The Battle of Baquba

It was a hot and windy summer day when again chaos errupted in the city of baquba. on this day of june 25,2004 the iraqi insurgency sought out to cause as much havoc as possible before the june 30th deadline for an independent government. the vacant streets of the downtown area were covered in an ominous haze of dust and smoke as our convoy sped through in an attempt to reach a coalition occupied police station. once there, we were to assist as back-up in retaliation to rocket attacks earlier that morning. one mile from our destination we were ambushed by black-clad insurgents from roof tops and windows of surrounding buildings. we stopped
only long enough to fight through the attack, taking small arm fire and dodging rocket propelled grenades that were exploding around our gun trucks. we hastily countered the attack by responding with overwhelming fire power from 50 caliber machine guns and MK19 automatic grenade launchers. with no apparent life creeping in the hostile buildings, we reported the ambush to command and continued to traverse to the police station.
as we approached the fortified station, we could clearly see one block ahead of us an intense fire fight in progress. once secured inside the wire, myself and a small squad positioned ourselves on top of the building, to provide security and take sniper positions aimed at the conflict below.
what i saw was truly inspiring...

A large group of ordinary iraqi men and wide-eyed teenaged boys with ak-47 rifles were staging a fierce assault on what appeared to be the same militia men who had been attacking US forces all day. at first glance they had the darkly dressed insurgents on the run, killing any who chose to stand in the open to resist the attack. finally, the outnumbered group of militants dug into a defensive position provided by an abandoned building. small arm fire poured out of the windows at the advancing party of attackers. several of the advancing men dropped dead in their tracks. finally, the group positioned themselves behind the walls of the occupied building, completely surrounding their adversaries inside.
for several long minutes, no fire was exchanged. suddenly another large group of iraqis stormed up the street and advanced directly up to the building. the other armed iraqis followed suit and rushed into the battered structure. large amounts of gunfire were heard from within, accompanied by loud shouts and screaming. finally the attackers emerged into the street, cheering and thrusting their rifles above their heads. some men were dragging out their deceased friends while others were congratulating each other with broad smiles and firm handshakes. after a hasty celebration, a majority of the group assembled and trotted down the streets. more gunfire could be heard in the distance.
a captain approached our squad and asked us what we saw. we described the event that took place, but were unsure of why it had happened. the captain informed us that, apparently, the local population had decided earlier that enough was enough. growing tired of consistant violence in their once peaceful neighborhoods, a large group of ordinary buisnessmen, shop keeps, and farmers took up arms, put their frustrations of american occupation aside, and commenced to weed out the insurgency that had taken over baquba the previous night. what we witnessed was the citizens of baquba taking back their proud city.

from the very start, the war in iraq has been nothing more than a power grab. the Bush Administration expresses the US's intentions of establishing democracy with the hidden agenda to build a corporate economy in the middle east. on the other hand, sects of Islamic extremists fight to drive out the occupying american forces, led by men such as Muqtada al-Sadr, who only wish to set up his own autonomous power. members of the Ba'ath party fight to take back what was once saddam hussein's regime, while Shi'ite holy warriors fight to perpetuate their own conformed ideologies, often seeking help from al qaeda terrorists. as in any war, innocent civilians are murdered and maimed by the ensuing violence. nobody thus far has represented the voice of the people, not until the battle of baquba.
on june 25th, it was the citizens of baquba who were the true freedom fighters. although the battle that took place was of a small scale confined within its own city limits, the people's intentions to fight back were sound. it took great courage for ordinary men to take arms and defend their neighborhoods. these brave people set a good example of what needs to be done in the rest of iraq if a true democracy is to take hold. the founding of a democratic iraq should not be secured through outside intervention, nor should the iraqis succumb to extremism within its borders. Henry David Thoreau once said that the people get exactly the government in which they deserve. if this is true, than iraq's future for an independent government rests solely in the hands of the iraqi people, the same people who fought whole-heartedly for their livelihoods in the city of baquba.

--hEkLe
baquba, iraq