Back from Hiatus

Hey folks,

It's been a long while since I have posted to the blog. There are a couple of reasons: 1) I was ramping up for mid-tour leave at the end of October and things were just too busy for me to post; 2) When I was home on leave I was enjoying family time and wanted to stay away from the computer as much as possible; and 3) When I got back around Thanksgiving I was so "happy" to be back that my mind just was not in the game. It still isn't, exactly, but it's a lot better than it was.

So a lot has happened over here since the middle of October. The good news is that by a lot of measures violence is down. The bad news is that there isn't a lot of analysis as to what the causes are. I see none of it in the papers or on the news. The worse news is that the Iraqi Government has failed to take advantage of the dip in the killing to solidify a cohesive government structure that shares power with the Sunnis. That is going to be a requirement for any long-term stability here.

Also, right before I went on leave I sent a letter to Stars and Stripes to register my dissatisfaction with them for carrying Ann Coulter's column. I know what you're thinking--that stupid bitch can get paid to write? Yes, it's true. Just go to the local bookstore. Anyway, the letter set off a string of hostile letters to Stars and Stripes defending her and calling me all sorts of names. Hey, the letter was a little over the top, maybe, but the irony of the whole matter was that I spoke in the same sort of tone that she uses in her column. The buttheads who love to read what she has to say got real angry when those same kinds of words were directed her way. Irony is just wasted on some people. The best parts of the whole thing were that 1) The day they printed the letter was the day I came home on leave; and 2) I signed my name with a non gender-specific nickname. That made it impossible to know who was really the one that sent the letter. It was beautiful!

I even got an e-mail from a Colonel Charles Mitchel at MNC-I headquarters asking if I was the one who had written the editorial in the paper that day. The guy got my "Out of Office " reply, so I guess he figured it wasn't me. I mean, don't you think that's completely inappropriate? What would have been the reply to me had I told him, "yes?" I can only imagine. Anyway, I regret that I wasn't present for the storm. But interestingly, I have had many people come to me and give me positive feedback for doing it. That made me feel pretty good.

That's all for now. I have lots to talk about, and I'll share it in the coming days and weeks, with pictures.

OUT