normandy: the beaches are stormed with soldiers, but where oh where is the water?

i was out of the "office" for most of january due to a big operation they had me at in the northern diyala river valley (you can google that). it was an operation designed to clear out al-aqaeda fighters from a major stronghold called the bread basket. they expected quite the fight and a lot of resistance but in the end... the battle went easier than anticipated. i think the bad guys over here know better than to take us on head to head. i can't go into real details of the operation but i will say from what i saw firsthand... many areas are much better off now. i realize there are many people out there that want to see the u.s. leave iraq, but i've seen how we are making a difference. the problem is that most people don't have patience and don't look at the bigger picture. i don't agree with when we invaded iraq... but now that we're here i do see us making strides (or more likely small steps forward). this bread basket area had been an al-aqaeda controlled region for some time. they were torturing and killing people based on their beliefs and their relationships with either us or the iraqi government. at the risk of sounding cheesy or cliche'... this is why we should be here. we have the power and ability to help someone out... and i think it's our responsibility to do so. i don't necessarily believe that's really why we're here, as politicians rarely go to war to help others... but i am seeing some possitive side effects of our being here. i was in a town called muqdadiyah where people had been afraid to go outside. but when we went there... markets were opening up and i even had the chance to play with some children. that's when you see what this country could be like... when you see children smiling and playing. i know... you're probably all saying "man, kevin sure go brainwashed over there." but i'm just telling you what i've experienced since being over here. ever soldier who returns from here will have had a different deployment and different stories and opinions from this war. i'm just one voice saying what i've seen.

now to a much less serious topic... what i'll miss about my time in diyala.

1-moondust that you sink up to your knees in.
2-sleeping in a tent with broken heaters and waking up seizuring like a mad man.
3-learning to sleep through artillery fire and strykers driving by.
4-eating hamburgers for every meal because it's the healthiest thing to eat.
5-convoying with a fuel truck and wondering how safe that is.
6-working in an office that was once a bathroom. that smelled nice!
7-riding in the back of a bradley tank.
8-eating iraqi cuisine at the mayor of muqdadiyah's office. everything was so good, just don't watch them prepare it!
9-watching an infantry soldier hand a stuffed bear to a shy little girl and seeing both of them smile.
10-seeing snow for the first and only time in iraq.