Kerry Dupont is diminutive and soft-spoken but she has the guts of a Marine. She has been traveling to Iraq and she’s writing about it on her blog.
We blew a tire on the road, there were so many cars with plates from Mosul on that road and though I am able to say I felt no fear, some of my guides were feeling a bit anxious over me being there. That’s the terrible thing. I can handle causing myself fear, but not being the cause for others. The other thing that was disconcerting was watching the driver every time a rock was sent up from a lorry, and hit the windshield with a crack, he would automatically duck his head as a reflex. That brought home the reality of living in Baghdad for the past years to me. I couldn’t possibly feel as scared as most Iraqis, because I haven’t lived in that climate of fear for that long. But I remember too well the feeling immediately following Sept.11 here. Too many have forgotten it. Yes, we were resolved. But most were always waiting for the next attack, specifically in the first week following. I only wish people could keep that in mind when they are losing patience with Iraq. For them, it is like living in NYC every day as the day after September 11, only the attacks don’t stop, so the fight/flight reflex is always just below the surface. And they’ve been doing it for decades. And people wonder why it’s taking “so long”….
