Trip to Mosul

Hi all,

The holidays have come and gone. Even though it wasn't official, we took the day off on Christmas. The Iraqis also celebrate a holiday during this time. They celebrate Eid ul-Adha. This is supposed to be the time that Abraham took Ismail to the mountain to be sacrificed. This is one of the key differences between Islam and Judeo-Christian beliefs. You were correct if you thought it was Isaac. The Sunnis and the Shiites don't agree on the dates of this either. One says it's the 19th-24th and the other says it's the 24th-29th. So, Iraq takes the whole 10 day period as a holiday. Smart planning. Like Thanksgiving the meal was good, and we took time to eat all day and watch movies. New Years was a little less eventful. We still worked, so no one really stayed up to countdown the new year. Iraqis fired rifles into the air, cause that's what they do when they celebrate something. I just returned from a trip up to Mosul. It's in the northern part of Iraq in Ninewa province. I went up to coordinate an economic forum for the province. Basically, we have been holding forums all over the country to give the federal government a chance to come to the provinces and make a public appearance. So, to an extent, we want people to know about them. But, sometimes the wrong people know and the security risk gets too great and we have to cancel them. Which is what happened this time. I was up there for about a week. It is nice to get out of the IZ, see some more of the country and see the work that goes on at the ground level. It is an entirely different perspective. The army regiment up there was very professional and were more than willing to do what ever it took to get the job done. They renewed my faith in the army. Being on a four star staff in the IZ has not made the best impression on me. 99% of the officers here don't seem to understand that sometimes there is a difference in reality and what the general wants, and that it is up to us to tell him that. While in Mosul I got to see St. Elijah's Monastery. It dates back to 4th or 6th century. It has been controlled by the Assyrians, Crusaders, and more recently the Iraqi and US armies. The Iraqis used to building as a tank headquarters, some of which are still behind the compound. When we took Mosul, there was a battle there. We ultimately won, but there is shrapnel and ordinance all over the compound. An anti-tank missile hit the main building and merely dented it. It must have been built well. You can see the part of the wall that the missile hit in the picture. The army claims they didn't know what the site was and the Iraqis just didn't care. A chaplain noticed the markings and notified the officers in charge. Eventually, then two-star general Petraeus gave the order to evacuate the premises. While there are some remnants of our presence, some graffiti, trash, ect, the army didn't seem to do any real damage to the structure or destroy it's historical significance. Plus, the oldest portions of the compound are buried underground and waiting excavation. I also got to meet the governor of Ninewa while we were planning the event. I have also changed jobs, again. I will now work banking issues. I'm still not sure of the details, but hopefully, since I only have about 4 1/2 months left, this will be my last job here.
Hope everyone is doing well.
Jase