Tuesday, February 22, 2005
The risks of over-exposure
From the Sunday Times comes this heartwarming tale of everyday life in an Iraqi suburb.
One particular American soldier had an unfortunate habit of urinating into the street from the top of his Bradley armoured vehicle. This practice angered and offended local Sunni Muslim inhabitants, not because of the urinating as such, rather the way the soldier exposed himself regardless of whether any women were around to see him.
In a comical attempt to tackle the problem, local insurgents fired off first a rocket-propelled grenade and then a Russian C5K missile, but missed on both occasions. Finally, they called on the services of a former calligrapher. Read the full story to find out what happened.
The tale is both funny and sad, and illustrates how ordinary Iraqis who hated Saddam have nevertheless come to view the US military as occupiers who must be repelled.
