Visiting Iraq: Cartoonist Chris Muir

Chris Muir writes a political cartoon, day-by-day. He recently visited Baghdad. Here are a few clips from his post at The Fourth Rail. Read the whole thing. It's quick and humorous. And it's straight talk from someone there, not a politician looking for votes or a broadcaster looking for ratings (and votes).

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Sand is a misnomer; subatomic particulate I think describes the main element present in Kuwait, Iraq, et al. A fine dust that finds it way everywhere and into anything, it also makes for an astonishingly mobile mud that actually travels up one's pants when it (infrequently) rains. I still grind when I walk.
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OK, I made that one up, but you get the picture, even if they wouldn't. Baghdad, like any large city, is largely quiet except where terrorist (gang) activity takes place. If you toured Watts in LA, only, well yes, there's violence. But 99.8% of the city is just fine. Then again, there aren't large amounts of US heavily armed soldiers touring through it, so...
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I went on patrols most every day, with 1-9 Cav, and 2-7 Cav, respectively. The MSM had geared me up to expect RPGs flitting about like ginormous mosquitos, but I gotta tell ya, I couldn't draw a single shot while I was there.
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Contrary to what one hears, these guys are so oversupplied with armor, they leave some of it on base so they can maneuver effectively on patrol, whether body armor or Humvee armor.
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In the brief time I was there, I attended meetings where everyone was working with each other, I mean sheiks, the Police Chief of the city, US Army, Kurds, Sunnis, Shia, cats and dogs, everyone- together. There are real divisions here, but also a real determination to weld the place into a more stable society.
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People here will tell you they are mostly afraid of one thing-that we will leave soon, like we have since Vietnam, Somalia, etc., and that they will then be at the mercy of the terrorists who seep in from Iran, Syria, Egypt, and Saudia Arabia. ... People here ... want us here to give them time to reform their society.

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From a fellow dork, thanks for the perspective, Chris.