I found that title intriquing. It is one of many titles from soldiers stationed in Iraq who are writing books, blogs and memoirs of their time there.
One soldier's terrifying account of a fire fight in Mosul during 2004:
"I observed a man, dressed all in black with a terrorist beard, jump all of the sudden from the side of a building, he pointed his AK-47 barrel right at my focking pupils, I froze and then a split second later, I saw the fire from the muzzle flash leaving the end of his barrel and brass shell casings exiting the side of his AK as he was shooting directly at me.
"I heard and felt the bullets whizz literally inches from my head, hitting all around my hatch and .50-cal mount making a 'Ping' 'Ping' 'Ping' sound.
"I ducked down in the hatch, and I yelled, 'We're taking fire! 9 o'clock!!!'"
His description goes on for 12 adrenalin-fuelled pages, full of cursing, prayers and desperation, before finishing in typical deadpan fashion: "I walked back to my room, thanked God, and passed out on my bed.
"Note: I don't think CNN's report of only 12 dead is accurate."
Tenuous un-civil war
Bill Roggio, over at the Fourth Rail, has more on 'stepping back from civil war in Iraq'
A quiet, rattled cage
Almost forgotten in Afghanistan: Afghan jail riot halted as food supply resumes
The 'anti-Bill'
Victor Davis Hanson expounds on the other Iraq.
I recently listened to members of the newly elected Iraqi provincial council in strife-torn Kirkuk. All were enthusiastic about their new responsibilities. They were unabashedly argumentative with one another over security, electricity and oil production — but still confident that they could govern their own affairs. As the meeting broke up, a female council member whispered, "Tell the Americans thanks, but ask them to have patience with us."
