Bird’s Eye View: The Battle for Baqubah (Michael Yon)

A Tactical Operations Center (TOC) is the headquarters for a unit. Company-level TOCs are the smallest I have seen. A typical infantry company has about a hundred or more soldiers. The commander will normally be a captain. A company-level TOC often consists of a radio and a map, and one person on duty 24/7. It might have a coffee maker, too. In fact, there is a company TOC at the other end of the tent in which I now reside with a company called C-52. C-52 is the smallest company with only 54 men, who all live in this tent with a huge amount of weapons, and great combat experience to back them up [to whit: Superman.]

CBC’s (Canada) nightly news show, The National often does a 20-30 minute in depth broadcast of events, often events occurring in Afghanistan.

Why, oh why can’t NBC,ABC,CBS.FOX hire Michael Yon to do a weekly indepth analysis of what is really going on?

I know, I know! It’s because Yon speaks the truth and tells us how we are really doing and winning.

Thank God for Michael Yon.

I know, I know! It’s because Yon speaks the truth and tells us how we are really doing and winning.

Yes, strange how speaking the truth about how we're winning brings out the vitriol in some people.

I've had many FReepers flame me royally for telling the truth and presenting the positive aspects of this war.

Rock on, Michael Yon.

We live far better on base here in Baqubah than many people who are living downtown (though there are some very nice homes), and it’s not all about money. Not at all and not in the least. When Americans move into Iraqi buildings, the buildings start improving from the first day. And then, the buildings near the buildings start to improve. It’s not about the money, but the mindset. The Greatest Generation called it “the can-do mentality.” It’s a wealth measured not only in dollars, but also in knowledge. The burning curiosity that launched the Hubble, flows from that mentality, and so does the revenue stream of taxpayer dollars that funded it. Iraq is very rich in resources, but philosophically it is impoverished. The truest separation between cultures is in the collective dreams of their people.

When I listen to people in these civil administration meetings inventorying the obstacles, giving detailed and passionate speeches about why the things that need to happen cannot, often next comes the tired lament, “You can do these things because America is rich.” This seems like a chicken-egg argument, but it’s not. They will stare at you like a bird. Blinking. Blinking. As if waiting for an answer to a question that seems to forever loop back on itself. “But you are rich! You put a man on the moon!”

When a person holds an egg in hand, the question seems answered. And when a person holds a chicken, the question seems answered.

These last paragraphs are a great testament to what it means to be an American. Other countries think that we can only accomplish because we are rich, when in truth we are rich because we hunker down and accomplish.

When I listen to people in these civil administration meetings inventorying the obstacles, giving detailed and passionate speeches about why the things that need to happen cannot, often next comes the tired lament, “You can do these things because America is rich.” This seems like a chicken-egg argument, but it’s not. They will stare at you like a bird. Blinking. Blinking. As if waiting for an answer to a question that seems to forever loop back on itself. “But you are rich! You put a man on the moon!”

The Iraqis do say things like that. They're bright people...and so frustrating. I have begun saying this to some of them:

"Don't give me that 'this is Iraq' excuse. This is the oldest civilization in the world. You've been around for 6,000 years. You have oil here and more natural resources than any other country in the Middle East. You are educated, talented and hardworking. Iraq should be the strongest nation in this region. By far."

They don't get offended by this at all. (I never have any intention of offending the Iraqis.) It hits on their pride points and gets them thinking.

They don't get offended by this at all. (I never have any intention of offending the Iraqis.) It hits on their pride points and gets them thinking.

Good for you! It should get them thinking. Dictators like to keep their populations subdued and it will take a while for them to understand the freedom that they have been given and the opportunites that are now available to them. Any hard-working, can-do society WILL be successful.

You should also tell them to view FR if they are ever able.

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