerable positions. Here's an afterthought: these people who discuss their jobs, locations, employers - which happen to be very similar to my own circumstances - are putting me at risk as well. Good grief. Where did common sense go?

Another interesting observation... Atlanta. Gate A-14. Smoking lounge. A woman enters with her child, who appears to be approximately 12 or 13 and is clearly developmentally challenged. The mother is frenzied as she pulls a cigarette from her purse, lights it, tries to keep her daughter outside the smoking lounge doors, but within sight, within reach. She is wearing khakis, complete with the signature well-traveled wrinkles, and a black tank, her hair pulled up into a loose, disheveled, last-minute clip. I notice a nicotine patch on her upper right arm. She catches my eye and we exchange a glance. She is frazzled, exhausted, overwhelmed. I smile at her. I don't blame her one bit. Have two, I think to myself.

Paris Hilton

One question: WHY?

WHY do I go to the internet to view newsworthy world events and see the face of Paris Hilton - both striking a pose for her police mugshot and in dreadful tears - plastered everywhere? How is it that a "Paris Hilton" headline tops out a story about another dead soldier in Iraq? Or a story about a 15-year-old girl found in a hidden room in a house in Connecticut, having been missing for a year...? I'm sorry, but the incarceration (or re-incarceration) of a starlet - one who just happens to come from a wealthy big-name family - is really quite irrelevant to me.

Is our society really that shallow? I guess I always knew on some level that we were a society generally obsessed with stars and stardom. But this is getting to be ridiculous.

And now I've wasted 15 minutes writing about her. Good grief...

Terror, Defined

Merriam Webster defines terror as follows:

Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French terrour, from Latin terror, from terrEre to frighten; akin to Greek trein to be afraid, flee, tremein to tremble...

(1) a state of intense fear;
(2) (a) one that inspires fear: scourge; (b) a frightening aspect (the terrors of invasion); (c) a cause of anxiety: worry; (d) an appalling person or thing
(3) violent or destructive acts (as bombing) committed by groups in order to intimidate a population or government into granting their demands (insurrection and revolutionary terror)

More Terrorism

Many people repeatedly ask why we are here. Perhaps a good question, because as hard as we try, as many troops as we place on patrol throughout the streets of Baghdad - and every other hostile city or village in Iraq - to protect the innocent victims of oppression and terror, the killing continues en masse. An article I read recently...

21 Killed in Car Bombing at Baghdad Market
The Associated Press (From Stars and Stripes - Mideast Edition / Tuesday, May 29, 2007)

BAGHDAD - A suicide car bomber struck a busy Baghdad commercial district Monday, killing at least 21 people and wounding 66, setting cars on fire and damaging a nearby Sunni shrine, police and hospital officials said.

The blast went off at 2 p.m. in the Sinak market area on the east side of the Tigris River.

Insurgents carried out several mortar and car bombing attacks throughout the capital Monday and even waged a lengthy gunbattle with police in broad daylight. The wave of violence, which killed 36 people across Baghdad, came despite a nearly 15-week-old U.S.-led security crackdown in the city.

Earlier Monday, a battle raged between militants and police in the narrow alleys of another central Baghdad neighborhood after insurgents highjacked two minibuses and kidnapped at least 15 passengers, police said.

At least three policemen were killed in the fighting, authorities said.

The buses were traveling from Baghdad's main bus station to the city's eastern Shiite neighborhoods about 10:15 a.m. when gunmen in three cars forced them to stop as they passed through the Sunni enclave of Fadhil.

The attackers took the passengers to a nearby abandoned medical center. A gunbattle broke out when Iraqi security forces arrived 30 minutes later, police said. Nine militants were arrested.

After 45 minutes, Iraqi security forces stormed the building, but the militants had already left, apparently with their hostages, police said.

Also Monday, another 33 bullet-riddled bodies were found handcuffed, blindfolded and showing signs of torture in different parts of Baghdad.

