posted @ 10:12...

A while back, the unit to which I am assigned moved to an installation about a 30-minute HMMWV drive away. I didn't go with them, since I am essentially part of a "brigade legal team." In fact, I've since been attached to the brigade, which just means they're now accountable for me instead of my unit.

For some reason, the powers-that-be decided that the legal guy (me) needed to come up to this other place and spend the night. Of course, they didn't actually have any work for me to do, so I've been sitting around visiting and watching TV for the past five hours. The convoy up here wasn't too bad. It was weird venturing into "enemy territory." Iraqis are everywhere, and they all stare like crazy. While I was growing up, I was taught that staring at people was rude. But then I just turned down the cigarette a few days ago, so who was I to judge? But anyway, I guess if I was going about my business in my hometown, and some foreign military was constantly rolling through the streets, I'd probably stare too - even if they were there to make the community a better place. The stares are hard to read. The children smile, and so do some of the adults. But most adult males simply stare with a blank expression or an obvious frown. There's no way to tell if these guys are the enemy, or if they simply disapprove of our being here... or even if they're aware of how their facial expressions are perceived by us. We wear no expression as we stare right back at them. But for us, it's scanning the streets. Noting each face as a potential threat, but trying to remember that most are just peaceful citizens.

The building where my unit is located is sort of a high-rise office building by local standards. It's at least 5 floors. I'll be sleeping in the basement tonight, which is really not as bad as it sounds. It's actually a lot nicer than I expected. The whole building is in a perpetual state of disrepair. Things appear to be fixed only for their present use, just long enough to be usable for another few months since they're supposedly closing down this place in February. It must be understood, though, that the military changes its mind about one thing or another every day. So the funny thing is, coalition units could be occupying this delapidated structure for another year.

I thought parts of northern Baghdad that we drove through were pretty interesting, like they might be fun to explore as a visitor. But there's no way I'd want to be standing around there during a war. Even in peacetime, I'd be foolish to simply be there as an American. I'd be better of exploring Europe, since that's still very foreign to me... but I hear they hate us there too.