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Here in Iraq, one or two of the television stations are running again. The newspapers are in full swing again as well, but mainly only in the Baghdad area. This limits the messages that we can get out to the people since it is only for a small portion of the country. Information distribution in a country like this is tough. There are many places that do not have radios or televisions so it makes it tough to get the truth out.
I am sure looking forward to my first R&R. I will be leaving out of the prison on 10 May in order to catch my flight in Kuwait on the 14th of May. I will get to enjoy 12 days at home and see my son, my wonderful wife, and my newborn son. I probably will not sleep much so I can maximize my time at home.
===25 April 2004
===
One thing I forgot to mention about yesterday; it got dark earlier than normal. This was due to a sandstorm that blocked out the sun. It was quite amazing that a wind storm filled with dirt can make it dark as night. It also makes it difficult to breath, even through masks.
Today was a short day. There were six of us that had to come in early and conduct long interrogations to ensure that certain detainees were only able to be seen, but not talked to. The Iraqi Governing Council came and looked through our mirrors into the booths to see some of the foreign fighters we have detained. They wanted to talk to them and film to show the international media, but we refused, due to not being able to interrupt interrogations. They were much more patient than we thought they would be so they tried to wait us out. Five and a half hours in the booth was a long time, but we finally outlasted them. The IGC left with only the satisfaction that we have foreign fighters from Morocco, Syria, Jordan, and other countries detained here. To be clear, they are not sponsored by their respective countries to come here, but it is due to their individual choices, be it religious or stupidity.
I got to take the rest of the day off after our long booth time. This gave us a nice evening after dinner to head to the roof and play a round of golf. Scott Norman, Jeff Mouton, Steve Hattabaugh, Steve Stefanowicz, and I all took turns trying to hit balls over the back wall and onto the highway. Since the club is a left handed 3 iron, I had an unfair advantage and missed a dump truck by only about ten feet. Not bad since the highway is about 220 yards. We do what we can to make it fun here.
===23-24 April 2004
===
The LRS guys have started Friday Night Fights over here. A lot of the soldiers and Marines are getting into it. They have the padded sparring equipment and have had a blast setting up bouts and have even begun a ranking chart. The LRS guys do some warm up training out on our volleyball court, so we enjoy watching these young guys goof around while we relax on the porch.
It is becoming more obvious to the troops here as well as the Iraqi people that a lot of the problems here are directly caused by foreigners. This is not deterring the Coalition Forces and is slowly turning the populous against these foreign fighters. Iraqi Police are even starting to take action.
Time for sleep before another long day. I will be taking the rest of the day off after our Syrian interviews.
===22 April 2004
===
I sure miss normal food. I look forward to going home and cooking whatever I feel like and hitting the grocery store and seeing the stocked shelves and wonderful fresh steaks! When I go home in May for 10 days, I will probably not sleep between spending time with family, eating, showering in a real shower, and using a toilet that actually flushes and does not have flies everywhere.
