Iraq War: 6 Years Gone

Not more than 6 years old, this boy has never known his country without American military presence. What his heart and mind will conjure up after we are gone, and after he grows up, is a speculation that the unseen world around him debates. Will this debate have any effect on his perspective? Probably not.

IPs going about their day. With my overactive imagination I can see this spot six years ago, but six years from now, it's much more difficult to imagine. If I re-enlist (currently stop-lossed) I may have a chance to find out. But seeing the world 6 years from now is what makes my head spin, and makes re-enlistment such a colorful grey area.

An IP heading home after work, about to make a left turn into traffic, his Glock 9mm visible, along with the Mosque and hospital in the distance. "Counter-flow traffic," no matter what kind of vehicle, is a regular thing in Iraq. I wonder if they learned it from us as we cross the median into lane #3 while going from point A to B all the time. This maneuver is "tactical" for military, avoiding ambush, but also now forbidden as part of the recently passed "SOFA agreement." Still happens both ways all the time though.

I noticed IPs posing for a dismounted soldier. I wanted the soldier to be in the picture too but she stepped back. Perhaps after 6 years this is something that Iraqis have gotten used to as well. I mentioned counter-flow traffic before. Well often we get the middle finger from kids in neighborhoods. I've wondered if they even knew what that gesture meant till one day a young teen came to my window right after we parked and ditched his scowl and bird for a wave and a smile as soon as he saw my camera. So the bird probably flew here from Hollywood as mush as it did from the passing soldiers in convoys.

This little guy was startled by soldiers coming from out-of-view, around the corner, even though he was talking to me at the truck window earlier. Often the little ones are very brave while approaching the trucks. We must seem trapped inside, but when the door opens, and we dismount, they scatter. The older ones instead take a chance at trying their English with us.

When I took this I was trying to use my zoom on people's faces and not shake too much. After I finished mission, I came back to my CHU and uploaded my shots on my computer. None of the other close up shots came out. Could be my mind's projection, but the mood on the face of this Diwaniyan woman, beneath the low wires along the busy street, seems to reflect the darker state of women within fundamentalist Muslim regions. I can't decide if it's my place to feel bad for them. It's their country, their religion, and my perception of it that sees pain. What could I do anyway? There are so many people in the world in needing rescue of one kind or another.

This is just a cool picture. The traffic, the people, the Arab cabbie leaning on his car. This is a zoomed and cropped shot. Sometimes I keep the silhouette of the window from inside the truck creating a cinematic wide screen effect and sometimes I crop it out and have a panoramic photograph afterwards.

This is a very busy main road in Diwaniya with an anti-counter-flow barrier running down the middle. Not easy to cross as a pedestrian and get two kids to the other side. The IP truck is going 45MPH or so. A lot of my shots are on or around this road. I don't know the actual Arabic name for it and cannot publish our "code name" for it here, for obvious reasons, though I've mentioned Route Irish in Baghdad. Over 6 years it's become quite famous as it's American war name. I've seen "Rt. Irish" t-shirts and bumper stickers here and in the states.

Apparently there's an amusement park in Diwaniya. It's such an out of place thing to see on the horizon. There's one just outside the Green Zone in Baghdad as well. I've seen this Ferris wheel in the distance but never got close enough for a better look. I've yet to see people on it though, or the wheel moving.

People here know the sound of our trucks. Women at home or children peek out to watch us pass. They know we're leaving soon though, and will pass by a last time. Casual conversations with IPs while waiting in the stations have given me the opportunity to conduct mini-NPR-interviews when an interpreter is available. Consistently local IPs have stated that they fear our departure. I ask if they think problems will arise from the tribes clashing inside Iraq, or from outside influences like Iran. "Both" is always the answer.