The blog is becoming re-active (but we'll see how long this lasts). Mostly because I'm enroute to Baghdad for work so now while in Baghdad I will do my best not to write about work.
Right now I'm too exhausted to be excited or nervous about working in Baghdad. I know I'm definitley looking forward to it. When a lot of my family and friends heard that I was going to work there they immediatley assumed that my work was forcing me to go, when in fact I volunteered. I guess its hard to get people to see I'm not crazy for volunteering. When the U.S. first started talking about the war, I was completely against it. I didn't believe Gen. Powell's testimony to the U.N. and I didn't think the evidence for the case Saddam having WMD was strong, in fact I thought it was very weak. Now that the U.S. is completely embroiled in Iraq, and it really is the top foreign policy issue for the U.S., and since I've always had an interest in the Middle East and U.S. foreign policy, it is a pretty natural career choice. Also, although this war is a mess made by people I disagreed with, I do believe this is a mess the U.S. has to take responsiblity for and although I may not be the smartest person or someone who can fix this problem, rather that waiting in the sidelines and complaining about it, I am taking the opportunity to do something about it. I have friends in the military who are serving in the front lines and this war has taken an enormous toll on their lives and their loved ones (some people say ... aren't they volunteer? but come on, given the choice to go to war or go to jail is really not about volunteering). The orphans, widows, and emotionally and physically impaired survivors of this war on both sides is heartbreaking. I've always been drawn to helping others, and I wouldn't be going if I thought the danger was so high, but I'm confident my heart is in the right place. I may not be able to accomplish peace in three months, but I hope I can influence even in a minute way to keep things from becoming its absolute worse.
