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Editor's note: This is a story you have to see to believe, and you will, tonight, as Mike continues his reporting from Iraq as part of the broadcast's 'On the Line' series.
FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Babil Province, Iraq -- I looked up at the cold, starlit sky and saw I was bedded down beneath the handle of the Big Dipper. It made me smile to see something so familiar, because nothing else about the night was.
In a convoy of Bradley tanks and Humvees, producer John Zito and cameraman Bill Angellucci and I had been returning with an infantry company from a frustrating raid on a suspected al-Qaida stronghold in Diyala Province only to run into a nest of IEDs -- the dreaded improvised explosive devices that have become one of the signatures of this protracted war. One explosive had been touched off by Zito’s Humvee, and another, a huge one, literally blew the track off the 37-ton Bradley tank that was next in line, disabling it completely and blocking the narrow dirt road that was our way home. Amazingly there were no casualties or serious injuries, though a piece of flying shrapnel sliced the cheek of one of the Humvee gunners. When help had been summoned, those support vehicles ran into more IEDs -- we counted seven in all and were told later there'd been at least a dozen -- and the decision was made to stay put, keep a rotating watch of soldiers for protection, and wait for daylight when the rescue could resume.
I didn’t think I’d be able to sleep at all jammed among six other guys wearing full armor and helmets in the back of a Bradley, so I crawled into a sleeping bag on the slope of a berm outside, knowing soldiers on rotating watch would always be nearby, and tried for sleep there. By midnight it was freezing but I’d pulled the bag closed and somehow drifted off, and when I came out of a deep and dreamless sleep it was nearly 4 a.m. Four good hours. Enough. I talked to some of the soldiers then awake, told them I thought as I’d drifted off that I’d heard bursts of small arms fire and a few more explosions. Snipers and mortars, they confirmed, who knows where they were firing from. The infantrymen, though alert for a fight, didn’t know where exactly to aim it and so hadn’t returned fire. Our convoy was intact, if paralyzed around the disabled Bradley. One of the soldiers said they’d all had a good laugh when they checked on me at one point: their flashlight had confirmed that I was snoring away, just fine, even as a brace of warthogs and a couple of rats were foraging away just over the berm behind my head. I didn’t think that was nearly as funny as they did.
Photo caption: The disabled Bradley with its blown-off tread. Photo by Mike Taibbi.
From daybreak on, when the rescue effort fired up, it took seven long hours for a clearance team to tediously check the road leading to our position for more IEDs, and to lead a huge Hercules tow vehicle to the crippled Bradley. As we limped back up the road our Bradley and one other hooked up two more vehicles that had been struck by IEDs, a Humvee and an older troop carrier, and towed them back to a secure staging area called Copper, near the Tampa Highway that would lead us all back to Camp Kalsu some 20 miles to the south.
By the time we entered that secure base, our NBC team had been gone two full days for what was supposed to have been a quick strike lightening raid, with air support and clear objectives; two full days that ended up including one long tense night as sitting ducks deep in al-Qaida country, with a $30 million Bradley and at least one of the Humvees toasted completely.
Photo caption: From left to right, producer John Zito, Taibbi and camerman Bill Angellucci moments after returning safely to base. Photo by NBC sound technician Stan Ouse.
The raid had been triggered by local intelligence, including meetings with the leaders of several of the 30 or so local tribes, suggesting al-Qaida had been making a big time move into the farm country west of the Tigris River about 30 miles south of Baghdad. We’d sat in on one of the endless “sheik meetings” and saw how frustrating that process was.
The sheik, Haji Mahmood al Joubady, complained his family’s weapons had all been confiscated in an earlier house search and he wanted them back. He said he had two wives, seven brothers and nine sons, most of the brothers and sons former soldiers and intelligence officers in Saddam’s army, and that some in his family thought he was a traitor for working with the Americans. “We need our weapons back for our protection,” he kept saying through a translator. When told he might be able to get one of his AK-47s back, at some point, he shook his head unhappily, saying “Why do the Americans do this to me?”
