"CHECKPOINTS" a documentary film.

TRAVELOGUE TO IRAQ – ENTRY # 9 TRIP IS WINDING DOWN

Beetniks — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 18:52:32 +0000

Family and Friends,

Our trip is winding down and tomorrow night, we’ll start our journey home. Looking forward to a good meal in NYC…

It has been an incredible trip and I feel so fortunate to be able to come back to Fallujah and see, first hand, what is going on here. I also feel very lucky because of all the support and encouragement I have received from many of you throughout this trip.

Onto the update…

A feint glimmer of hope has appeared on the horizon for Fatima, the young Iraqi girl, stricken with a severe form of cancer, whom we met on a patrol. The 32 year old Mayor of Fallujah has agreed to personally take her to Jordan and raise money from his tribe in order to treat her. We expect the surgery to cost about $15k and there is no guarantee that Fatima’s cancer has not already spread to her brain. There is also no guarantee that the Jordanians will allow the Mayor, Fatima, and Fatima’s uncle or mother to enter the country. With the increased expectations from a glimmer of hope come additional obstacles. Time is short and the mayor hopes to be able to leave next Wednesday for Jordon.

I don’t know if I will ever be able to say the sacrifices, bloodshed, or tragedy I’ve witnessed in Iraq will have been be worth it. I pray to G-d that one day I will, but I doubt it. After this trip, however, I am no longer as preoccupied with that question. Although the present is tied to the past and the past to the future, I think what matters most are the decisions we as individuals choose to make each day. These decisions and choices, regardless of the larger geopolitical implications speak for themselves. Whether it is a young Marine who puts himself in harms way to save a buddy’s life or a mayor who comforts a family and attempts to save a young girl, the culmination of such acts of heroism and decency have given me a little hope. Is this naive?

Many of you have written asking how you could help Fatima. I’m currently trying to figure out how to help the mayor get into Jordan. If any of you have any ideas, please feel free to offer them. Once he has arrived, I have some friends who will be meeting with him to ensure he and Fatima have made it safely. Though I have been incredibly impressed by the mayor’s altruism, I want to make sure he is, in fact,taking the girl to Jordan and not taking me to the bank. If he is able to get there with Fatima, I may go to meet her and her family there, or I may attempt to help raise some funds to augment the mayor’s tribe’s donations. Standby for solicitations…

The first day I met with the Mayor, I showed him a picture of my sister and, I believe, he fell in love. This could be another reason he has taken up Fatima’s case with such exuberance. When I have not been around, I’ve heard he has asked the platoon’s interpreter and some of the Marines if I was serious about setting them up. And when I returned last night to say goodbye, he had three huge wrapped gifts for her. I have to figure out how to get them home. Or I just need to figure out how to get my sister to Fallujah.

Before we went over to the mayor’s office, I had the opportunity to sit in on a radio show at the Fallujah radio station. I have never thought that I would be ever come back to Fallujah and sit in a radio station studio with two journalists, while they questioned a tribal leader and the head of the city council about the problems encountered at the polls on election day. While security was tight and no violent acts occurred in Fallujah on election day, there was a lot of confusion. Many people went to the wrong polling stations and because cars were not allowed in the city on election day, they had to walk from polling location to polling location. Many gave up before they had the opportunity to vote and head home for the day. Turnout was low at an estimated 40%. So I sat in the booth and listened to two journalists grill the head of the city council. I was able to ask a few questions and got in a Sabah Al Har Al Fallujah- Good Morning Fallujah.

After the radio station and our meeting with the Mayor, we said goodbye to the Marines at OP Burgess, the last Marine post in Fallujah, and said goodbye to Fallujah. Gunnery Sergeant Michael Van Daele picked us up to take us back to Camp Baharia on the outskirts of the city. We served together in 3/1 and his platoon fought on the adjacent block to mine in 2004. There are a lot of old faces out here. We joked about the numbers of times we accidentally shot at each other or got into fights over the radio about who really needed fire support at certain precarious moments in that fight. His Marines love him and it has been amazing to see their reactions when I tell them that we served together in 2004.

This morning we headed out to our last meeting with a tribal leader- Sheik Khamis. I didn’t get the opportunity to really speak to him because the regimental commander was meeting with him for the first time, but I did get to speak at length with his eldest son and some of his subordinate Sheiks. Sheik Khamis, in his early 70′s, is one of the 17 most powerful tribal leaders in Iraq. His tribe, Abu Isa tribe fought against the Mongols and Ghengis Khan over 700 years ago. He was one of the first tribal leaders to work alongside Americans and at one point, over 2/3rds of his tribesman were working with Al Qaeda. He fled to Jordan and was only recently able to return. His son and some of the other Sheiks had amazing stories- some ancient and some modern. More to follow in the film….

Thanks again for all your comments and emails. They mean so much and I promise to write back as soon as I get some time and a faster email connection.

Love ya’ll,

Zach

TRAVELOGUE TO IRAQ – ENTRY NUMBER 8

Beetniks — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 16:35:48 +0000

Hey all,

Iraq voted today. In Fallujah, Iraqi police and Iraqi Army maintained security. A year ago the two forces refused to work together, now they worked hand and hand throughout the city. We spent most of the day in the Fallujah Chief of Police’s office. Though we couldn’t make it out to a polling stations because of restrictions on the movement of US personnel in order to avoid the appearance of US interference in the election process, there was still a celebratory feeling throughout the city.

