Reflections on my '91 deployment to Iraq

[nytemare]

I have previously posted this. I feel it is good to post for Memorial Day. Brainshrub was kind enough to post it in his blog in November. Hope you folks enjoy.




From April to July of 1991, I was a Military Police Officer deployed to Zachu, Iraq for a humanitarian mission, "Operation Provide Comfort". Basically, the mission was to keep the peace very shortly after the first Gulf war ended, and to insure the safety of the Kurds who lived in that part of Iraq from Saddam, who had previously gassed them. We kept watch over food shipments for the Kurds, which was in short supply. We also patrolled the town. I alternated from driving to being the M-60 gunner in the turret of our Humvee.

I was a very naive 19 years old. I did not understand the way of the world, and why it was so unfair. My experience in Iraq would do much to teach me about the way of things.

Seeing the results of war in a country very different from the US came as quite a shock to me. The sight of young children with bloated bellies was never something I grew accustomed to, nor did I want to. Still, I recall their smiling faces chasing after the Hummer. They would tap the inside of their forearm with the side of the opposite hand and say "Mister, chocklata, Mister, chocklata!" The arm tapping was their way of begging. Though I was female, they called me "mister" just like all the other troops. It was explained to some of the children by my boyfriend at the time, along with the prop of his nightstick, the difference between a "mister" and a "miss". I can still remember the expressions on the children’s faces when they grasped what he was saying.

Many times we would hand out water and M&M's from our MRE's to the children. I was struck by how often we were offered bread and food by the people, even in the poorest areas of Zachu. The generosity of these people, who were devastated by war, poor sewage, and a lack of food amazed me.

One day, while returning from the Turkish border with two fellow soldiers, a young girl was struck by a truck. The driver fled. The girl was badly hurt. A man offered to take her to the makeshift hospital in his car, and we followed in our Humvee. We carried the girl up the steps into the hospital, which was really more along the lines of a field clinic for the local Kurds. The mother of the girl was praying, and yelling to Allah. After a short time, which seemed forever, the doctor told us that the girl probably passed as we were carrying her up the stairs. She was eight years old. As they told her mother, she screamed hysterically. I could only imagine the pain of this woman. I gave her a cross I had in my pocket, and told her that my God mourned for her daughter too. I have no idea if she understood me.

We returned to our base, and I was yelled at by my Sergeant who said he heard that I ran over the girl and killed her, and that I should have told him we were leaving. I wasn't even driving the Humvee, and I notified my Lieutenant before we left. My sadness over this girl's death was compounded with anger over being blamed for it.

Fifteen years later, my mind still wonders back to Zachu. The mother, and the children chasing, begging and smiling. I wonder if the children that I gave M&m's to are parents now. I wonder if the lady who removed her veil to cheer me, a woman MP with an M60, voted, and if her candidate won. I wonder if the mother had any more children, and if she remembers me.

I think often of these people, because they taught me about life, in all its unfairness and complexities. I am worldly now. I know through this experience, that the good guys weren't always good, and the bad guys aren't all bad. I learned of all the colors and shady areas between black and white. These people, who had so little, gave me so much.

I no longer believe in God the way I did then. I do believe in the resilience of people to overcome insurmountable odds. I believe in the human capacity to give when there is nothing to give but hope, memories, and a smile. I hope that these people who so changed my life still have that hope. Maybe I gave them some hope, caused them to smile. Maybe, that mother holds that cross and knows that someone far away still thinks of her, and her daughter. Maybe, hopefully, I gave something back to the people of Zachu. That is my wish.

[annabanana]

1. Thank you for your service.

We all must stand in the place that we live.

[nytemare]

3. That is true.

Thank you.

:hi:

[w8liftinglady]

2. Id like to offer my thanks,and a (virtual) hug..

:hug:
You still have a kind,loving heart.You came back better,friend.Spread that love and compassion..the world needs you.

[nytemare]

4. Thanks for posting that Post picture expose.

Meant a lot.

:hi:

[oneighty]

5. Well done.

((((((((((((((hug)))))))))))))))

180

[nytemare]

8. Thank you.

:hi:

[mhr]

6. Hate To Quibble - But The Claim That Saddam Gassed The Kurds

Is in dispute.

Have seen reports from the NY Times in the 90s that suggest that the gas came from the Iranians when the wind shifted.

This continues to be one of those unchallenged truths made possible by repeated assertion with no proof.

[nytemare]

9. The kurds got documentation reviewed by Human Rights Watch of the gassing

http://hnn.us/articles/1242.html

I don't believe the current war in Iraq is justified. I do believe Saddam Hussein was an asshole, and killed many of his own people. I think the first war was justified, this one, not.

:hi:

[mhr]

15. The Reports From CIA Field Agents That Investigated

The incident say otherwise. That is what was reported by the NY Times.

