It makes no difference that it is being reported that this is a bounty on Americans. Any member of the Coalition is eligible. It is not necessarily the first time I have had a bounty on me, either. It also is not going to have any effect on my work.

It does, however, give me an opportunity to reflect on the action here, and my feelings on it. Before I begin, though, I will state here, and repeat at the end, that I believe the Coalition is doing an effective job in preparing the people of Iraq for self-government. Schools are being opened and are filling with children. Word on the street is that, of all the actions the Coalition has taken, the one that has engendered the most good will in the Iraqi people is the free school supplies that have been given out. I have a feeling that the toy drive for Iraq will have a similar effect. Go here for more details on that topic.

That being said, I posted a new entry in the Poetry section. There are almost always more than two sides to a story, and this one is no exception. On one side, there is the Coalition. They are trying to get the people of Iraq ready for elections next year, prepare a local police force, and get home without being killed. On another side, there is the Resistance. They are interested in returning Iraq to the hands of the former regime, or what's left of it, and killing Coalition members is the course of action they have chosen to accomplish this.

The third side, one which is receiving little attention, is the average person that is trying to get some sleep in the middle of all this noise. The ordinary citizen of Iraq is going to have some serious choices to make soon. Over the past two days, he was told that he would be killed if he went to work, or if he sent his children to school. He was also told that the new hospital is open, and his kids really like the new school.

He was told that he will receive a substantial sum of money if he kills me. How does that make me feel about him?

Actually, and I'm somewhat surprised to see this on my screen, it doesn't have any effect on my feelings for him. I knew he would have to make this choice before I grabbed my laptop and got on a plane. Naturally, I would prefer he find another way to make a few hundred bucks, as would the people that would like to see me return, and the people that want to send me to the next trouble spot. (Between you and me, I thought I would be in Liberia by now. Remember Liberia? That little shindig ended a lot quicker than even I could have hoped.)

I can't help but remember, though, that there was this other country, a while back, in which a small resistance group was fighting against a larger force. I have to ask myself, and by default you also, what the reaction would be if we found out that the American Revolution, or the French Revolution, or any number of other independence movements or currently sucessful nations, were funded and orchestrated by outside agents. If Spain, for example, had George Washington on their payroll, how does that impact our view of the American Revolution?

Having now brought up the most sacred of American historical figures and asked such a question, I open the floor to debate. I reiterate, I am fully behind the Coalition effort to prepare the people of Iraq for self-rule. Debate as to how we arrived is useful only for future reference. As I have stated in previous posts, we are here, and this is now. all else is philosophy.