Everybody sipped sweet tea and there didn’t seem to be any tension in the room, but the army officers we were with knew two of the sheik’s nephews were already jailed for insurgent activities and suspected some of his brothers and sons were among those setting off IEDs locally. Still, they nodded in sympathy at the sheik’s complaints and thanked him in advance for the help they asked him to continue giving. Capt. Jim Browning of the infantry company we’d been embedded with said to us on the way out, "What choice do we have? We have deal with the sheik, and with all the others. It’s a slow, slow process..." I thought, no kidding.
Those sheik meetings, as well as other intelligence sources, contributed to the belief that al-Qaida types had been terrorizing local farmers into leaving their homes and had set up shop on the grounds of an old zoo, storing weapons and gathering and maybe training recruits. Aerial photos showed a lot of truck traffic on the zoo grounds, and seemed to support the notion that something was brewing. Hence, the mission we’d joined.
But our element of the raiding party, including a platoon from the Third Infantry Division that we’d been following since their training days stateside in January, had the job of checking and securing the houses near the zoo grounds and came up just about empty. One farmer approached the soldiers and volunteered that al-Qaida "terrorists," as the interpreter translated, had in fact come through only the week before and had driven even more of his neighbors from their homes. The farmer explained he and his extended family were gathered in a house up the road. When we got there an obligatory search turned up clips of ammo and a coil of command wire in a car with identification papers for the farmer’s nephew, who was immediately handcuffed and detained. That copper wire, said Capt. Phil Denton, was the type used almost exclusively in this war to set off IEDs.
Suddenly there was a fearsome wail of anguish from the mother of the man being detained. She broke away from her husband and others who were trying to restrain her and dove at the Humvee carrying her son even as the vehicle got underway, almost falling under the wheels before the vehicle could slow to a stop. Finally her family caught up with her and literally dragged her back to the house; we could hear her screaming long after she was out of sight.
Capt. Denton had seen that sort of thing before. "Nobody likes to see their relatives leave like that," he said, but he also knew the broader truth, that IEDs are the scourge of this war and U.S. forces need to get a handle on how to control their use. Some might be set by al-Qaida forces openly at war with the U.S.; some by militias or extremists on either side of the Shia-Sunni divide; and some just by desperate people looking to make a few bucks. We had no way of knowing who had planted the IEDs we ran into, only that that primitive device had paralyzed a convoy of high-tech, high-powered war-fighting vehicles along with a company of eager and able infantry, and kept us all at bay for a full night and most of the next day.
We were lucky -- no casualties. But what exactly had been accomplished? A few marginal suspects, none apparently al-Qaida imports, and no piles of weapons. No proof the American war effort was winning over any more hearts and minds, not in this rural swatch of the country anyway, despite the genuine efforts we saw firsthand. Proof instead that here, as elsewhere in Iraq, it is unsafe and uncertain and far from any concept of "victory" for virtually everyone.
This is the war away from the headlines -- days of routine, grave danger infused not so much by boiling rage or pointed politics, as by sadness and deep frustration.
Read more from Mike Taibbi, On the Line
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The no-headlines war By Mike Taibbi, NBC News Correspondent FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Babil Province, Iraq -- I looked...
Posted on Apr 6, 2007 12:27:31 PM at: WorldBlog
Early Nightly is up
great writing, and thanks to mike and crew for being imbedded with our brave troops! please tell them we are proud of the job they are doing, and keep looking for our MIA's we are praying for their safe return, soon. Glad to see a truth in the media once in a while. Be safe!
Blue Star Mom, Orange County, CA (Sent May 17, 2007 11:10:02 PM)
Hey Mike, crew and all you great soldiers!!! We are with you in spirit! And some of us realize what a job to be done...and want it taken care of over there! great posts, it helps to hear the great things that are happening, and the frustrating, and the dangers. The truth! To bad the main media olny puts out all the negatives, but not all of us buy that you know! Our prayers to our young MIA's Keep on Looking!!! Bring them back home....bless everyone one of you, Be safe!!
(Sent May 17, 2007 11:06:51 PM)
I was at FOB Kalsu in 2005 as well as FOB Dogwood and Iskandiriyah. We are too shortsided as a society to see what the "Victory" is. I do believe that we need to pull out of Iraq at this point, not because we arent doing good or we cannot win, but because the social climate in America has made it impossible. Trust me, we will be back over there but for now the politicians are making it impossible. Pull the media out and let soldiers do what soldiers are supposed to do. If you want to know what is going on in the war then go to your local recruiters office and enlist. Dont eat the sausage and talk of how good it tastes and then complain when you find out how it's made.
