Stationed in Iraq Part 2 of 2

Here are a few more moments that my friend shared with me from his time in Iraq.

1. The encounter with Bill O'Reilly: I guess Bill decided to visit the troops stationed in Iraq for a PR move. Well, my friend decided to try and piss off Mr. O’Reilly. He was signing autographs in the crowd. My friend had a Ludacris CD and handed it to O’Reilly for him to sign. As you know, Ludacris had a major feud with Bill O’Reilly. Bill appeared a little pissed about it, but he signed the CD anyway.

2. Saddam Hussein had these lakes that he had guarded back when he was in power. These lakes have some of the biggest fish you’ve ever seen.

3. Many of the soldiers watch bootlegged movies and TV shows on DVD. My friend ended up getting a copy of The Wire season 4 for like 25 dollars in Iraq. That is a deal. I hope he was able to get some people hooked on the show.

4. He said part of their job there was to search for weapons caches around local neighborhoods. When they would take these weapons away, the neighborhoods were quiet for a couple of nights. But, then there would be a new supply of weapons brought in.

5. Yes the reports sectarian fighting in mixed neighborhoods, Sunni and Shiite, are true, but he believes there are outside forces coming in and starting this in fighting between the two groups. He’s hearing it’s either former Ba'th Party members or terrorists groups fanning the flames.

6. I asked him about the Kurds. He said, “They’re some of the toughest people I’ve ever seen. You don’t fuck with the Kurds; trust me you don’t want too. They’re well organized, and they will clear out an area.”