One of Ours

...Morale is keeping steady here...Between the scandal at Abu Ghraib and the recent beheading it seems like the only news coming out of Iraq is one bombshell after another. I know it’s been said so many times before but there is very little attention being paid to the day to day work that’s going on over here. That’s okay and I don’t think many soldiers mind, but I think we have a different perspective than most people living in the States...

...We spend most of our time working on claims, detainee issues, and military justice. But yesterday we got to focus on another part of our mission over here. I went with several of my bosses to the Tikrit courthouse to meet with the Chief Judge of Salah Ad Dinh province and about fifty other judges from cities around the province. We drove a short way through Tikrit on our way to the meeting and passed by bustling shops selling all sorts of stuff, construction workers putting together new buildings, and tons of people walking or driving. By all appearances it seems like the Iraqi economy has grown significantly in the last year. Tikrit seems like a relatively normal, busy city. While there are still some security concerns, yesterday it almost seemed like the only real danger was getting into a car accident as we maneuvered our big HMMWVs through the crowded narrow streets.

At the meeting we discussed the problems the courts were facing and what we could do to help them out. All the courts are functioning well but they still need some help. We’ve been helping to repair and renovate the buildings, getting computers, supplies and security for the courts. I’ve been impressed with the apparent eagerness of the judges to improve their judicial system. They say they really want to help establish a society that adheres to the rule of law and they want to be free to make fair and impartial decisions without the interference of other branches of government...