"I am out all over without force protection"...."Thanks for caring"

[SoCalDem]

Hi XXXXXXX

I am sorry, It has being very tense here, Many died over the last thirty days, I am out all over without force protection,I have to be careful when and how to communicate.Thanks for caring....XXX

---

I finally heard from my friend....

This is the only recent email I have gotten from my friend in Iraq.. I have been so worried about him, and had not heard from him since March.. There is no other "contact info" for him, so when he did not answer my emails , I feared the worst..

He is now "out of uniform", since he is Iraqi.. (He told me this , the last time I heard from him, and it has me really worried) He is active US Army, yet, since he is a native Iraqi, I am so afraid that he is now being put in danger because they are basically using him (and probably others) to "go out amongst the people", and yet, since he is associated with the CPA, he might as well be wearing a bull's-eye on his back.:cry:

For those of you who do not know "his story".. He is my one and only ever..{really wealthy} friend....{as in he did not have to do this}.. He is a generous and kind man with everything one could covet here in America. He has been a US citizen since he came here as a young person. His family fled when Saddam took over...they abandoned everything and ran for their lives.. I can only assume that he is not a Sunni, although we never had any converstaion about religion..

He sent his child out of the US to finish high school, and moved his wife to (another middle eastern country), so they might be able to see each other occasionally while he is there.

This man at {age redacted}, volunteered, and expected to be translating papers (redacted), but instead was "drafted" into active duty, and in a Quixotic spirit, set off to "reclaim" the country of his childhood. I knew just how serious he was when he sold his precious {redacted} convertible , and their gorgeous house.

He has lost about 45 pounds..(he jokingly said that his uniform did not fit him anymore anyway, so civvies were ok with him)..He was so excited to be "doing something positive", and now I am worried sick for him..

He was our conduit for the Iraqi family care packages we sent , but almost as soon as they arrived, things got terrible over there.. I hate to press him for details about when and how they were delivered, but I am sure that they were distributed.

I fear that he is so committed to his "mission", that coming "home" (here) is no longer an option.. I think he is "in it" to the end.. whatever that may be :cry:


editied to remove some "possibly identifying information"..thanks AP :)

edited again.. more redacted

[ethereal]

1. What a brave and honorable man!

My thoughts and prayers go out to your friend, SoCalDem.

[AJ BENDER]

2. Be Safe Ray !

One of my co-workers son in stationed in Iraq...the thought that you know someone though any degree of connection there really makes you cringe when you consider the dangers posed to these innocent individual...Iraqi & Americans

:hi:

[AP]

3. are you sure you want to give so many details about someone who's

under cover?

[SoCalDem]

4. Thanks.. I was overcome with relief when I heard from him, and

just started writing.. I edited some out.. Thanks for the "catch"..

[AP]

5. How 'bout age, approximate weight,

gender and approximate age of child, the make and model year of the car he sold, occupations, income, where he lived in the US, etc.

His name is still in the thread title (and in people's responses).

That post is chocked full of details.

[SoCalDem]

7. The weight thing is not that identifying, since no one

would know how much he weighed BEFORE :).. I think I got it all now :)

[Robbien]

6. I hope your friend keeps safe

and comes home to his family when his job is completed. I also hope that your friend's dreams for his native country come true, at least in some measure.