Sadly, I don't believe any news source anymore so that leaves us with only the ability to disagree because no source can ever be trusted again in the days of the continuous spin cycle.

This lack of credibility is what the rich and powerful use to control us. It is as if we have devolved to the days before the printing press. With no news credible, it does not matter that a sea of print is heaped upon us endlessly.

[nytemare]

16. That is what is discussed in the link I posted.

Here is translation of a letter from an Iraqi citizen asking what happened to his relatives. The reply from the government was that they were killed in Anfal operations.

This is from Human Rights Watch, who I believe is also going after the administration over Abu Ghraib and Gitmo.

http://www.hrw.org/reports/1993/iraqanfal/#Table%20of

[mhr]

18. Still Not Credible Evidence - It Reads As He Said She Said

It has become all to easy to "manufacture" first person accounts that sound compelling and authentic.

As cruel as the world appears to be today, I need hard evidence to make up my mind.

No more second hand accounts will sway me from either the right or the left.

[nytemare]

21. Here are copies of documents referring to the chemical attacks from HRW

And an extremely detailed review of the documents, and why they are positive these were not forgeries by the Kurds.

I have no idea how these can read as a "he said/she said". They are government documents, the same as the Downing Street memo, and the torture memo to Alberto Gonzales.

If you hate to quibble, why bother posting? Perhaps reading my post further than the part of the Kurds being gassed might have given you a more in depth view of the emotions I was trying to communicate.

http://www.hrw.org/reports/1994/iraq/TEXT.htm

http://www.hrw.org/reports/1994/iraq/APPENDIX.htm


b. During the month of March 1988, our aircraft bombed the headquarters of the sabotage bands in the villages of Saywan (4596) and Balakajar (4294) in a chemical strike. This resulted in the death of 50 saboteurs and the wounding of 20 other saboteurs.

c. At 19:15 on 19/6, an unknown person threw a handgrenade at the house of the citizen Saleh Muhammad Aziz in Kalar district, Bengird neighborhood. There were no casualties or damage to the house.





Captain

Kifah Ali Hassan

Director of the Intelligence Center of Kalar

(6)

Top Secret

____________________________________________________________

[mhr]

40. If These "Iraqi Government Documents" Had Arrived In The US

Why would the US government make them available to Human Rights Watch?

This is the trouble with all such reports. Why should I believe any of this?

In this regard, I have become like the Republicans, so derided here and elsewhere, that are reluctant to accept what cannot be directly seen, heard, or felt.

At least in the continental US, I am able to assess second hand truth more effectively. For things that happened far away and long ago, that becomes much more difficult.

As to your service in Iraq, I have no doubt that occurred.

[rman]

42. The justification for first gulf war

was in part created by the US. Saddam did spend months explicitly posturing regarding his intentions to invade Kuwait, and it is well documented that the US responded several times by saying it had "no position" on Saddam's plans to invade Kuwait.

Also the final drop that got US public opinion behind that war was a complete fabrication: the infamous 'babies thrown out of incubators'.

When contemplating war, beware of babies in incubators
http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0906/p25s02-cogn.html

[nytemare]

45. Wow, I forgot about the incubator story.

It has been a long time.

Thanks for the link.

[DianaForRussFeingold]

52. Our government wouldn't LIE! “The true advocates for peace are Veterans"

:hi: :dem: SAY it isn't So! Bush 'planted fake news stories on American TV'http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article621189.ece
I wish I still believed in Fairytales. The extreme cynicism and hypocrisy of President George Bush II's administration's citing of those same terrible atrocities--which were disregarded at the time by Washington--and those same weapons programs--which no longer exist, having been dismantled and destroyed in the decade following the 1991 Gulf War--to justify a massive new war against the people of Iraq. http://www.counterpunch.org/dixon06172004.html This is nothing new,We were lied to,To get us to fight in every war,World War 2,VietNam,Gulf War,Iraq War. What we need to do is use our Patriotism for Peace.“The true advocates for peace are this nation’s veterans,” A Tribute to,:patriot:nytemare;
http://www.tomsongs.com/images/Veteran.wmv From :patriot:Tom's Songs http://www.tomsongs.com/index.html
:kick:

[calimary]

7. A really beautiful recollection, my friend.

Bittersweet.

I can only imagine how you feel now.

Thank you for your service, and for your sensitivity and humanity that leavened your service.

:toast:

[nytemare]

10. Thank you.

:)

[Gregorian]

11. All I can do is cry.

Your insight and caring and kindness penetrate my soul.

[nytemare]

13. Thank you, Gregorian.

Your kind remarks are appreciated.

:)

[Catrina]

12. What a beautiful post ~ thank you! I have a feeling that mother does

remember you ~ and how kind you were to her ~

[nytemare]

14. I hope she does.

Thank you.

