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a series of delayed flights, the 24th MEU Command Element arrives
at Camp Virginia, Kuwait. It is an enormous base erected in the middle
of a swath of scorching desert. There are thousands of US military
personnel here plus a smattering of international troops from Bulgaria,
Mongolia, Poland, El Salvador, Japan, and a few more countries. South
Asian men -- from Pakistan, India, and Nepal -- who work in concessions
(the laundry and mess hall, for starters) run by American companies
form another army, one of low-end laborers. KBR, formerly Kellogg,
Brown, and Root ("Same Company, New Name, More Impact")
is here. So is MPRI, another military contractor. The weary disembarking Marines are immediately handed 1.5 liter bottles of Abraaj-brand mineral water and cards bearing the "Rules of Engagement" and "Rules for Use of Force," the specifics of which I am not allowed to release. IDs are checked and Social Security numbers are entered into the camp's database. The Marines are then herded into an arrival briefing by CFLCC, Coalition Forces Land Component Command. "You are in a danger zone right now, here in Kuwait," US Army Lt. General David McKiernan says in the videotaped portion of the presentation. The video urges all personnel to stay alert, both here and in Iraq. It is also provides shorthand hints for conducting oneself among Iraqis: "Do not stare at the women.... Shake hands firmly.... Punctuality is not necessarily their priority." Do not show bottoms of one's feet; do not ask specifics; "and do not mock calls to prayer." Subsequent briefings by Marine commanders will cover similar territory, but in the Corps' jaw-dropping, fuck-you manner. "We are going to kill and kill and kill -- not the innocent, only the enemy -- until they are sick of this war," General James Mattis, commander of the First Marine Division, tells the Marines of the 24th MEU. During my week at Camp Virginia, I hear a few, but not many, Marines refer to "hajjis" and make other saddening and disparaging remarks about the folks who live in this region. But I also run into a lance corporal who shows me her Iraqi Arabic CDs and tells me she's struggling to find time to continue studying. "I want to put an Iraqi face on what we're doing," Colonel Ron Johnson, the 24th MEU commander tells an assembly of officers and senior enlisted personnel. That means training the Iraqi National Guard to beat back the forces who attack the ING and the US military. "Be patient with the Iraqis," Johnson continues. "I know you're going to look at them and laugh. You're going to see young kids with broomsticks trying to do squad-level tactics... Don't let your men look down at these guys." "Take the sunglasses down and talk to them eyeball to eyeball. In the Arab world, the eyes tell the truth," Johnson adds. "Give these people respect. That's all they're looking for." |
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