Dispatch from al-Anbar province
Via gordo, a fascinating essay about life as a U.S. Marine officer in Iraq's Al-Anbar province: A truck load of flex-cuffed midgets.
Here's another great passage:
Greatest Vindication - Stocking up on outrageous quantities of Diet Coke from the chow hall in spite of the derision from my men on such hoarding, then having a 122mm rocket blast apart the giant shipping container that held all of the soda for the chow hall. Yep, you can't buy experience.
Biggest Mystery - How some people can gain weight out here. I'm down to 165 lbs. Who has time to eat?
Second Biggest Mystery - if there's no atheists in foxholes, then why aren't there more people at Mass every Sunday?
I have no way of verifying the provenance of this essay. I'm assuming it's legit, it sounds plausible to my civilian ears. Regardless, I'm linking to it because it's a fine piece of creative writing.
A truck load of flex-cuffed midgets?
Ooo baby, a picture of that would have been TOO strange to contemplate.
Posted by: TB | January 05, 2007 at 08:57 PM
Best Intel Work - Finding Jill Carroll's kidnappers - all of them. I was mighty proud of my guys that day. I figured we'd all get the Christian Science Monitor for free after this, but none have showed up yet.
Good news. Thanks guys.
Posted by: 1984 Was Not a Shopping List | January 05, 2007 at 11:32 PM
That letter is really old. Maybe a year?
Posted by: Jen | January 06, 2007 at 03:07 AM
I first saw this a while back.
It's been edited since (a few things have been excised)
It's legit, so far as I can discover.
TK
Posted by: pecunium | January 10, 2007 at 02:17 AM