:hi:

[spuddonna]

17. First of all, thank you for your service to our country.

I can't begin to imagine the sacrifices you and your family made when you chose to serve in our military. I have uncles who served in everything from WWII all the way up to Vietnam. The sacrifices made were not made just by my uncles, but by the entire structure of family and friends who worried, prayed, and struggled economically until my uncles safely returned. So, thank you, and your family/friends, from the bottom of my heart...

Secondly, you did give something back to the people of Zachu. You gave them compassion, you gave them care, and you empathized with a mother during a horrific, desperate time...

I truly believe that the good that we put forth in this world does change it for the better, even if we never see the change it has made.

Thank you for sharing your experiences. Peace.

[nytemare]

20. Thanks so much.

Truth is, I know the troops over there now are having a much harder run of it than I did.

I feel bad for them that their leadership is failing them.

I appreciate your kind comments.

[Redstone]

19. Powerful words. I salute you.

Redstone

[nytemare]

22. TY Redstone.

And I salute you.

:patriot:

[Redstone]

23. Noted and appreciated, Brother.

Redstone

[nytemare]

24. Psst, I'm a sister.

:D :hi:

[Redstone]

25. Goddam, I knew that, but briefly forgot. Mea culpa. Mea maxima culpa.

Am in a bit of a state right now because of another thread I started, not that there is any excuse. Am I forgiven?

Redstone

[nytemare]

27. LOL, I think my username, avatar, and sig pic lend to ambiguity.

That along with being in the military.

There is no problem at all, Redstone.

:hi:

[Treclo]

26. Thank You.

Thank you for your service, and thank you conveying what you went through to us.

[nytemare]

28. Welcome to D.U. Treclo!

We hope you will have a long and happy stay.

:hi:

[KFC]

29. The best thing I have read in a long time

I hope you write a book about this. I am a Christian, and I think there is more than one way to get to heaven.

On edit, I notice you are a Redskins fan. Hellbound.

[nytemare]

34. LOL, you wouldn't be a Cowboys fan, would ya?

:D :hi:

[KFC]

37. Rams

But any hard-core skins fan passes the test.

[nytemare]

38. LOL, well, I am in trouble, then.

:D

[KFC]

39. No matter what, you have my respect

:thumbsup:

[tocqueville]

30. Operation Provide Comfort, some facts

Operation Provide Comfort
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Operation Provide Comfort was a military operation by the United States, starting on 24 July 1991, to defend Kurds fleeing their homes in northern Iraq in the aftermath of the Persian Gulf War.



Operation Provide Comfort, N. Iraq, 1991. Lt. Col. John Abizaid (L) speaking with some Kurds.

A No-Fly Zone was established by the U.S., the U.K. and France north of the 36th parallel. This was enforced by American, British and French aircraft. Also included in this effort was the delivery of humanitarian relief and military protection of the Kurds by a small American ground force based in Turkey. Also participating was the 3/325 Airborne Battalion Combat Team, based in Vicenza, Italy, and commanded by then-Lt. Col. John Abizaid.

At the tip of the spear was the United States Marine Corp's 24 MEU led by General James Jones, later to become Commandant of the Marine Corps. The MEU was under the command of Commodore Turner, commander, Mediterranean Amphibious Ready Group 1-91, aboard his flagship USS Guadalcanal (LPH 7).

On 14 April 1994, two United States Air Force F-15 Eagle fighters on a Provide Comfort patrol mistakenly downed two United States Army Blackhawk helicopters carrying twenty-six Allied personnel, killing all aboard.

The operation ended officially on 31 December 1996 at the request of the Islamic Government of Turkey who wanted to improve relations with Iran and Iraq.

other links :

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/provide_comfort.htm

[nytemare]

31. Thanks for the link!

Wiki was a little off on the dates. I was there in the middle of April, and was out of there at the end of July, though the operation was ongoing.

http://www.psywarrior.com/ProvideComfort.html

Ahh, I see reading this link that Operation Provide Comfort 1 ended, and II began on July 24. That makes sense.

:hi:

[tocqueville]

32. Intresting to note that it is the same Abizaid that was...

in charge for a while during Iraqi Freedom, but what I understood was not a hawk...

[nytemare]

33. I think he was one calling for more troops

As many of the Generals did. You can't win the peace with poor equipment, and not enough troops.

[tocqueville]

36. not according to this link

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Abizaid

In November, 2005 General Abizaid was at the Naval War College and gave a speech on the war on terrorism that was not broadcasted. However, a student who attended wrote down notes. The notes were forwarded via e-mail by General Peter Schoomaker, Chief of Staff of the Army, among others, and the notes are considered credible:

"2006 will be a transition year in Iraq and that will see the Iraqi forces take much more of the mission from the US forces. This is necessary to bring stability to Iraq. We need to be less in numbers and less in the midst of the people for the moderate Iraqi government to succeed.

