Iraq's second largest city

With Christmas right around the corner, I thought I would offer a gift, the gift of blog. I actually have been sick for the past week, just a cold, but it nearly sapped all my energy, and my astute perception, which explains the lack of updates. About a week ago, I traveled up north to the city of Mosul to give some aid to our company there. The geography of Mosul is unlike the majority of Iraq, or at least the Iraq I’ve seen. Mosul sits amongst undulating hills populated with dense patches of vegetation, including green grass! You’d be surprised at how nice green grass
looks after living in its absence for awhile. I hopped a ride with one of our IED hunting patrols going through downtown Mosul. We rolled out around 730am and the city was already bustling with morning traffic. Parts of the city were in complete shambles, but I don’t think it was from the war—years of neglect and economic depravity I suppose. Merchants and street vendors crowded the sidewalks setting up shop for the day. Lots of people selling, but I didn't see any buying.

Driving through the more dilapidated parts of the city, barefoot children would come running out of shacks, either waving or giving a thumbsup in hopes of some candy. We are the armed homecoming parade. I popped out of the gunners turret and threw a pound cake from an MRE, it was the best I could offer. The kids would wrestle and fist-fight for whatever we tossed. As we approached the outskirts of the city, I could see a smouldering land mass in the distance. It turned out to be a garbage dump, some parts set ablaze. It was terribly depressing to see children running about the muck, scavenging for something salvageable. I didn’t see Sally Struthers around anywhere, but to see that in person is more somber than any television commercial could ever be.

Sorry for the melodrama around the holidays, I just thought you all should know.