Although the judging masses (primarily liberal, left-wing Americans) appear to be horrified and angered by the daily chaos that ensues, I would argue that they are generally desensitized and have no idea how cold and calculated the terrorists (pardon me, "insurgents") really are. Their liberal media will show numbers of dead, use buzz words and phrases, highlight the negative, insinuate our servicemembers are responsible for the chaos... If they really wanted to portray the true state of affairs, they would show the grisly photos of torture and decay found on the streets of Iraq on a daily basis, photos of servicemembers collecting bodies marred by torture dumped in the open (bodies that locals step around on their way to the market as though it's a normal day) and delivering them in body bags to local hospitals and morgues so that families can collect their dead and lay them to rest the proper way. Then perhaps more people would understand exactly what's going on here - that we are aiding the people, not inciting conflict, that we are trying to protect them from the terrorists who lurk in their neighborhoods and threaten their peaceful existence. But maybe there's something to be said for being spoon-fed. Many people don't like to think outside the box - it requires energy, some level of intelligence, analytical skills, etc. And so continues the general state of affairs of our ignorant nation.

Disturbing Headlines

I was sifting through the news tonight on the internet. But I'm not sure why. Everything was negative. Here are some examples of headlines I saw:

~ Fight Between Father, Son Turns Violent
~ Two Kids Charged in Beating of Dad, Son at Middle School
~ Baby, Father Killed in Shootout
~ Man Who Killed Wife, Son Upset Over Breakup
~ Babysitter Set to Die for Death of 3-Month-Old
~ Police Say 3 Shot Dead, Including Woman, Child
~ State St. Victim Killed by Single Gunshot
~ Man Attacks Woman on City Street
~ Boyfriend Arrested in Toddler Death
~ Child Victim of Hit and Run in North Las Vegas
~ Woman Thrown From Second-Story Apartment
~ Charges Filed Against Caretaker Who Left Child in Hot Car
~ 2-Year-Old Baby Dead
~ Teen Sought After Preschooler Punched to Death
~ Police Name Suspect in 4-Year-Old's Death
~ Boy Beaten to Death While Mom Serves in Iraq
~ Mom of Malnourished Girl Pleads No Contest
~ 2nd Body ID'd in Grisly Attack on California Family
~ Body Found in NE May be Part of Murder-Suicide
~ NJ Shooting Leaves 2 People Dead
~ Reputed Klansman Set for Trial in '64 Deaths

They had real plates and real silverware at DFAC today - not plastic. That's good news.

Who are the Terrorists...?

A snippet of a news story I read this morning...

Funeral Procession Bombed in Iraq
By: Steven R. Hurst, Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD - A bomb hidden in a parked car struck the funeral procession of a Sunni tribal leader who was gunned down earlier Thursday, killing at least 26 mourners as al-Qaida appeared to turn up its campaign of frightening its growing opposition into submission.

The attack in Fallujah, 40 miles west of Baghdad, targeted the passing procession for Alaa Zuwaid, a 60-year-old restaurant owner who was part of a Sunni tribe that had formed an alliance with other tribal leaders against al-Qaida. Police and medical officials said 45 other people were wounded in the bombing.

Zuwaid was killed that morning when militants shot him in front of his house, police said - nearly a month after his 25-year-old son was slain as he walked down the street.

In all, 87 people were killed or found dead in sectarian violence across Iraq on Thursday. [Emphasis added.]

Unless we're using new terminology to describe our US servicemembers, I don't see any indication that we were involved in the deaths or violence described in the article above. I see "al-Qaida" and "militants shot him" and "sectarian violence". When Rosie O'Donnell likens our servicemembers in Iraq to terrorists, I have cause to wonder what exactly she's smoking.

Rubbing Elbows With Celebrities at DFAC-4

Well, maybe not rubbing elbows exactly... 8 of us went to DFAC-4 for dinner tonight. Turns out Gary Sinise (aka "Lieutenant Dan" - can't tell you how many times we heard that tonight) is signing autographs and posing for pictures with the soldiers. I noticed there were no civilians in line - as it should be. He didn't come for us, he came for the soldiers. So we eat our meal - not a very good one - and our DPM is saying he thinks he's taller than Gary. We passed him on our way to get ice cream for dessert and the DPM was sure he must be taller than Gary. Our IT Manager says, "Yeah, of course - Gary was sitting down!" So the DPM bets he really is taller and says we're going to find out for sure. We clear our trays and march right up front. Our DPM says, "Excuse me, Mr. Sinise. Would you mind settling a bet for us?" (By the way, if our DPM loses, I get to keep the next batch of crackers from mom.) So Mr. Sinise asks, "What's the bet?" Our DPM responds, "We need to find out who's taller - you or me." So Mr. Sinise stands up next to our DPM and, sure enough, Gary is taller. So I win the crackers. Our DPM is shocked. He gets to laugh and shake hands with Gary. And everybody's happy. No autographs, no photos - but that's for the soldiers. We just wanted to settle a bet.