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Sunday, August 07, 2005
God's Will


Mosul, Iraq

On Thursday August 6, we headed out the gates to meet with police officials in downtown Mosul. As we rolled in, a handful of Iraqi police ran across the road, back towards the barracks. Terrorists had just shot the mother of a police officer, and the police said she was dead. But Captain Scott Cheney, the Charlie Company Commander, rolled there and found she wasn’t dead, just shot in the shoulder and “screaming like crazy.”

Inside the police station, LTC Kurilla, Commander of Deuce Four, met with the brother of a taxi driver killed on Monday. Deuce Four believed they wrongly shot the man, so they chose to pay condolence compensation to a member of his family. The brother nodded and said ensha’allah, an expression meaning that it's God’s will that he died. I have seen the parents of children killed by car bombs say ensha’allah as if it makes it all comprehensible. Kids blown up, ensha’allah; airplanes fly into buildings, ensha’allah; the electricty goes out ensha’allah. Yet then many ask--without a twitch of irony--why the Americans cannot make the electricity stay on in Iraq: terrorists blow up the generators, ensha’allah.

LTC Kurilla and the surviving brother talked for about ten minutes, the brother said ensha’allah one last time, they shook hands and the man departed.

There were two primary police commanders in the room; only one, Major Ali, was wearing a uniform. He seemed serious. LTC Kurilla described him as a “true warrior,” saying, “if we had more like him, we could win fast.”

For the rest check his blog...
http://www.michaelyon.blogspot.com/