Nov
09
2009
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Snapshots from Tikrit |
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Written by JD Johannes
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Monday, 09 November 2009 |
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(The companion story to this photo essay can be found here )
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| General Abdullah (Ret.) and LTC Cain, commanding officer of the 2-32 talk politics in Tikrit. |
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| JD with LTC Ahmed, commander of an elite police unit, the RDU |
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| The RDU's unit patch |
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Tea and Coke Diplomacy. Iraq is a hospitality based culture
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| The flare from one of the units of the Bayji oil refinery, an economic center of gravity |
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| The home office of Captain Ali Shaquir, head of the Bayji SWAT |
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| Dinner being cooked |
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| Eating dinner with Ali Shaquir (Left in the dress shirt) |
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| The meal. In Iraq you eat with your hands and grab the food with your hands from the serving platter |
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| LTC Paul Kreis, commanding officer of the 2-16 Infantry
poses with CPT Ali Shaquir of the Bayji area SWAT Team. Captain
Shaquir had given Kries a dish dasha and head dress as a gift |
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| 1LT Kyle Krebs discussing security with Sheik Mohammed |
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| Before sitting down to talk security, politics and
economics, the officers took their boots off. Note the M-4s are still
there and loaded |
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| Lunch at Shiek Mohammed's. It seems like
all I do is ride around in the back of MRAPs, eat and drink tea |
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| The Force Protection Dogs have adapted to the slower operating tempo |
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| As the bases and outposts close down, some
dogs will be brought to the US. Many will be euthanized, a very few
will be taken in by Iraqis |
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| Iraqi Army Lieutenant with a uniquely American patch on his uniform |
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| The Jebul Makhul mountain range that runs through
Sala Ad Din (Saladin) province. Not much of a mountain range, but in a
place with few hills, they seem like real mountain |
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