Now that unfortunately sounds more familiar…

It’s been a busy day at the ranch. We had a suicide bomber in at the Baghdad Convention Center and DOD announced possible extensions to our tours. This made for a lot of work in my new job. The crazy thing is that for the first time here I actually did a lot more of what I was trained for. Not only writing and prepping but also engaging. Going proactive. We got the chance to go forward and lead the mission. Now that, I believe, is making a difference.

The convention center isn’t close to us but we had to go to a building next door to do some business moments after the event. There was something very surreal about going next to the scene of a crime while it’s still in effect… and let’s be clear that’s what this suicide bomb is… It’s a crime. It may be an act of desperation but it is still a crime and not an honorable way to present your grievances. Regardless of a War on Terror or a conflict of ideas, murdering innocent civilians with a suicide vest is inexcusable. Having to research the investigation materials after being near by was that much more unsettling and bizarre. Now I’m not excited about the extensions… I want to see my friends and family as much as any other trooper and honestly I am pretty much tired of being here – cough and all. But other than these high profile attacks I can see small glimmers of hope coming out of the new security operations here in Baghdad. If things continue in a positive manner and three more months makes all the difference between continued atrocities or eventually stopping suicide car bombs and vests, then I suppose it’s a small sacrifice. Now if we can just get Iraq’s neighbors to play nice…