Nickname: Blaise

Review: Ted's story is a good read of an important part of the US mission in Iraq--a part that the media rarely finds compelling to report on. I enjoyed hearing about Kirkuk and the KBC because it brought back memories of my time in Kirkuk (Apr 03-Mar 04). You see, my mixed team of Civil Affairs and Infantry soldiers started the KBC from scratch and ran it for its first year. Like Ted, I'm a CA reservist whose civilian career is business development both domestically and in developing countries. I'm happy some of the things we started are still alive and being improved by our successors. Unlike Ted, I didn't eagerly go to Iraq in January 2003, but I freely admit that my time working with the local people was wonderfully rewarding. I'm proud to have worked with so many fine Kirkuk Iraqis and US soldiers. Ted is absolutely right when he attributes value to our work in Kirkuk because it contributes to US mission accomplishment and makes such a positive difference in the lives of ordinary Iraqis.

Date reviewed: Oct 29, 2005 11:25 PM

Nickname: Anurup Joseph

Review: Ms. Klein probably misunderstood the acronym used by her interview subject, Mr. Hilliard. Her article quotes him as saying, "we'd only have IADS [integrated air defense systems] and rockets or mortars." Most likely, Mr. Hilliard said "IED", which means "Improvised Explosive Device", i.e., homemade bomb in American military parlance. By contrast, an "IADS" or "Integrated Air Defense System" is typically a land-based air defense system using radars to automatically target anti-air missile and gun batteries. While I can certainly appreciate that insurgents would use rockets, mortars, and IEDs, it is hard to think of a scenario in which the town of Kirkuk would come under attack from an IADS. ;-)

Date reviewed: Oct 24, 2005 9:37 AM