General Kelly, the Marine general in charge of all US and coalition forces in Iraq’s western provinces, stopped in the police chief’s office along with a number of senior Iraqi army officers. We spoke over lunch and he emphatically stated that as of 1730 (5:30pm) today, when the polls closed, that we won. His Sergeant Major asked me why I was smiling in disbelief and I said that I had heard the same thing from another Marine General in January of 2005.

Emphatic statements aside, I am always amazed at the candor of senior Marine Officers. Over a noisy lunch (I’m worried if we were able to capture the moment because of all the sounds), General Kelly spoke about the changes that have occurred and the mistakes we’ve made over the years. He was out here in 2004 as the deputy Division commander the same time I was. He believes we created the insurgency in 2003 and 2004, especially with the first invasion into Fallujah. After the Blackwater contractors were killed in 2004, Marine commanders protested the CPA and Administration’s plans to attack in the city. However, Marines follow orders. General Kelly believed that was the moment that we lost the trust and confidence of most of the population. At that point, he said, we became an occupying force in the eyes of the population.

As our conversation meandered, we began to talk about the work Marines are doing and have done in Al Anbar. General Kelly is getting ready to head home after a year in Iraq. He spoke about Agricultural projects, economic and political successes, and the relationships he has developed with security officials, tribal leaders, and other Iraqis. It is amazing to see how close Marines have become with Iraqis. Many police officers and Iraqi army soldiers wear Marine camouflage pattern uniforms they buy out in town with their own salaries. I remarked to the General that I have two police lieutenant lapel rank insignia I took off of a dead insurgent in 2004, now Fallujah police lieutenants eat Kabob and drink Chai with Marines and want to be Marines.

General Kelly has two sons in the Marine Corps, one fought in the second Battle of Fallujah a few blocks from me.

The election results will be officially announced on Februaru 23^rd, it will be interesting to see how things play out.

Yesterday, before the election we went to visit the Mayor of Fallujah. He was sitting on a couch in the parking lot outside his office surrounded by armed police officers and soldiers. I wanted to find out if he would be willing to try and help the little girl with cancer we’d met the night before. He is a young guy and has chose not to run in today’s election. We showed each other pictures of our families on our phones and he really liked my sister. I told him that she would be more than happy to move to Fallujah and marry him, but he would have to treat her as his first wife. I thought it would be easier for her to move to Iraq than for him to move to the States, he is the Mayor after all. Toward the end of our conversation, I brought up Fatima’s case and he said that he would stop by that day to see what he could do.

In the evening we went on what could very well be the last Marine foot mobile patrol in Fallujah. At least it will be one of the last. Considering the performance of Iraqi security forces leading up the elections, there is little need for the Marines to actively provide security.

We passed by the infamous Blackwater bridge, where the contractors were hung in 2004, and down the city’s western edge along the banks of the Euphrates. We stopped in Fatima’s house, the little girl with cancer, and spoke to her mother and family. They said that the Mayor stopped by as promised, but that he said he was going to come back after afternoon prayer and never did. I am going to see him again on Wednesday, he has a gift he wants me to bring to my sister, and will ask him if there is anything we can do.

Speaking to Fatima’s mother, however, I felt completely helpless and wondered if we were giving her mother a cruel and false sense of hope. They need $30,000 to pay for her treatment, but that was months ago and there is a good chance that the cancer has already spread to her daughter’s brain. Her mother has brought her to doctor after doctor after doctor. They tell her there is little they can do or that she needs to go to Jordan for treatment. She showed us a picture of her daughter taken 6 months ago before the cancer, she was beautiful, bright and lively. When we left, I spoke with the platoon commander about arranging for the Battalion Surgeon to pay her a visit, but with increasing restrictions on the movement of US and coalition forces, it may be difficult to get him out to see her. Even if he did, there is probably little he can do.

So much hope and despair.

Once again, thanks for continuing to read these updates and your comments and emails.

Best,

Zach

TRAVELOGUE TO IRAQ- ENTRY # 7

Beetniks — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 22:49:18 +0000

All hands-

Thanks again for your comments and emails. Your support means a tremendous amount to me and our team.

We’ve had another productive few days. It is early here and I just went to the roof of Camp Burgess, the last US post in Fallujah to set the camera up for a sunrise shot over the mosques of Fallujah. Apparently the city is known as the city of mosques. After the first Gulf War, Saddam began to lose his grip on Iraq and turned away from secular Arab nationalism toward religion. He started building mosques, many were along the banks of the Euphrates in Fallujah.

Yesterday, we went out on a few patrols. In the morning we headed out to Andaloos, the crowded market place and business area of Fallujah. It was one of the neighborhoods my Battalion pushed through in 2004 and site of some of the heaviest fighting. Today, it is filled with vendors. I bought some presents for family and friends. It was potentially the last daylight US patrol through that area of Fallujah and many of the Marines also took the opportunity to buy presents for loved one’s back home.

In the afternoon, I sat down with Lt. Passman, the platoon commander for the unit assigned to Camp Burgess. He will most likely be the last Marine platoon commander in the city. Amazing to think we entered the city a little over 4 years ago.

In the evening we went out on a second, more interesting patrol. All patrols are now conducted in support of Iraqi police forces and the Marines only leave the lines at the invitation of Iraqi forces. Last night, we were stopping vehicles along the roads to search them and provide a presence for the elections taking place tomorrow. Iraqi security forces get to vote early and already 60% of the Fallujah police have voted. They vote early so that they are free to protect polling sites on election day.

I wanted to be able to meet with regular Iraqis. We’ve already met with Sheiks, political leaders, police chiefs, and businessman, but I wanted to talk to a few people who are just leading everyday lives and trying to make ends meet in Fallujah. Chap, the Lebanese platoon interpreter offered to bring us by a few houses during the patrol. Chap is quite a character. He knows everyone and can get anything. We’ve been filming so much that we’re running out of digital storage for our footage and he has been able to find us 2 terabyte drives. The first house we entered was heartwrenching. A family of refugees from Baghdad, Sunnis who had been pushed out of their neighborhood by the sectarian violence. For those faint of heart, I suggest you skip the next paragraph.

The husband left the family and the young daughter was stricken with a terrible form of cancer. She had large tumors on her face and neck and her mother fears the cancer may have already spread to her brain. She gasped for air through a hole in her neck and had tubes portruding from her stomach. It shook my faith in G-d. Her sisters and brothers played with the Marines outside, while the Marine Corpsman, kneeled beside her, but what can he do to cure cancer?

We left the house with the promise that Chap and I would take the mother over to the city council on Sunday to see if someone there can help them. She needs medical attention, probably in Jordan, and the city should have funds to be able to help her. Inshallah.

Chap then brought us by a second house. It was still under construction. It was beautiful and huge and the owner’s son came out to tell us his father hadn’t moved in yet, but we could visit him down the street at their old house. It was a little bit further than just down the street, but when we arrived we went into a small, decrepit house with a new BMW parked in the gated garage. Apparently this man has done well the last few years and when we met, we immediately recognized each other from my meetings at the city council a few days ago. He brought out plates of fruit- delicious apples, oranges, and bananas. I asked him if he knew how hard it is to ship bananas. If they aren’t shipped properly at specific temperatures and humidity they turn quickly. He mentioned that before the war, fruit was very expensive and only the rich could afford it. I mentioned that we’d just walked by his new house and apparently he could have afforded it. He is running for election and lived and studied human rights law in Dubai, Jordan, and Egypt. I’m not sure what kind of human rights lawyer he is because he was very concerned that they US was pressing the Iraqi authorities to release prisoners it did not try or have evididence of a crime. As he said, ”How can you respect the human rights of someone who doesn’t respect human rights?”

At the end of the meeting, Chap asked him if he could help the little girl we’d just visited. He said there was nothing he could do. When we left, Chap was infuriated. So was I. Here was someone who has benefited tremendously from the coalition and is already one of the city leaders, running in the electiont to, apparently, take care of his constituents. Meanwhile, he is building one of the largest mansions in Fallujah and is unable to help a cancer stricken child? I’m not sure if Chap had all this up his sleave, but having spent time with him on this trip and my last trip out here in April, I wouldn’t put it past him if he had both of these stops planned for a reason. On Sunday, I am keeping my fingers crossed that the young girls mother stops by so that we can bring her case to potentially more concerned members of the city council.

Iraq’s provincial elections are tomorrow, the 31st. There is a lot of excitement on the streets, political rallies, posters, and looking forward to seeing the results come in.

Love and miss you all,

Zach

DAY 6 -TRAVELOGUE TO IRAQ

Beetniks — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 23:39:03 +0000

Family and friends,

I’m sorry that I haven’t written in a few days. We’ve been busy traveling and in transit trying to make our way into Fallujah. We finally made it and are looking forward to seeing some of the city today.

I’m struggling to figure out the direction of the film, mainly because it is very hard to figure out what is going on here. On one hand, there is much to be hopeful about. At the surface, it appears most Iraqis have been able to return to their daily lives, they waive at Marines, casualties are way way down, and the presence of US and coalition forces has been drastically reduced. On the other hand, at what cost has this security arisen? Who are we leaving in power? Will security persist after we leave? Who will fill that vacuum? Unemployment is still high and targeted political violence still occurs. What lies beneath the surface in Iraq? I wonder how honest of a film can we make and is it arrogant to think that we can even attempt to figure any of this out?

In meetings and interviews with tribal leaders who participated in the Al Anbar awakening, I continue to ask them where the bodies are. They claim that there was vicious fighting between the tribes and Al Qaeda once the tribal leaders “woke up” and decided to switch allegiances. Perhaps there are questions we are not supposed to ask, but what did they do with the Al Qaeda dead? At the heart of the question I wonder whether they fought against Al Qaeda groups or if they were the ones following the Al Qaeda leadership, armed with money and ideology, down a treacherous path and when the Awakening occurred shot those leaders in the back of the head, about faced, and started following us down a different path. There is no doubt that it is not that simple, many Sheiks and tribesmen were killed in the fighting, but I desperately want to know what happened and am not satisfied by the answers we are getting. It has just got to be more complicated than the story of Abu Risha gathering the tribes to stand up to the brutality of Al Qaeda in Iraq. Did Al Qaeda’s money supply get dried up? Did ours start flowing? Did the Marines win hearts and minds through innovative counterinsurgency tactics? Did the Iraqis decide to take matters into their own hands? Any ideas?

Onto our update…

Monday was rather uneventful except for one meeting in the morning with the director of the local radio station, the head of the Fallujah police, the local ePRT, and the Marine PTT. For laypersons among you, that is the State departments embedded Provincial Reconstruction Team and the Marine Police Transition Team. Fascinating study in the different approaches between state department personnel and the Marines. The purpose of the meeting was to help the police and the radio station director coordinate in the case of emergencies to get information out to the public. The Marine, being a Marine, was very direct and comfortable with his Iraqi counterpart. It seemed the State Department official was less so, or at least took a decidedly different tact. It seems there is a growing popular consensus in the States that we need more foreign service officers and state department personnel to do this type of work since they are the duty experts. I couldn’t disagree more. There are no experts and the State department folks are trying feeling there way out here just as much as the Marines, except the Marines have been doing this for 5 years.

I don’t want to diminish the work they are doing or the fact that all of them volunteered to come out here, but, well, here ya go…The head of the State Department team is a career consular officer. He spent a career overseas handling visas and immigration issues. In Ramadi a number of Foreign Service Officers I spoke to are couriers. Before coming to Iraq, their job was to handle carrying secure mail for embassies around the world. They do have hired contractors who are experts in specific fields, but where are the economists, political scientists, sociologists, businessmen, cultural experts, people who speak the language, etc…? To think we can simply replicate or create more state department personnel to handle these problems is folly. Something different and innovative is needed and perhaps, if we had something different an innovative we wouldn’t find ourselves in these messes in the future?

As I’ve said in other updates, the Marines have adapted out here. When asked why, the usual response is because Marines like to win. Marines are game changers. They want the ball at the 7 yard line on the 4th down and have proven out here that they can adapt a more nuanced approach than the use of force. You’d be amazed to see the books stacked on their tables out here. Next to playboys and more revealing men’s magazines are books on sociology, history, economics, and the local culture. They’ve built solid relationships and Iraqi leadership speak fondly of friends from past battalions that have been through the AO.

Yesterday, we finally arrived at Camp Burgess, the last US post in Fallujah. It will be closing soon and the Marines will be withdrawing to outside the city. It is astonishing to think that just over 4 years have gone by since we fought here and now the Iraqis are largely running the show. After unloading our gear and checking in, we headed over to the radio station to interview the director. He spoke extensively about life in the city, the problems they still face with police corruption, and the upcoming elections. The streets here are covered with election posters, including female candidates- some wearing full Burkahs! In 2005, the Sunnis largely boycotted the elections and lost out over the last few years because they had little representation in Baghdad. Now they are throwing their weight into the elections and perhaps this is a sign of better days to come and a more robust political process to replace the violence.

After the radio station, we headed over to the government center to interview and have an early kabob lunch with Sheik Salah, one of the leaders of the city council. Huge, jovial guy. He has worked and led the city council since sometime in 2004 and said 14 of his predecessors were killed by the insurgents. I wonder how he stayed alive. He lost 50 tribesmen to Al Qaeda and others to the coalition, but like other Sheiks before him, was quick to add that the relatives were mistakenly killed by the coalition. I asked how he could be so quick to forgive and he said that it was part of being a spiritual man and added, ”How can you look to a better future when you cannot escape the past.”

Last night we went out on a foot patrol through Andaloos, the shopping district in Fallujah and the site of some of the heaviest fighting my battalion experienced in 2004. Fruit vendors were open late into the night, Mercedes drove down the streets, kids played soccer under a few working street lights. We walked by the Blackwater Bridge, where the four Blackwater contractors were burned, beaten, and hanged in 2004. It is now decorated with political posters and the police officers guarding the entrance to the city slapped the hands and joked with the Marines patrolling by. I bought a banana and orange at a local vendor and another gave me the most delicious apple I’ve ever eaten. Things have definitely changed, but I don’t dare believe I, or any other America , knows what lies beneath the surface.

Love ya’ll and thanks,

Zach

There are a few ways to view iraq:

“A haunted trash strewn Fallujah street or the fruit stand open late at night around the corner.”

“A rubbled wartorn building in Ramadi or the construction taking place beside it.”

DAY 5 TRAVELOGUE TO IRAQ

Beetniks — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 00:15:22 +0000

Hey family and friends,

Once again, so great hearing from all of you and please check out our blog and leave a comment. http://editorialproject.wordpress.com

And, well, some of you write that I shouldn’t apologize for writing such long emails, well, you asked for it…

Two nights ago we arrived back in Camp Ramadi, a Marine camp bordering Ramadi. It is astonishing to see how close it is to the city. Camp Fallujah and the Marine FOBs (Forward Operating Bases) around Fallujah were miles outside the city, but Camp Ramadi pushes right up to the city that shares its name. While many Americans are familiar with the battle of Fallujah, I’m in awe of the Marines who served in Ramadi. The insurgency was largely defeated in Fallujah in late 2004, but in Ramadi the fight lasted years. Marines, insurgents, tribes, former regime elements, and Al Qaeda fought protracted battles from 2004 to 2007. When I saw how close the Marines lived to Ramadi (and this doesn’t include all the Marine posts inside the city) it brought chills to the back of my neck. The city begins right outside the camp’s walls and I’m sure so did the gunfire.

Back in Camp Ramadi, Brad and I had dinner with Chad and Georgia Parment. Chad went to Cornell Law School and met his wife, Georgia, when they were both lieutenants in Quantico, Virginia. After they completed their tours, they both got out and went back to school. They then volunteered to return to Active Duty to deploy together to Ramadi for the year. They’ve got another 3 weeks left before they head home and say that the deployment has made them incredibly close. I met both of them electronically a year ago. They were working on helping their translator get to the states and a mutual friend put us in touch. Incredibly smart, well intentioned, and full of energy, we became electronic buds of sorts. They also tried getting Cornell or another US college/university to adopt and mentor Al Anbar University. Unfortunately, even after reaching out to numerous schools none showed much interest. It is unfortunate because there could have been tremendous potential to such an effort. Student and professor exchanges (well at least sending some Iraqi students/teachers to the US), curriculum development, and, well, the sky could have been the limit- especially in the digital age. Perhaps in the age of Obama this will be possible.

After hauling our gear across the camp, we headed out to the Rule of Law center in Ramadi. The Marines have developed five “lines of operation” to ensure stability and success in Al Anbar. They are the key terrain in an environment where you are not fighting for a beachhead but for building a stable society and helping return daily life to normalcy. They are- governance, economics, security, rule of law, and essential services. For much of the last 6 years we’ve been in Iraq, the military has been in the lead with all of them. In 2008, they began turning them over to State Department Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) and the Government of Iraq (GoI). In Al Anbar, the Marines are nominally on the periphery providing overwatch in each area, but being Marines, they are still in the lead. When the transition took place to the State Department teams, many Marines were transferred to augment the PRTs. We got to head out to the Rule of Law Center with one of them.

Col Daugherty can’t seem to stay out of Iraq. He’s a reserve officer and is a district attorney in his real life. He also had over 32 months in Iraq. He’s deployed here in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, and 2009. In 2004 and 2005, he was on a Civil Affairs team responsible for reconstruction projects. Over the course of the next few years, he continued to volunteer to return to Iraq and is now a Marine augment on the PRT. He is getting ready to head home in a few weeks, but took us out to see the Rule of Law Center. Worried about the security and authority of judges, General Petraeus ordered a number of Rule of Law Centers to be built throughout Iraq. They are secure compounds, where judges and lawyers can operate freely, immune from threat. The compounds have houses for the judges, offices for prosecution and defense attorneys, barracks for the marshal service, and temporary holding cells for defendants. The buildings are distinguished looking and are often former regime palaces to give the judges authority and to symbolically show that this is a new Iraq, ruled by laws. The project is astonishing in its scope and is being completed by a large Iraq construction company. Jobs are provided to local laborers and the US Government is only paying for a third of it, the rest is coming from the GoI and from money captured from the former regime.

Walking around with Col Daugherty was truly educational to hear his thoughts on the last 6 years in Iraq. There is no doubt that Iraq has changed for the better since 2004, what the future holds, I have no idea, but the question persists- why did it change? I wondered why we didn’t reach out to the tribes earlier or why they didn’t approach us earlier. In 2004, we ran all reconstruction projects through the CPA instituted city councils instead of the tribes. I could work with tribal leaders, but only to try and influence the willingness of the Iraqi soldiers I worked with. In hindsight, we should have tried working with the tribes from the beginning, but I also have trouble faulting the CPA for trying to build a legitimate government that was more representative than the tribal leaders. On the 31st, Iraqis will go to the polls again in their provincial elections. Though the Marines are significantly reducing their presence in Al Anbar, they will also face this dilemma again. Do we continue to work with the tribes? Or the democratically elected officials, councils, and government? Maybe both? The tribes deserve much of the credit for the peace that has broken out in the province and they have developed significant relationships with the Marines, but we have to be careful we don’t cut off the head of the elected government. Then again, many of the tribes have members running for election. If they do well enough, maybe Al Anbar will just have democratically elected Sheiks?

In the afternoon, we went out with Lt Gilliland, an artillery officer who has served as a civil affairs officer for the last year in Ramadi. Artillery, known as the King of Battle, is used to destroy, instead Lt Gilliland gave us a tour of the projects he has done over the last year to help rebuild the city- schools, irrigation, water treatment plants, soccer fields, and business centers. Truly astonishing and a great commentary on how the Marine Corps has adapted to this environment.

Finally, last night, Brad and I hopped on a helicopter and flew to Camp Baharia outside of Fallujah. The Marines have already turned over Camp Fallujah to the Iraqi army and have displaced their much smaller force to a camp on the outskirts of Camp Fallujah. Tomorrow we hope to get into the city, meet some of the local leaders, and take some pictures…

Love ya all and keep sending your emails and comments!

xxooz

DAY 4 TRAVELOGUE TO IRAQ

Beetniks — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 23:37:50 +0000

Hey all,

This is my last email from Eagle Base and G Co 2/9. Tomorrow we head
back to Ramadi. We’ve got a number of options on the table and are
trying to figure out what we want to see with our remaining time in
Ramadi before heading to Fallujah Saturday night. It has been a great
trip with the Marines and incredibly special catching up with Gunny Fox.
We spent the night reminiscing and planning a hunting trip sometime in
the spring together. He’s got a second baby daughter on the way in
April, just after he comes home so it may be hard to pull off.

I have to say, I’m exhausted after today. We started off early and
ended late today. In the morning we headed out with one of Gunny Fox’s
squads to a local police station and headed out on a joint patrol
through dusty farm roads along the banks of the Euphrates. A beautiful
and cold morning. The Marines hung back as the police officers led the
way. A big change from my days in Iraq when we struggled to train and
work alongside Iraqi forces. Along the patrol we took the opportunity
to speak to many of the Marines. They are tremendous young kids — that
hasn’t changed. Most of them enlisted in 2006 and 2007, when things
were going terribly in Iraq and yet they signed up to serve their
country knowing full well they were headed into harms way. Many have
been disappointed by the quiet, while the older vets who have served
here in combat are grateful. It is astonishing, but the last two
infantry battalions in this area saw little to no combat. Marines
receive a coveted ribbon called the combat action ribbon for
participating in combat operations. Only a handful of Marines have
received one while serving in Al Anbar over the last year. It is
certainly a different place.

I am still puzzled as to why it has changed so drastically and during
interviews throughout the rest of the day I pressed two sheiks and the
2/9 Battalion Commander today for reasons. One of the Sheiks was the
brother of Abu Risha, the father of the Awakening movement. Sometime in
2006, Abu Risha approached a number of other tribal leaders. They
banded together and formed a military movement declaring “enough” of the
insurgency. Brutal fighting resulted and Abu Risha was killed, but Al
Qaeda was eventually pushed out of Al Anbar. Abu Risha’s legacy
persists and his face appears on posters everywhere in the province.
His brother told me about how brutal Al Qaeda was and that it took time
for the tribes and the coaltion to learn to trust each other. We met in
a huge office in his brother’s old house where the Awakening apparently
began late one night. Photos of him with Obama, President Bush, and
many Marine officers lined the walls.

We then headed out to meet Sheik Heiss at his house. Two giant
mansions, one made of marble that cost an estimated $1.2m. We met in an
incredibly long room with giant chandaliers lined with chairs for tribal
meetings. At least a hundred people could sit in the chairs lining the
room. It was HUGE. We drank turkish coffee and tea and talked about
the awakening. He was recently quoted in the NYTs or WashPo about the
upcoming provincial elections. Sheik Heiss was one of the first Sheiks
to work with the coalition in 2004. He feels that the wrong people are
benefitting from the Awakening and warns violence could break out
depending on the results of the election. He also said, that violence,
like that experienced in 2004-2007 will not return to the province.
Those days are over. One of his brothers was killed by the coalition,
but he is quick to say it was mistaken.
Other family members, too many to count, were killed by Al Qaeda. He
was even kidnapped and beaten and was wounded in the combat between the
tribes and AQI after the Awakening. Sheik Heiss was also very proud to
show me a photo of him with President Bush in the Oval Office.

Apparently his house was destroyed by AQI sometime in the last few years
and I asked him how he could afford such a beautiful and expensive new
home. Though I didn’t get an answer, I suspect it has something to do
with the different types of Sheils in Iraq. There are Sheiks put in
power by the Ottomans, Sheiks put in power by the British, Sheiks who
put themselves in power through business, Sheiks put in power by Saddam,
and finally, the American Sheiks- namely leaders, often lower leaders
who remained in Iraq when more senior tribal leaders fled outside the
country, who aligned with the US and, well, did ok because of it. The
counterinsurgency manual states that money is a weapon. As far as I am
concerned, better to shed treasure than blood if Marines are going home
alive, security persists and people can return to living their lives in
peace.

Finally, we went back to Camp Ramadi for dinner and to interview the
Battalion Commander. We spoke for an hour about the operations his
battalion is conducting and about his experiences in Iraq. He was here
as an infantry officer during the bloodiest months in Ramadi in 2005,
but before you think he was engaged in combat he was braving ambushes
and firefights to get to the government center in order to help lead the
governance and economic development of the province. Fascinating
conversation about how and why someone trained to close with and destroy
the enemy is engaged in peace corps type operations — granted it is a
combat zone.

Much more to write, but is is my last night with Gunny Fox and we want
to catch up some more, more to follow….

Keep those emails coming and can’t wait to see you all when I get
home…

Love and best,

Zach

DAY 3 TRAVELOGUE TO IRAQ – NEW AND IMPROVED

Beetniks — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 21:51:10 +0000

Friends, Family, and loved ones…

Thanks again for all your emails and comments. It means so much to hear from you and is an added incentive to keep writing after long days with the Marines or bouncing around Iraq.

And feel free to check out our website www.editorialproject.wordpress.com and leave a comment there or pass it on to your friends and family….I will be posting photos from the trip on the website today or tomorrow.

The last time I wrote, we had just arrived at Eagle Base, north of Ramadi with G 2/9. We’ve had a very full couple of days since then.

Yesterday, Brad and I joined Gunnery Sergeant Nick Fox and his platoon on a patrol. In my last email, I wrote that Gunny Fox and I served together in Iraq and then volunteered to come back together. He was seriously wounded in 2004 and went on recruiting duty in Minnesota for three years before returning to the fleet. He’s now back in front of Marines, leading from the front, and inspiring all who meet him. It has been great catching up with him and hearing stories about recruiting Marines. 40,000 young men and women sign up every year to join the Marine Corps. Unlike other branches they don’t do it for the money- the Navy, the Air Force, and the Army all offer signing bonuses worth thousands of dollars to join their ranks. Not the Marines. Congress mandates that 90% of enlisted members of each service must have a high school diploma, the rest GEDs. The Marine Corps sits at over 97%. He said he was incredibly proud to watch the Marine Corps increase its standards eventhough it was increasing its size from 174,000 Marines to 202,000 Marines, while the rest of the services cut standards. Another perspective than the one you get from the op-ed pages of the NYTs.

Our first stop on the patrol was at an Iraqi police station. Gunny sat in the back of the room, while Brad and I filmed Sgt Maddox, a young, but very intelligent Marine, talk to an Iraqi major Jameel about security in the area and their plan to prevent and respond to incidents during the upcoming Iraqi election on the 31st. It was pretty amazing to see. For one, when I was here as a Marine, an Iraqi police force existed in name only. Those that did exist tagged along on missions so that we could say it was an Iraqi/coalition operation. When I came back last April, police and Marines were living and working in earnest with each other throughout Al Anbar province. Now the police are everywhere and are pretty independent. Every mile there is another police checkpoint, you see their vehicles everywhere, and the Marines are on the periphery. Watching Sgt Maddox I could see the accumulation of 5 years of hard fought battles. He made sure the Iraqis were thinking about the potential for various incidents, that polling stations would have proper security, and that they knew how to call for Marine support if it was needed.

Sgt Maddox then passed the conversation over to me and I spoke to Major Jameel about the history of the last 5+ years. I came out here because I wanted to understand something miraculous that has occurred in Al Anbar province in the last few years. When I was here as a Marine it was known as Iraq’s wild west and the most dangerous province. Today it is one of the safest and it is a story you rarely here about. Starting with Sgt Maddox’s police station chief, I’ve spoken with numerous Sheiks, precinct and station chiefs, Marines, and Iraqis about how peace suddenly broke out. To be honest, I’ve been sort of pissed about it. In 2004, we worked desperately to try and work with Iraqis to fight AQI (Al Qaeda in Iraq) and the insurgency, but combat always ensued. I still don’t have an answer for how it came about. The story line seems to be that the tribes got sick of foreign fighters and Al Qaeda. In one tribe alone, over 300 men were killed by these foreigners. It was brutal and as one Iraqi said to me, from 2003 to 2005 we had nowhere to turn. We were scared of the insurgents and we were just as scared of the coalition forces. Finally, Sheik Abu Risha approached three other powerful sheiks. The story holds that they met under a tree at night, made a fire, and sat under the stars discussing their plans to start an “Awakening Council” of other tribal leaders and reach out to the Marines. From that point on the tribes waged a bloody and protracted campaign, supported by Marines, against Al Qaeda. I suspect there is more to this story, but everyone seems to stick to this party line. One thing is for sure, Brad and I will continue to dig for answers in the coming days.

Another remarkable change that has occured out here is the Marine Corps newest weapon systems. They have fully armored HUMVEES and new behemoth MRAPs (Mine resistant armored personell carriers). They have the newest versions of the M16 rifle and its shorter variant the M4. The body armor they wear is completely different from the ones we wore. But these are not the new weapons I’m talking about. The Marines talk about development work they do as if they were referring to artillery. Clearing canals for better agricultural irrigation, building playgrounds and soccer fields, handing out winter clothes or food bags, dairy cows to widows as a source of income, and whatever else are all referred to as supporting fires in the campaign to win hearts and minds. We tried similar operation to little avail in 2004. A school built by my Battalion was blown up by insurgents. We tried clearing a canal and the workers were ambushed, but today it is a different environment. Marine officers talk about providing good governance, economic development, essential services, rule of law, and security and how to turn these operations over to Iraqis. It is already happening as Marines operate less and less outside the lines.

Tomorrow we are headed out with 2/9′s Battalion Commander to meet Sheik Abu Risha’s, the catalyst for peace, brother. Aheik Abu Risha’s picture is everywhere here. At checkpoints, Iraqi police officers kiss the poster when asked if he was a good man. Every Sheik claims to have known him. For pulling the tribes together and working with Marines, he was killed, but his legacy remains strong in Al Anbar.

Last night we watched Obama’s inauguration with some of the platoon commanders and platoon sergeants. Needless to say, even the Bush enthusiasts in the room (and they remain a strong contingent in the Marine Corps) were overwhelmed by his speech. I hope that Americans heed his call to service, to spend less and save more, and dedicate ourselves to always strive to a more perfect union.

So much more to report but will save it for another email.

All the best and keep writing back!

Love,

Zach

IRAQ DAY 2–THE JOURNEY TO BAGHDAD AND RAMADI.

Beetniks — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 16:10:55 +0000

Hey all,

I loved reading all your notes and will try to reply to all of them.
The internet connection is incredibly slow, so it might take a while,
but keep sending them! It is so good to hear from so many of you.

Also, check out our new blog for our film at www.editorialproject.wordpress.com where you can also see photos from our first trip to Pakistan, Lebanon, Egypt!
I’m writing this from Eagle Base, a dusty outpost on the outskirts of
Ramadi. We just arrived and are getting settled into our new home for
the next few days. My first platoon sergeant, now an enlisted platoon
commander, is out here and it has been so good to see him. I’m
waiting for him to get back from a patrol. Gunny Nick Fox and I served
together in 1st Battalion, 1st Marines in 2002 and 2003. After a
short and uneventful deployment to Iraq and elsewhere, we volunteered
together to go to the next deploying unit back to Iraq. Nick was
wounded twice on that deployment and on one occasion got into a
firefight wearing flipflops and his tight green silky PT short
affectionately known by Marines as his catch me, f-ck me shorts.
Before the Marine Corps entered the 21st century, we wore the issued
shorts made circa 1970 something. I’m sure they were in style
then….

Tomorrow, we’ll be on patrol together and he is bringing me to meet
his favorite Sheik. I’m looking forward to learning more about how
this province, once the deadliest in Iraq, became so peaceful through
cooperative efforts between Marines and the tribes. In 2004, we were
enemies. Today, they are our closest allies. How’s that for
diplomacy?

Coming out here we had to spend a few days in Baghdad so that Brad
could recieve his press credentials. It is quite a hassel and I thank
G-d I’m back out here with the Marines. I hate to say it, but the
press office is poorly run and often a tad contentious in their
relations with the press. However, we did get to meet a number of
great young journalists and I have a newfound respect for the brave
men and women of the press corps.

As a Marine, I was very wary of the press, especially in Iraq. There
always seemed to be a tremendous disconnect between my experience and
what was reported in the news. I still don’t have an answer for that,
but I do know that I now know a littany of inspiring young
journalists. They travel outside the wire, often in taxi cabs or with
a loyal driver, but often without an armed escort to find and report
stories. They head to the hottest spots in Iraq in a moments notice.
And they give voice to the victims who are often unheard of. They too
wonder why such stories often never appear in print. We had a great
conversation until late in the night about journalistic ethics.

Brad and I decided we could have made our film in that bunk room, but
no one would believe it. A young kid who is making a movie about
driving his motorcycle from Morocco to Afghanistan, while trying to
overcome a serious case of OCD. A 63 year old two-tour Vietnam Vet
and Fox news, local affeliate, very gregarious supporter of the war.
During a press conference on Sunday with the head of operations for
coalition forces, he asked a questions- ok, more of a statement in his
very emphatic and gruff voice, “General, sir, I’ve been to Karbala,
Diyanea, Basra, and Fallujah. Sir, I’ve been north, south, east, and
west in this country over the last four months and one thing is for
certain, this war is over. We won.” Behind me the NPR, WSJ, and
reuters reporters all gasped in disbelief, before breaking into
giggles. Even the general looked uncomfortable and the Iraqi
journalists were aghast. Afterwards, a writer from San Diego, who has
spent a lot of time covering the drug war in Mexico, and I took it
upon ourselves to egg on our new friend from the Fox News affeliate.
He had a lot of interesting views on the world and liberal
anti-Americanism.

Fox news affeliates aside, these other young journalists go outside
the line everyday, the live in the red zone, and they report stories
that often don’t make the papers or the evening news. They are voices
that we need to hear more from.

Yesterday, before our flight out West, I went with two Iraqi
journalists to pick up my translator’s, Abood, stamp collection and
family albums. He and his family had to flee Iraq in 2006 and
couldn’t take those precious heirlooms because it would alert
authorities at the border that they didn’t intend to return to Iraq.
We walked outside the press center through half a dozen checkpoints
and out onto the streets to meet Abood’s neighbor, who had a box of
the heirlooms for me to ship back to the states. It was incredibly
depressing. Police checkpoints at every block and the peaks of
beautiful building peer just above huge concrete “blast” walls that
line the roads. You become overwhelmed with a feeling of
imprisonment. Everything is grey- the walls, the sky, the road, the
sidewalk, the faces on the street. Coming back through we had to get
searched almost a dozen times through concentric circles of security.
It is incredibly sad.

I will continue to write and thank you all for continuing to
read…I’ll try to keep these shorter in the future.

Love you all,

Zach

DAY 1- TRAVELOGUE TO IRAQ

Beetniks — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 17:55:58 +0000

Hey all,

Many of you have been the fortunate recipients of my best friend and producer, Radha’s emails from our recent production trip to Pakistan, Lebanon, and Egypt for our film. I’m now headed to Iraq without her and promised that I would continue, to the best of my abilities, her correspondence. If you didn’t receive her emails and would like to read about our meetings with Hezbollah, the Muslim Brotherhood, Robert Fisk, and a variety of activists and idealists working to change the landscape of the Middle East, then please email her at radhatwin@gmail.com.

Onto this leg of the journey….

It took us approximately 18 hours to travel halfway around the world from New York, through Doha and Kuwait City to an US Military airfield in Kuwait. The flight wasn’t the same without fighting for the armrest with Radha, but it was an empty flight and I could spread out across three seats until I was startled awake my some turbulence and saw Brad, the director of photography, sticking a camera in my face over the seats. When we said goodbye at the airport, Radha gave him strict orders to film everything. Well, he got me drooling on myself….

We’re now waiting in Kuwait for our flight up North to Baghdad sometime late tonight. It is amazing that we were able to get halfway around the world in less than a day, and yet it will take us 2-3 days to venture the last few hundred miles. First, we have to wait 12 hours to get our passports stamped out of the country in order to leave Kuwait, then we wait and hope we get on a flight to Baghdad International Airport tonight. If we do, we’ll spend tomorrow waiting for a 5 minute helicopter ride to the Green Zone, we’ll spend another day or two there getting Brad’s press credentials. Once achieved, another day long wait for a 20 minute flight out to Ramadi, the capital of Iraq’s Western Al Anbar province and home to many of the Marines working to rebuild the provincial government. We will spend a week with those Marines before heading to Fallujah for Iraq’s provincial elections on the 31st. Less than a day to travel halfway around the world and half a week to cross boarders and get through layers of bureaucracy.

Last night, we slept on the dusty concrete floor of the media office and wished we’d brought our air mattresses. They ran out of space for non-military personnel in the transient billeting. The camp is overflowing with military men and women waiting for flights to Afghanistan. Military personnel in transit have priority for berthing and they deserve it. We’re happy to take the floor.

It seems very few people are headed to Iraq and the majority of the camp is getting ready to head to any number of Afghan cities for the next 12 months. There are droves of them, all waiting by red signs with yellow letters spelling the names of cities you only read about in the news. They sit on their packs, congregate in schoolyard circles, or take a smoke break in the gravel staging areas. Many of you know I’ve been pretty supportive of the Iraq war. Admittedly for initially flawed reasons, but I always thought the cost of leaving to early would be much greater than the cost of staying and seeing things through. For me, Afghanistan is another story. I do not understand its strategic importance and I don’t think we can replicate the success we’ve achieved in the last two years in Iraq in Afghanistan. And so, I watch these long lines of soldiers, airman and women, sailors, and Marines and wonder what they are marching off for? We owe them an honest debate about what we hope to achieve and how we hope to achieve it lest we continue the march of folly.

As for our own trip, we’ve only be on the road 36 hours and it has been great traveling with Brad. He’s got a great soul and even though his long beard (he hasn’t shaved in 5 years) makes him look like a Jihadi, he’s got a smile and warmth that puts everyone at ease around him. He’s spent a lot of time filming in South America and West Africa, but this is his first trip to this region. both of us are incredibly excited to get out with the Marines and beginning filming. I’ve got a lot of old friends out here I can’t wait to see.

I’ll do my best to send updates during each leg of the journey.

Love and best,

Zach