Apr
17
2009
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Murders in Baghdad |
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Written by JD Johannes
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Friday, 17 April 2009 |
In 2007 Baghdad, Iraq was the undisputed murder capital of the world.
In the West Rashid district of Baghdad, the mayhem had spiraled so far out of control, the few residents that remained nick-named the district 'The Arena.'
While embedded with U.S. Infantry units in West Rashid in 2007, those murders, referred to by the military as Extra Judicial Killings, were a part of my daily life.
What we know now is that a few of those murders were committed by U.S. Forces.
This week a U.S. Soldier from a unit I embedded with was convicted of murder. Others from the unit have already been Court Martialed and convicted.
The unit was Alpha Company 1-18.
They are the subject of my new documentary, "Baghdad Happens".
I was not embedded with them when the murders were committed and to my knowledge, none of the Soldiers who overcame the twists of fortune to turn a mission from failure to success and are featured in "Baghdad Happens" are involved in the criminal proceedings.
It is always an honor and privilege for me to film and live with soldiers and I have the deepest respect for the young men who volunteered to take on the responsibility of warfare.
The events unfolding in the military court rooms and what is depicted in my documentay "Baghdad Surge" and "Baghdad Happens" are a tale of two approaches to war.
In "Baghdad Surge" the movie begins with a terrorist attack on some member of the Iraqi Highway Patrol and is followed-up shortly with a murder comitted by Iraqi Police.
In "Baghdad Happens" the Soldiers of Alpha prevent a murder.
In "Baghdad Surge" Captain Brian Ducote is determined to bring justice to the Iraqi police who murdered a man his unit's area of responsibility. The departed was definately not a good guy, but Ducote would not tolerate murder.
Less than a kilometer away from Ducote, other soldiers had been dispensing street justice Baghdad style.
The U.S. Army is showing clearly that it will not tolerate murder.
The most difficult part of counter insurgency is the moral component and the restraint needed to maintain that morality.
While it is impossible to win hearts and minds, it is possible to be consistent in following the rules of land warfare and that consistency makes the coalition a better alternative than the arbitrary and capricious militias.
Maintaining a moral code in combat is more difficult than actual combat operations. It requires a degree of self control civillians never have to face.
In 2007, I could feel the dread in Baghdad. Death permeated the city. It was almost like a pall had fallen on the city bringing out the worst in humans.
The Soldiers of the Surge lived with that death every day for their entire tour. Alpha had the absolute worst of it.
After a month in Baghdad, I went back to Al Anbar province. It felt like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders.
A few of the soldiers of Alpha succumbed to that weight, they were crushed by the darkness and became a part of it.
While I cannot condone their behaviour, I do understand how it happens.
"Baghdad Happens" shows some of the soldiers of Alpha Company. It is a different kind of documentary. It is upbeat. It captures the thrill of a successful mission and the complexity of even a simple mission.
It captures a group of young men on one day. It is a snap shot of the war. And that snap shot shows a group of brave men.
"Baghdad Happens" is the unintentional counter-balance to what is unfolding in the courts martial in Germany.
As the story of the courts martial grows, which it will, I hope my movie shows that there is more to the story of Alpha Company.
Yes, the darkness captured the souls of a few men, but far more of the men of Alpha were the ones who beat back the night and brought light and life back to West Rashid and Baghdad.
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