SwiftVets.com

[olympian2004]

Still in Baghdad by Martha Zoller

As we enter our third day in Bahgdad, there is much to report. I was unable to post yesterday, we were out most of the day. Believe it or not, there is power and wireless internet connectivity in the tents we are staying in but it is hit and miss as far as the strength of the signal. Also, when the soldiers are on missions, they have the ability to take down the internet and cell service in the area of operation.

Yesterday, we walked alot in the heat and I really felt it today. It may have been dry heat, but at 122 degrees, it was hot. We had briefings from one of the Iraqi milita

This was the first time he had talked to journalist from the west in his headquarters. He told an interesting story of how he went from being a general in Saddam's army, being in and out of jail when he began to stand up to Saddam and then transitioning to the War on Terror and the new Iraqi army. How do you go from terror trainer to terror fighter? He now looks at Saddam as a gang leader and that the coalition did not conquer the Iraqi people, but we conquered the regime of Saddam.

He verified that Saddam had trained terrorists in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon for the purpose of terrorising Israel and Iran. He said that on that there were 4000 trained terrorists that were harbored in Iraq at the time of the invasion into Afghanistan. He also estimated that the Iraqi army is about 60% on the way to being ready to be independent from the coalition forces.

We also talked to Col. Ben Hodges about the operation here in Iraq. The most important thing from this briefing is that the leadership in the military have been told by Sec. Rumsfeld and Pres. Bush that no matter how popular the war is, the military will get what it needs to complete the mission.

Later in the day, I interviewed a number of young soldiers from Georgia, Massachusetts, Missouri and Illinois. They carried out security, infrastructure and combat missions. I have also talked to civilian workers from the Army Corps of Engineers, KBR--the largest contractor over here and these come from countries all over the world.

This afternoon, I will be focusing on Georgia soldiers and will have interviews for air and for replay next week. Some of our group went into the Green Zone, now known as the Intenational Zone.

The cot I am sleeping on is comfortable and the tent is air conditioned. The women are sharing a tent with female soldiers that are transitioning to leave or go to other assignments. There are no mattresses for the cots, but the men's tent next door has all the mattresses. Lt. Col. Buzz Patterson says that probably when there aren't any women, the men steal the mattresses. Makes sense to me. I am waking up every day at 3 am Iraq time--which is about 7 pm eastern time. Since we are sharing our sleep space with soldiers that are coming in and out and I don't want to disturb their sleep, I wait til 5 when everyone is getting up for a shower and to start the day. The quiet time has been nice, I must admit.

There is more tomorrow from Bahgdad. On Thursday, I will be broadcasting from Kuwait and then home on Friday.

http://www.accessnorthga.com/articles/afullstory.asp?ID=94127

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Broadcast schedule posted here:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1437082/posts

Iraq Truth Tour website:
http://www.voicesofsoldiers.com/
_________________
Tony in Boulder, Colorado

[Me#1You#10]

Thanks for keeping us updated. I've been quite busy this week and haven't been able to tune in. I'm making a point of trying to monitor the broadcasts tomorrow.

I wonder if they'll be archived?