"Who's your Baghdaddy?" a Iraq Travel Page by american_tourister

I have been in and out since the middle of October 2003. I did not have a lot of time to write at first because I worked 14-18 hour days, 7 days a week to build camps for the troops. This was followed by many other projects including some Civil Affairs projects for the locals.

I have many encounters now with Iraqis who are warm, hospitible, and are glad we are here. We bring the one thing that they have lacked for over 30 years. We bring hope. We bring hope that they can reclaim their country from anyone who would rule them regardless of religious standing or poltical affliation.

Most of the Iraqis want us to finish this off, give them stability, and then go home. That is what we want too. We want to help them on their feet, begin a democracy, and then go home.

None of us wants to stay, none of us want to kill. All of us have the conviction and the will to stay the course though. We came on a mission and it is not complete.

The coalition changed many times and many nations were a part but the stalwarts of the UK, Australia, Poland, Macedonia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, and El Salvador are high on my friends list. They stayed with us through thick and thin. Some of the others cut and run for whatever reasons they had and that was their decision. I don't like it but it is what it is and I don't blame the people of those countries, just their weak leadership.

I hope I can return one day with my son and walk these mean stareets as a tourist. I would love to interact and see Iraq as it should be, an ancient and beautiful place which carries the mantle as the cradle of civilization.