Long time, no hear

It's been almost three weeks since I last posted. I hadn't realized so much time had gone by with work and family issues piling up.

We have heard from David, in his blog entries and two calls two Saturdays ago. I was having lunch with a friend (Mia) in a noisy Thai restaurant when he called, and I rushed out just as the spring rolls were served, hoping it would be quieter on Amsterdam Boulevard, but it was still difficult to hear what he had to say as buses rolled by and New Yorkers, ever eager to lean on their horns, drove by on the busy street.

He had a cold, one that was a being passed around the company, and he was a bit grouchy then. The one thing I could hear for sure was that his unit was moving out to a different part of Baquoba.

The second call caught me in the dressing room of Filene's Basement, and was quite brief. He'd been told they were moving out a day earlier, he said.

He has since filed two amazing dispatches (as the journalist in me describes them) each quite different.

The first, an expansive love letter to life and perhaps to an individual, caught me by surprise on a tense deadline day. After I read it, I rushed downstairs to the small foyer where I work and where only the smokers pass through on there way outside. I sat on the stairs and cried because it was so beautiful and because it seemed like a good-bye letter in case he got shot.

I doubt he meant it that way; I don't know, was it?

Then I read it again, and it seemed like a letter written to someone specific, saying all words and thoughts he had in his head about that person but never could say aloud.

Or maybe, it was just a revelatory movie experience after all. Whatever it was, it was gorgeous.

The second part is the other part of the David -- the analytical mind with the cynic thrown in. He showed what he believes about this war -- and I'll talk another day what I think about the war -- and why, at least the way I interpret his statements, his men will play it safe.

What a stupid quagmire our leaders have placed these troops in!

Baquoba push

David posted briefly with his mailing address on The Interested Soldier blog yesterday.

The New York Times has a lengthy story on the Baquoba offensive on its front page today. I've put a link to the story, but to summarize:

More 2,000 troops, led by the Third Stryker Brigade, is leading a charge against Sunni insurgents and Al Quaeda.

Fighting is expected to be hard.

There are about 2,000 insurgents around Baquoba, a mix of Saddam's army and paramilitary, Al Quaeda, and embittered Sunnis. They are increasingly well trained, disciplined and well armed.

The operation has begun by assaulting their hideouts. The next step is house-to-house clearing.

Resistance, so far, according to the Times, has been limited. The city's population has turned against Al Quaeda and seem to hope if Iraqi forces can join with Americans to get Al Quaeda out, Americans will go home.

However, insurgents have buried enormous bombs, able to blow up armored vehicles, around the city.

I don't want this blog to be repeater of news stories; there are plenty of blogs that do that much better, plus I am very conscious of the copyright issues as someone who has been on the other side of seeing those rights blindly violated. So, I will link to stories and occasionally summarize stories that I think are useful or interesting.