BAQOUBAH, IRAQ - Not five minutes after I walked into the heavily fortified Diyala Government Building a dull thud shook the building.
It was the unmistakeable thunderclap of a bomb. This time, it was planted in a pile of trash at a nearby market, detonated by some unlucky garbagemen as they went about their jobs. One was killed, four others hurt.
Feeling that mortal moment is both terrifying and numbing. Not seeing the explosion, not being able to see the aftermath (the unit I was with was not the one responding to the bomb), I felt oddly detached from it.
There's not a lot of shooting here these days, but there are plenty of explosions (a woman blew herself up a day later, killing five), which is, in a way, more unsettling. This includes many roadside bombs, as well.
It's one of those threats you can't run away from and that you might never know hit you. I'm at peace with it enough that I go about my job with no problem, but it kind of makes you cringe everytime you hit a large bump in the road or see someone walking with particular determination on the street.
Yellow Pine, ID - Version 2
12 years ago
3 comments:
Very happy you're safe. Please stay that way!
I commend your bravery. I think those daily thoughts would unsettle me enough that I couldn't do my job.
Keep up the awesome work and, of course, stay safe too.
Also: cans of whiskey? All the while I thought oil was the most valuable commodity to plunder over there. Can we get Halliburton on some of that canned goodness?
Stay safe! After this stint, you have to come back and fish for blue marlin, just like Hemingway!
I have faith in you, kid.
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