Derek, Tulsa, Ok (Sent May 16, 2007 6:10:43 PM)
congrats on a job well done! i cannot imagine being in harms way, without the fantastic protection by the men and women of the us military. who have work with antiquated equipment,run by a loose cannon (j.w.bush)
who could not even finish his enlistment in us military without running home too papa ( please get me out of this nightmare). who puts our men and women in harms way so that he can serve vicariusly through their efforts. its time to get out of this unwinable war,and let the FACTIONS in iraq fight it out as they have for centurys.
Gene Magill,Olathe,co. (Sent Apr 18, 2007 10:22:41 AM)
The problem is IRAN!!! They have to be attacked NOW!!! Al-Queada is in IRAN!!! The Bathists are in IRAN!!! The Ayatohla is in IRAN!! What part of this don't you people understand?!!!!
LGF fan, Minneapolis, MN (Sent Apr 15, 2007 4:31:43 PM)
It sickens me to read the comments from those wishing to use this to voice their political agenda. The is about the troops and their mission to win this war. I appreciate your reporting and want nothing more than for this war to end quickly. If anyone wants to place blame for our brave soldiers death and injuries please blame the insurgents and foreign fighters. Commom sense and the sense of American patriotism must return to our great nation. Keep up the good work and God bless our valiant troops serving in harms way while we remain safe at home.
(Sent Apr 14, 2007 10:05:47 PM)
Hello there Mike and Co.
Hell of a job your doing, keep the info coming.
Thanks for puting yourselves in harms way to get the story to us. My son is a US Army Infantry man and I'm
very proud of him. Keep Safe.
Gail Bentley, Nashua NH (Sent Apr 11, 2007 11:45:33 AM)
Mike, a tough job for tough men. My prayers are with you, our troops over there and all of our military.
God bless and see you home soonest.
keith
Keith Everhart Maryland (Sent Apr 9, 2007 1:17:30 PM)
30 million for a Bradley?.... Pretty sure I could buy one off the line for 3.1 million. Is that a typo or another example of defense contractors raping U.S. Taxpayers for their blood and dollars. BAE (British company) now owns UDI (maker of the Bradley)... so I guess a foreign company overcharging the US government is common practice..... Interesting!
R. Z., Burnsville, MN (Sent Apr 9, 2007 11:02:41 AM)
Mr. Mike;
Thank you for all your hard work over there! Please take care of my Daddy (camerman, Bill Angelucci) and please take care of yourself! Give Daddy a hug from me and my sisters. We all love watching you on the news and seeing what Daddy is doing over there.
Love, Abbi Angelucci
Abbi. Hamilton,NJ (Sent Apr 9, 2007 8:37:20 AM)
Mike;
Just a quick note of "thanks" to you and your team for your honest, straightforward reporting! As always, I enjoy watching your pieces when they come on! Been a dedicated fan since your first trip into Afghanistan in '01 (yourself, Bill, Paul, Ara). NBC is blessed to have such a dedicated, professional team of men willing to put everything at risk to give the people back home honest, indepth coverage. I truly hope that viewers take to heart the hard work and sacrifice involved in order for a group of unarmed Americans to bring us the news as we sit comfortably on our sofas back home. It is my hope that viewers appreciate the long, (often dangerous) hours/days involved in the shooting of one 5 minute piece. Take care of yourself, stay safe, and take care of that camerman of yours....he has 3 beautiful little girls who want him safely back on U.S. soil!!!!! Godspeed!
Mom of 3 from Jersey (Sent Apr 9, 2007 8:20:21 AM)
Mike take care and be careful. I guess you already heard that another 12,000 troops are going to be sent to Iraq. My question is, why dont'they send those prisoners that are in jail, (killers, theives, drug dealers, etc.) to go fight for our country; instead, of those poor young soldiers that are being sent to be killed. Here we are giving those prisoners food and shelter that they don't even deserve. Let them go fight those animals in Iraq! And yes that president should be impeached.
