The news out of Iraq has been pretty slow lately.  One morbid thing I’ve reminded my family about is the death rate of US Soldiers in Iraq in November, 17 (not all combat related), vs. the murder rate in Baltimore, 27 (according to Baltimore Crime, all murders have a news story link).  I tell them this because I think it won’t get them to worry as much.  It probably hasn’t worked yet, but I worry about them worrying.  I know that doesn’t really make sense, so in the end I act confident and reassure them that everything will be fine.

I’m not going to pretend that this post or posts like these are unbiased and show both stories.  I want to give family and friends some good news they won’t find on the front pages of CNN, the BBC or the Economist (my favorite news magazine who did their best job to piss on the status of forces agreement that was ratified).

Michael Yon Online, The Art of the End of War — Yon has reported from Iraq and Afghanistan off and on for a few years.  This article discusses how many friendships have been forged between Iraqis and Americans.  He is most impressed with an art show being hosted near Forward Operating Base (FOB) Falcon in the Doura community of Southern Baghdad.  His quote is,

A civil society is one that admires artists, and has time to admire and critique and argue about their creations.  An advanced society is one that can generate and support an Army that promotes the art of a former enemy, to find peace. The Iraqi artists have the opportunity and social obligation to promote healing.

Yes, the war is over.  And it will be a great day when the last American division leaves Iraq, and Americans and Iraqis never fire another shot at each other, and we can honestly call each other “friends.”

The Thunder Run, From the Front 12/02 — David M. has a huge list of blogs he follows and posts summaries quasi-daily.   This is hit or miss because there are a ton of mediocre and irrelevant milblogs out there.  It’s a good post for public affairs soldiers, family should follow it if they are bored.  One thing Thunder Run does a good job is posting good photos and video of events in Iraq and Afghanistan.

A Soldier’s Perspective — This is a good site that writes about issues affecting veterans and soldiers.  The most interesting post is about how an MTV show “Real Life” did an episode on PTSD that shouldn’t be a complete hatchet job.

They also posted this fantastic video called Osama Christmas.

Personal Links:

This is some of the stuff I’ve been reading this past week:

Two Hundred Percent — Wrote an interesting story about my favorite soccer team, Fulham.  Soccer overseas has a system where the top teams in a league advance to the league above it and the worst teams are relegated to the league below.  Fulham had a good run in the late 70’s and early 80’s to make it to the top flight of 22 teams (now it’s only 20 teams).  Fulham is a small team in London that reminds me a lot of TCU with their expectations and history.  It’s an interesting read and site if you have any interest at all in soccer.

I found this a very interesting analysis from the BBC by way of my favorite COIN Blog Abu Muquawama about the events in Mumbai/Bombay/South Asia (Southern Baptist jargon).

Was this suicide for martyrdom – as in New York and Washington in 2001, and London in 2005 – or suicide for celebrity, as in Columbine in 1999 and Virginia Tech in 2007?  And perhaps so little is known of the terrorists’ cause, because they simply did not feel the need to have one.

…Mumbai could represent something rather different in the history of terrorism, and possibly something far more disturbing even than global jihad.  Perhaps we have come to the point where casually self-radicalised, sociopathic individuals can form a loose organisation, acquire sufficient weapons and equipment for a few thousand dollars, make a basic plan of action and indulge in a violent expression of their generalised disaffection and anomie.  These individuals indulge in terrorism simply because they can, while their audience concocts a rationale on their behalf.

Welcome to the age of celebrity terrorism.

Every Day Should be Saturday — My favorite college football blog written by a Florida homer, sorry Eric.  Orson Swindle is one of the best writers on the internet, but he can get pretty crude so I don’t recommend him to everyone.  His analysis on the latest BCS fun can be summed up Jimmy Carter style by saying, “Texas fans, life isn’t fair for a lot of teams, stop stressing about things you can’t change.”

Leslie, who needs a new fridge and range when we can have matching muppets?

This post is tagged A Soldier's Perspective, Abu Muquawama, Fulham, Link Heaven, MUPPETS, Osama Christmas, The Thunder Run, Two Hundred Percent