A Glimmer of Hope

By the third year of the war, the white house focused on turning Iraq into a showcase of Middle Eastern democracy. In the first of three elections in 2005, millions of jubilant Iraqis waved their purple-stained fingers for the cameras—a rare triumphal moment. The fact that the vast majority of them were Shiites and Kurds was an ominous sign. As elected politicians wrote a constitution and divvied up ministries, the Sunnis who had not voted were increasingly marginalized. Terrorists like Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi fed off that resentment, launching a horrific series of bombings aimed largely at Shiite civilians in hopes of sparking a civil war.

For U.S. troops, increasingly ensconced within their huge, relatively secure bases, the violence became a constant but sometimes distant drumbeat, and mission fatigue began to set in.

Clifton
Jan. 1, Ramadi

Hey, sorry I've been a bit absent. I've been trying to find the energy, both physical and mental, to drag my ass over to the internet center and all that it entails. To say I'm exhausted is beating a dead horse with a stick, I know, but s--t ... I'll come home and I'm going to sleep, uninterrupted for three days, except to piss and eat. And maybe not even then.

Been running some ops, quick little insignificant raids and whatnot. Keeping busy. Everyone is all spazzed out over the lack of direct contact [ ... ] It's like that scary music in a horror movie that keeps building up to a climax but then it's just a cat or something stupid that crawls out from the shadow ... anti-climax, sort of, but keeping with our paranoia.

[ ... ] I asked one of my buddies what his [New Year's] resolution was. He said to kill one more dude before we leave. Don't think he was joking.