Supporter of our troops (Sent Apr 9, 2007 12:44:50 AM)
No, the "surge" is not working! It simply accomplishes what no one wants it to accomplish: turning Iraq into a Maximum Security Prison, which the Iranians are waiting to take over when the Americans leave! The only way the U.S. can save the situation is to use the surge to proclaim a free Kurdistan, and simultaneously split the rest of Iraq between the Shiites and the Sunnis! Before this happens, European Union must get on board neutralizing any Turkish attempt to sabotage this plan! Turkey must be told to go along, or else never be admitted to EU! In other words, EU seems to be holding the key to the Plan "B."
bohdansz@hotmail.com (Sent Apr 8, 2007 11:45:04 AM)
"There are many lives that are lost on the streets in the US that are for nothing (drunk drivings, drive by shootings, drug overdose, suicides...)."
That's your analogy to rationalize a war built on lies?
Dude you are seriously delusional or in some deep denial that your beloved Lord W is willing to send young men& women to their deaths in or to justify the War profiteers bottom line
MJK Chicago (Sent Apr 7, 2007 10:55:21 PM)
As I go the gas station every month, I am always perplexed at the variations in the price. 15 British soldiers were captured by Iran and I see a 15 cents increase. Can 15 unknown, and otherwise insignificant, individuals effect me that much? What roll do they play in the world market that can influence my pocket book? I often think of the consequences of the sacrifices of the 3200+ lives of brave Americans offered up the the oil god, and their blood splattered on the alter of greed. Their sacrifices make a difference in how much we can drive, how much we pay for food, clothes, electricity, heating and cooling costs and the thousands of other necessities that we don't even think about. We need not see another 911 to understand that the sacrifices they made effects us everyday in very real and concrete ways. There are many lives that are lost on the streets in the US that are for nothing (drunk drivings, drive by shootings, drug overdose, suicides...). That is what makes the lives of our brave soldiers that much more precious, and why they are heroes.
Dave, Durham, NC (Sent Apr 7, 2007 3:50:14 PM)
A $30,000,000.00 Bradley..??..must have been made of gold....
Fred Smith, Peachtree City, GA (Sent Apr 7, 2007 1:49:38 PM)
Thank you for reporting on the 3rd ID. My son was with them during their 2005 tour of duty. In 2008 we, the American people, are going to elect someone that will end the occupation! Change is coming!
LoriP
LoriP, Dallas TX (Sent Apr 7, 2007 10:42:53 AM)
I want to say I support our troops and every life lost, means a loss of another GOOD man/woman this country seems to have so few of.
It amazes me how the “all-knowing” want to Monday night quarterback this War. EVERYONE of the Politicians DEMS/REP/INDEP ALL voted to go to War. So place the blame where it belongs on ALL POLITICANS, not just one. Where are most of the naysayers getting their information? I have a very good friend who returned from Iraq says we are doing the right thing helping the Iraqi's.
Everyone in the military is a volunteer; no one held a gun to their head and forced them to join.
Instead of using this form to complain about issues you have no control over, use it to support Mike and those brave sons and daughters who are willing to pay the ultimate sacrifice for freedom. I personally prefer the war to be fought outside the boundaries of the USA. I lost a friend (on Flight 11) in the World trade attack. I see how quickly people forget or are so far removed from NYC they didn’t see the affects of the attack, so out of site out of mind for them.
Mike I apologize for using your form as others have. I think your reporting the frontline is awesome! Keep your head down; I am very impressed with your ability to sleep while fighting is going on around you, just goes to show how you have the utmost confidence in our professional fighting men/women.
Take care and keep up reporting the good things our service men and women are doing. To all our Servicemen and women THANK YOU!!
Supporter of the US Military men and women, DE (Sent Apr 6, 2007 11:27:20 PM)
My Husband is over there with you, Mike. Please take care of yourselves and all of the soldiers. You are all our heroes. Come home soon!
(Sent Apr 6, 2007 8:52:27 PM)
"My husband is there right now. Most of you people are all talk and no action. How many of you actually know first hand what you are talking about? You say you know what is best for this country, but you wouldn't get up off your butt to do one thing for this country."
Right.....
(Sent Apr 6, 2007 6:12:52 PM)
I have had the priviledge of talking to veterans from WW I, WW II, Vietnam, Korea, Desert Storm, and recent returnees. These Men and Woman made incredible and often silent sacrifices that only witnessing and expereincing can teach you. Some carry with them bizarre memories that are incredibly frightening and often painful. These memories are in great contrast with the environment they return to and live in. We send our young men and weomen into war and rob them of their innocence, relationships, but not their hope and courage. To live and breathe a day without conflict is a victory in itself. There is no such thing as a good war. If there was, those who vote for it would be the first to make contact. This might improve the process utilized to commit our forces to war.
I have had the profound honor and value the memories of talking with these incredible Americans. They are consistent from first to last to honor, bravery, grit and keeping their lives grounded and moving. We, who talk about war but never fight it, owe these Americans everything. Above all, respect and support for what they have and will give up on our behalf.
My sincere thanks, gratitude and hope for a safe return, Rick, Washington, USA
Rick, Lake Tapps, Washington (Sent Apr 6, 2007 5:28:01 PM)
amen Grandmother from Greensburg, IN.
What would it take to make everybody happy?
A president who legalizes weed and doesn't care what happens to other countries or what other countries might do to ours?
Let the Troops use tranquilizers instead of bullets?
replace people with robots to fight a war?
perhaps another 911 like attack will open your eyes again? just perhaps?
NBC I salute your courage to go to a hostile terrority unarmed. keep up the good work.
Godspeed to the troops.
John Doe, Seattle, Wash. (Sent Apr 6, 2007 3:31:25 PM)
Nice argumentations, I enjoy 'em very much. Mike your story is unbelievable. Pray that you're safe till you return. Thx men!!!!!!!!!
Daniel Cougal (Sent Apr 6, 2007 3:02:38 PM)
My gratitude, appreciation and support to our troops.
Your professionalism is the best protection.
drh, Central Fla. (Sent Apr 6, 2007 11:55:36 AM)
I AM OLDER THAN MOST WITH A HUSBAND RETIRED FROM THE MILITARY. FOR THE LIFE OF ME I CANNOT UNDERSTAND WHY SO MANY DO NOT GET IT. WE ARE THE BIGGEST , MOST TECHNOLICAL, ADVANCED COUNTRY IN THE WORLD. WITH THAT COMES RESPONSIBILITIES. YES,SOME OTHER COUNTRIES DON'T LIKE US, ARE JEALOUS OF OUR FREE, DEMOCRATIC WAY OF LIFE BUT WHEN IN TROUBLE THEY TURN TO US FOR HELP. WE CANNOT TURN OUR COUNTRY INTO INSOLATION. THAT WAS TRIED IN WW1 AND DID NOT WORK. WE HAVE TO HELP KEEP THE WORLD FREE AND SAFE. IF WE DO NOT, THE WORST OF THE WORST ARE WAITING TO TAKE OVER. AND TAKE OVER THEY WILL. HISTORY HAS REPEATED THAT OVER AND OVER. EVEN IN BIBLICAL TIMES, THERE WERE WARS AND RUMORS OF WARS. IT TOOK A BRAVE AND READIED COUNTRY TO KEEP THINGS SAFE AND IN ORDER FOR A TIME. THIS IS NOT A WAR LIKE ANY OTHER. HOW MANY OF THE POLITICIANS HAVE EVEN BEEN IN A WAR AND EVEN UNDERSTAND HOW IT WORKS. EITHER WE DEFEND OVER THERE OR WE LOSE OVER HERE. IS THAT WHAT IT WILL TAKE FOR THOSE DOING THE MOST COMPLAINING TO UNDERSTAND? I AM SO PROUD OF OUR MILITARY AND I STAND BEHIND THE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF WHO WANTS THEM TO HAVE THE BEST TO DEFEND OVER THERE SO WE CAN ENJOY OUR FREEDOM OVER HERE. IT IS LIKE "I AM OLDER AND UNDERSTAND WHY WE ARE OVER THERE-WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE WHINIEST WHO CANNOT SEE THAT."
GRANDMOTHER, GREENSBURG,IN
(Sent Apr 6, 2007 11:39:11 AM)
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