Our primary enemy is not the insurgency in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is Al Qaida and their ideology."

[SunDrop23]

35. Thanks for your service - I know you gave them something. (nfm)

[Voltaire99]

41. Given your demonstrable generosity...

...how do you feel about the Clinton administration subsequently starving to death roughly one million children through sanctions? Was not your decency, in fact, undone by a less generous and more cynical vision of US foreign policy?

Would also like to hear what you mean about no longer believing in God the same way. In an age of overweening mysticism, I found that remark rather refreshing and the rest of your post inspiring.

[nytemare]

44. I didn't feel good about what would happen when we left

Looking at the sanctions, I feel it is one of those things that when they were made, we had to insure they were carried out. They were made to hurt the regime, but the regime reaped benefits while the people suffered. How to make sanctions directed at governments actually have an effect on the government, and not citizens, is a question that needs answering.

As far as the Kurdish area of Iraq, I believe that remained protected up until the second war as part of the Northern no-fly zone. (I need to look into that, but I am too lazy today). I *think* most of the citizens affected by the sanctions were in the Sunni area. I could be mistaken.

As far as the God thing, I used to believe in God as he is in the Bible. That he created the world, and has an interest and some control over what happens.

Now, I don't believe that. I would consider myself Buddhist/existentilist. I believe in evolution. I don't believe all things happen for a reason, but from a cause, or just simply by chance. I find sometimes that the belief that God is the cause of everything is a bit of an absolution of responsiblities on the part of human beings. 9/11 for example, was a result of religious extremism, anger at US policy, and a lack of action on our part. If we lay it on God's lap, that it is a result of God's anger, we fail to correct the cause. Being that Bin Laden is still running around, we started a war in Iraq on false pretense, I think those causes have multiplied, now.

Hope that answers your questions! :hi:

[nealmhughes]

43. I bet she remembers you and either has your cross

or buried it with her daughter. Muslims hold Jesus (Isa in Arabic) to be the greatest prophet after Mohammed and while no Muslim consider any person who had flesh to be divine, I am sure she knew the significance of the religious symbolism. The fact that it was gold or silver and given to her in her grief transcends her overt knowledge of it.

[nytemare]

46. Welcome to DU

I just felt so bad for that lady. The little girl could have been the only thing she had, and in an instant, she was taken from her. All I had was that little metal cross, I can't even remember what it was made of.

Thank you for your response.

:hi:

[Jeffersons Ghost]

47. great OP, Peace Brother from an old 'Nam vet...

Not to sidetrack a great thread but you do know that both she and you worshipped the same God of Abraham back then, right?

Allah is the Arabic word for God. It is compounded of "Al", the definite article 'the', and "illah", meaning "god". Therefore, Allah literally means "The God" -- somewhat parallel to the capitalized "God" in English. The name Allah is used by Muslims world-wide, as well as Arabic-speaking Christians, Jews, and others. It is written in Arabic as الله

[nytemare]

48. Back then, I don't think I knew.

Now, I do.

Glad you made it back from vietnam ok. I suppose we never truly make it back ok, though.

[2QT2BSTR8]

49. For those who serve in silence -

I would first like to say to nytemare that this piece is so wondferfully written. I wish that in my life I could meet more people along my journey similar to you. Thank you!

&.src=ph&.tok=ph0Gj8EBExfWpvXN

[nytemare]

50. Welcome to DU.

And thank you.

:hi:

[DianaForRussFeingold]

51. Thank You!

:patriot: You are a true hero.Thank you for caring.It always seems that the poor are always the most generous.Sometimes when all you have to give is a smile,sometimes that's enough to put a smile on the face and lift the spirit of a person devastated by war or a life in torment. You inspired me to post this song for you.Thanks again for your service.:pals:


When you're weary, feeling small
When tears are in your eyes, I will dry them all
I'm on your side, oh when times get rough
And friends just can't be found
Like a bridge over troubled water I will lay me down.

Sail on silver girl, sail on by
Your time has come to shine
All your dreams are on their way
See how they shine
Oh, if you need a friend, I'm sailing right behind
Like a bridge over troubled water I will ease your mind.
Like a bridge over troubled water I will ease your mind.:hug:



http://www.marycy.org/bridgemain.html :patriot: KuwaitBridge

[nytemare]

54. Thank you, and what a beautiful picture.

I unfortunately never got to Kuwait, so I didn't see that bridge.

And TY for posting that song.
:hi:

[SeattleGirl]

53. Thank you so much for posting this, nytemare

Your descriptions of the things you did, saw, and experienced are amazing, and while I would never presume to totally understand, through though descriptions, I understand how the experiences would have had an effect on you. I think you gave each other something, and I would bet that at least some of them remember the "mister" from your time there.

Thank you for your service. :patriot:

[nytemare]

55. Thanks so much.

:hi: