Oerdin's Iraq thread.

[PLATO]

Good Luck Oerdin. You are in my prayers. Be safe.

[Ted Striker]

Good luck dog

[Barinthus]

Originally posted by Bloody Monk

But, and thankfully, as Oerdin said, this is selectively enforced. So, let's not give anyone reason to come down on our friend.

Monk

I wholeheartily second that and I'm sure everybody else agree.

[Ted Striker]

Alright already damn I already edited the post sh1t

[East Street Trader]

Having an income of any kind at all is good news in Iraq at the moment.

Before the war the country had a population of just under 25 million and a work force of 6.5 million 6% employed in agriculture (it is the world's largest producer of dates), 13% in industry (oil based) and 81% in the service industry. Gross national product per capita is $2,300 and women expect to bear four or five children - so an income of $600 a month might still leave a typical family a bit below average.

At a guess, though, a substantial chunk of the GDP will be concentrated in the hands of a limited number in which case $600 per month would be likely to take a typical family well above the mean.

Iraq's economy was first hit (very, very hard) by its 8 year war with Iran. Then by the fiasco of the Kuwait invasion. Then by sanctions which caused GDP to drop a lot and now it has had the invasion to contend with.

If oil production can be brought back on stream it will recover quickly. But protecting the oil installations once the insurgents start to target them will be a bit of a nightmare. I know the Israelis have had lots of trouble with their pipelines over the years. And God knows to what degree restoring oil production will benefit the population at large. It is not labour intensive.

Quite apart from its other troubles the country lies in a region already being affected by global warming which is causing the desert to advance and degrading agricultural land. Saddam Hussein also went in for drainage projects which have wrecked the habitat which previously sustained a stable population of marsh arabs. It is difficult to imagine much of a future for that particular group.

They are a hardy folk with deep roots. But I don't suppose anyone there expects an easy time of it for a while.

Making money from the invader is an ancient enterprize - taken to the level of an art form by the Maltese (and the denizens of Ankh Morpork I think). But it does tend to be regarded as collaborating with the enemy at first.

[OneFootInTheGrave]

whoaaaa...

I haven't visited poly in a while, and just came to late to say

Goood LUCK!!!

Man take care, and hope we here hear more from you after Najaf...

That idea about making Sadr Shiite-Shiite problem it the best ever, I just hope someone in the chair makes the same decision and is able to execute it properly.

Hopefully the people of Najaf can nail him down.

Other than that...

maybe you can suggest Iraqis to pray for peace and prosperity Inshallah

[Sirotnikov]

take care

[Dinner]

Just FYI

Sis: $600 per month is good by Iraqi standards but at $7200 per year it isn't much by international standards. What's more how many people have the Ba'athists attacked who didn't get a nice cushy job like this? Still, I'm glade something was done.

Everyone else: I'm in Tikrit now and will be leaving for Baghdad in the morning. We swapped out our old humvee for a newer regular humvee which has "balistic doors". That means atleast the doors are bullet proof though everything else is just sheet metal. Talk to you later.

[Arrian]

Hope to hear from you soon, Oerdin.

-Arrian

[Dinner]

BTW this is only a rumor but one of the Captains in my company HQ here in Tikrit said our replacements will be doing the site survey (where a small group recons the AO) in July and that they will be going through Fort Bragg in early September. That would mean we could be going home in late September or early October.

That of course assumes the military doesn't hold both of the units here to assist with operations.

[Spiffor]

Originally posted by Oerdin
That would mean we could be going home in late September or early October.

Stay safe until then

[East Street Trader]

If I just had a few sheets of Chobham armour handy I'd ship them.

Although maybe it is protection from blast that is more important than from bullets?

Might be an idea to keep a hard hat on inside. If it is not too hot.

[Dinner]

EST: You always wear your body armor and helmet where ever you go.

Everyone else: I'm currently in Baghdad and will be here until the rest of the convoy to Najaf assembles in the next day or two. Last Thursday I spent the night at our radio station in Baquba and it was the first time I'd visited since right after the attack a month and a half ago (see previous post). I met a few of the new employees who filled in for the civilians who were killed and I got to say hi to a few old friends. All in all it was a somber night. The tower for the radio antenna is 1000 feet tall which is just a few feet shorter then the Empire State building in New York; I never really noticed it before but even though the tower is arrow straight the optics are such that when you stand close to something that tall and look straight up is seems like the tower is leaning towards you a bit. Like I said the tower isn't leaning but it's strange the way the optics of the eye work.

Today was a R&R day for me. I got to relax and wonder around in the Green Zone and at our nearby base at Baghdad International Airport (BIAP). There is a very nice Chinese restaurant in the green zone and it wasn't until I went in that I realized I hadn't had anything but Iraqi or Army food for the last four months. I was wonderful to have a change of pace even if it was only for a day.

Hopefully, I'll be able to do another update tomorrow but I'm doubt I'll be able to send anything after that for some time but rest assured I'll send updates as often as I can.

[Locutus]

Good luck, Oerdin, and stay safe

[Agathon]

Hey Oerdin. When you come back you can start a protest movement and pretend to throw away your medals. Then you'll stand a good chance of being elected president in 30 years time.