"In the slums of Baghdad" (Michelle Malkin and Bryan Preston first hand report from Iraq)

Michelle Malkin & Hot Air ^ | Thursday January 11th, 2006 | Michelle Malkin

[ajolympian2004]

My Hot Air colleague Bryan Preston and I have been in Iraq, embedded with an incredibly dedicated Army unit in Baghdad tasked with training Iraqi security forces (both Shia and Sunni) conducting counterinsurgency operations, and carrying out civil affairs work. Yes, there is danger and chaos and unspeakable bloodshed in parts of Baghdad. Sectarian violence--compounded by everyday street crime and tribal conflict--is rampant. Corruption, incompetence, and apathy infect the Iraqi government. You've gotten endless news coverage of all that. But there are also pockets of success and signs of hope amid utter despair. I'll give you more details of our embed unit after we get home. We have much to report and will be publishing a multi-part video and audio series, blog posts, and op-eds on security conditions, media malpractice, and the big picture on the war next week. Having met, watched, and interviewed a broad cross-section of our troops during our brief but fruitful travels, my faith in the U.S. military has never been stronger-- but I will not sugarcoat my skepticism and doubts about decisions being made in Washington. For now, I'm posting a few pictures I took from one of our recent trips on patrol through the slums of Baghdad.

Michelle's pictures here -
http://michellemalkin.com/archives/006675.htm

[ajolympian2004]

From Bryan Preston -

On Patrol in Baghdad; Update: Photos posted at Michelle’s site

posted at 10:16 pm on January 10, 2007 by Bryan
Send to a Friend | printer-friendly

Michelle and I are embedded with a unit in Baghdad that’s responsible for the “standing up” part of the US plan to get Iraq ready to become master of its own destiny. This unit trains Iraqi army and police, which are co-located on the base here, while it also sees to the security and humanitarian needs of the community surrounding the post. The US Army troops here have a complex and daunting mission that stretches and stresses them to the limit, but they are performing the mission with a gallantry and devotion that would make all Americans proud if you could see it for yourself. We hope to bring a flavor of it to Hot Air in the coming days so that you can see a small part of it for yourselves.

In our short time here we have talked with privates, NCOs and officers across a spectrum of duties and assignments on several bases performing a range of missions, and while that certainly doesn’t make us newly minted experts on the situation here it has given us a broader perspective on the war here and how it is truly progressing. Several themes have emerged that, while they may not represent the absolute story on given issues, certainly point to a general consensus on the status of the war among those who are here on the front lines fighting it. Our troops are motivated and dedicated like no other group of people I have ever seen. More than any politician, journalist or blogger, our troops understand the history and cultural forces swirling in Iraq that make it such an incredibly challenging environment. They are bringing that knowledge to the struggle every day, and while their efforts may not always result in perfect outcomes, no one should doubt their devotion to winning the war here in all of its dimensions.

Without hesitation, I can say that this fight is the most intricate and complicated mission our military has ever faced. Our troops are daily engaging in missions that their military training never prepared them for, but they are performing those missions with amazing thought and skill. When you add in the external forces at play, whether they’re stateside politics or the mix of enemies on Iraq’s doorsteps and operating on its streets, the mission in Iraq becomes a Gordian knot of military, political and humanitarian issues that overlap to the point that failure in any one will precipitate failure in all of them. So far, we’re failing in several but not to the point that the situation can’t be rescued. The failures are, in my opinion, almost entirely products of Washington politics and decision-making. Washington has yet to make the war in Iraq a truly national effort, and has not yet brought to bear the full range of American resources it will take to give us a chance of success here.

While we’ve been here we have also spoken with a range of local folks, from sheiks to slum dwellers, and gotten their views on America, the “new Iraq,” and the conduct and progress of the war and we will bring you those views in the coming days as well. We brought along our video camera, so we will have episodes of Vent produced on the streets of Baghdad.

We’re safe, we’re well and we’re going out on patrol again later this morning. We’ll meet local leaders and visit sites that have been in the news recently. And we’ll bring you whatever we find out. Michelle will have some photos from our first patrols posted at her blog later on.

Update (AP): The boss’s photos are up.

[saganite]

Is Malkin really writing from outside the green zone? If she is she has my respect and all so called "reporters" should be ashamed.

[ajolympian2004]

They are going out on regular patrols with the oustanding men and women of our US military.

[pissant]

In another impoverished section of western Baghdad, children beg for candy, soccer balls, and photographs.

Slum dwellers have pirated satellite dishes, illegally siphoned electricity, and illegally diverted water. The Maliki government does not recognize the existence of the camps.

The man in the above photo is 30-year-old Shiite Rasul Karim, carrying his one-year-old daughter. Rasul told me he and his family left the al-Thawra district of Sadr City for Baghdad in search of work and have lived in the slums with hundreds of other displaced refugees for two months. "I am against all terrorists," he said, and criticized the Iraqi government for not doing enough to make the city secure from militia members and street thugs. Asked whether American troops should withdraw, Rasul shook his head: "No, no, you can't leave."

[pissant]

Yes she is. She's an embed.

[widowithfoursons]

I still think the Ethiopians in Somalia had the best idea: fuggedabout the UN, and just overcome the Islamists militarily. But why should we care if our own country refuses to protect our own borders, and discard their constitutional obligation to do so? Nero fiddled while Rome burned.

[saganite]

Awesome. My hat's off to Malkin.

[nutmeg]

FoxFan ping!

Fox News contributor Michelle Malkin! (Thanks, ajolympian2004)

Please FReepmail me if you want on or off my FoxFan list. *Warning: This can be a high-volume ping list at times.

[saganite]

Those are bright looking kids. I hope they have a future.

[pissant]

All children are beautiful. We just have to free them from satan's grip. That's our job.

[jazusamo]

Excellent post, ajolympian.

I salute Michelle Malkin and Bryan Preston.

[geopyg]

Yeah - each one of those kids look so happy and healthy. That photo right there tells me there is hope for Iraq.

[jazusamo]

A far cry from the run of the mill enemedia, Huh?

[pissant]

Night and day, my friend.

[pissant]

You getting snow? We have 6" and counting.

[Allegra]

Is Malkin really writing from outside the green zone? If she is she has my respect and all so called "reporters" should be ashamed.

Yes, she sure is. It looks like they're on the far west end of Baghdad where it starts going towards farmland.

The media doesn't report from the Green Zone much anymore unless something is specifically happening there, BTW. They were booted out of the GZ last year and have a secured compound just across the river at the Palestine Hotel. Or, as I call it, Enemy HQ.

[pissant]

Enemy HQ indeed. When you done with vacation?

[Radix]

You might consider this photo horror show at Michelle's site for your PING list.

[Allegra]

Enemy HQ indeed. When you done with vacation?

Toooooo soon! (sigh...)

Actually, I'm doing work stuff now with the corporate office before heading back to Baghdad. Still a lot of "me" time during the day, though.

[jazusamo]

We got a sprinkling a couple times today but not much buildup. There's still a little but the temp is dropping and they're warning of icy conditions. I guess it could be a bear in the morning.