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A View From Iraq
By Elmer L. Snow, III
Oct 21, 2004, 22:29

After returning from Iraq I’ve met so many people who are interested in learning of my experiences in that country. My only question is where do I begin?

Elmer Snow in Zakho, Iraq.

The one thing I’ve never publicly stated is who I was working for? As some of you may have already guessed, I was employed by Halliburton, or as some critics like to say, the Vice President’s old company. I won’t condemn this major corporation here, although I too have a few personal issues to resolve with them.

One area, however, that has always amazed me is how the Democrats have found so much pleasure in identifying this company’s ties to Republican Vice President Cheney, yet have overlooked how many of the Halliburton employees are Democrats. Halliburton is a company that provides services and when you provide services you’re providing jobs. If your particular skills meet the job requirement, no one asks what your party affiliation is.

For those readers who’re still wondering what companies like Halliburton are doing in Iraq, I can make it relatively simple.

They are freeing up our fighting forces by performing tasks that were the responsibility of military personnel.

Kitchen Police (KP) is now a civilian chore as is cooking, laundry, mail movement, construction, supply transport, maintenance, and hundreds of other tasks that are not directly related to fighting and winning battles. I, for one, feel more comfortable knowing that our soldiers have more time for training, education, and using their military expertise to fight the battles.

This fuel truck was a victim of an IED attack.

For approximately five months of my accumulative total of a year in Iraq I was assigned to Camp Anaconda, a military base near Balad, Iraq. Statistically we were sure of two events that would occur on a daily average. Mortars would be fired into our camp on at least two occasions on a daily basis. At the time I departed Iraq, my camp was reporting an average of 62 mortars a month. Sometimes these projectiles would land with deadly consequences, sometimes they would explode harmlessly in a remote area of the base, and occasionally they would land undetected only to be detonated at a later time by the oppressive heat.

A major part of my responsibility in security was to brief convoy drivers prior to their departure in transporting supplies to other areas. By far, one of the most dangerous jobs in Iraq is as a truck driver. On a daily basis these drivers are tasked with traveling the highways of Iraq while avoiding small arms fire, rocket propelled grenades, or the infamous IEDs. An IED is an "improvised exploding device" that will explode when driven over, or can be detonated through remote devices. IEDs have been concealed in the roadway or along side of the road. They were frequently located inside the carcass of dead animals. There never seemed to be a shortage of explosives. Despite the presence of military escorts during convoy movements, even our military was helpless when explosives in the roadway were present. Many of the drivers who were kidnapped and decaptiated were taken during the confusion and chaos that surrounded the roadside attacks.

Many people wonder if our efforts in Iraq are having an effect on the war against terrorism. I believe that in Iraq we’re fighting the crusaders (terrorist), crazies, and criminals. We’re also making life a lot better for those whose only dream is to live, work, and be able to succeed in their beloved homeland. If we view terrorism in a corporate mold, we need to view people such as Saddam Hussein as managers. And, a manager gets work done through other people. In short, by removing Hussein and his finances we’ve blocked at least one route where he could export his particular brand of violence to other "employees" in various parts of the world. Many such " managers" want their roads to lead to the World Trade Centers of the world. Perhaps in Iraq we’ve drawn the line in the sand.

As for me, my road led back to Sun City Center where I’m pleased to confront age as my biggest enemy or the wrath of an editor if my story isn’t submitted on time. However, my daily prayers are with those who remain in Iraq , vigilant in their fight to stem the growth of terrorism and bring peace to a nation that has been oppressed.