"I have important information about woman soldier in hospital," the Iraqi told the Marines.
Mohammed was taking a chance, not only in defying Iraqi authorities but in approaching the Marines. Saddam's Fedayeen and their allies had been dressing in civilian clothes to get close to U.S. troops, sometimes even faking surrender, only to open fire at short range. U.S. troops have also fired on civilians at checkpoints.
But with the mention of a woman soldier, Mohammed got the Marines' attention, and he was quickly ushered in to talk with officers who began grilling him about the hospital and the soldier inside. At the same time, Mohammed instructed his wife to go stay with their family -- and none too soon. That night, friends told him later, the Fedayeen showed up at his house and ransacked the place, searching for something.
It was not enough to simply tell the Americans that one of their own was at Saddam Hospital. Twice over the next two days, he said, they sent him back to the hospital to gather more information.
Peter Baker's Washington Post story is riveting and deserves a complete reading.
Yesterday, blogger Brian Kelley took issue with my criticism of reporters' use of "Jessica" to refer to Lynch: "If PFC Lynch had come out of that firefight drenched in the blood of dead Iraqis, there would be a hell of a lot more people calling her Private Lynch rather than Jessica these days." Now, it appears that she did just that. (I've been waiting for the story to be shot down, but it seems to be holding.) Smiling for the camera doesn't mean you won't go down fighting.
Posted by Virginia Postrel on April 03, 2003 • Comments
My friend Charles Oliver cites a Georgia case to demonstrate that Pfc. Lynch isn't being first-named by reporters just because she's female:
Diego Rincon, an Army private from Conyers, was recently killed in Iraq, and all the local TV types keep referring to him as "Diego," not "Private Rincon. I think they just have trouble seeing people that young-looking as soldiers.
A lot of them certainly look like kids to me--let's face it, wars are fought by the young and immortal-feeling--but calling them by their military titles is an important sign of respect for their service. They are acting as adults and should be treated as such by reporters.
Come to think of it, if you're old enough to be a POW, shouldn't you be old enough to drink without a fake I.D.?
Posted by Virginia Postrel on April 03, 2003 • Comments
A victory in Iraq, followed by success in eliminating immediate threats of nuclear, biological, and chemical-weapons proliferation, buys us just a decade or two, I figure, before any Unabomber/Tim McVeigh-style fanatic can cook up a plague. Weapons of mass destruction aren't going to go away, and somebody will always have a cause or grievance. One reason the neocon crusade against biotech is so foolish is that it weakens the national defense they claim to care about. The country's future security depends on a strong, resilient, and clever biotech industry.
In his latest syndicated science column, Mike Fumento surveys the work biotech companies are doing to detect, prevent, and treat bioterrorism threats. A sample:
[T]he current anthrax vaccination requires six injections spread over 18 months to provide complete protection. But a gene-spliced vaccine under development by DVC of Reston, Va. would confer immunity with fewer injections, although that number has yet to be determined.
The third generation will be an oral vaccine from Avant Immunotherapeutics of Needham, Mass. It splices genes from anthrax and plague into a cholera vaccine already in advanced testing, thereby protecting against all three diseases. Theoretically, says Avant CEO Una Ryan, "We could keep adding in genes from other microbes that would protect against an even wider variety of bioterrorist threats."...
Devices for rapid detection of airborne and waterborne pathogens are also critical, and many such already exist. Called "biosensors," these devices usually use proteins to detect chemicals or other biological molecules. But the race is on to make them more portable, more accurate, and capable of detecting a broader spectrum of microbes.
One of the most promising is the EchoSensor from Echo Technologies of Alexandria, Virginia. It can detect and distinguish among groups of biological agents such as bacteria and bacterial spores, fungal spores, and toxins as well as measure the level of contamination. The detectors would be built into handheld devices or even worn as a "badge."
Echo Technologies says the detection system reduces the time required for biological analysis from hours or even days to only minutes.
For a quick survey (with gross photos of smallpox), read the whole thing.
Posted by Virginia Postrel on April 03, 2003 • Comments
The London Times recounts what Western journalists witnessed during their recent involuntary assignment in a Baghdad prison:
"I frequently thought we were going to die," said Mr McAllester, 33, a London-born Scot raised in Edinburgh and now working for the New York Newsday newspaper.
Describing how Iraqi prisoners were in cells across a narrow corridor, Mr McAllester said that he had to turn his back to avoid watching other inmates being dragged away and tortured each night.
"We could hear screams, especially at night," he said. Unshaven, rib-thin and wearing a crumpled Thomas Pink shirt, he slowly detailed the conditions inside Abu Ghraib, where Amnesty International claims 23 political prisoners, mainly Shia Muslims, have been put to death.
Via Joanne Jacobs, a no-b.s. journalist who notes, "Peter Arnett said the Iraqi Ministry of Information treats reporters well. Well, the journalists weren't tortured themselves."
Posted by Virginia Postrel on April 03, 2003 • Comments
I've posted an updated blogroll several times, but every time I add a post to this site, the list reverts to the old "Blogs & Me-zines" list. The same thing happens if I revise the list and then rebuild the index pages. This new-fangled technology sure is tricky, compared to the clunky old HTML. Anyone got advice?
All I can do is assure Dan Drezner that the disappearance of his blog from my list isn a bug, not a feature.
Update: Problem solved.
Posted by Virginia Postrel on April 02, 2003 • Comments
Thanks to everyone who contributed to the Dynamist.com tip jar to support Operation Homefront. We raised $642.50, net of Amazon and PayPal fees. I'll round that up to $700 when I send the check tomorrow.
Posted by Virginia Postrel on April 02, 2003 • Comments
I'm getting a noticeable amount of traffic from searches for "Donald + Rumsfeld + Jewish." In case you're one of those wondering, no he isn't. Rumsfeld is a German name. Feel better?
Posted by Virginia Postrel on April 02, 2003 • Comments
Here, via InstaPundit, is an amazingly detailed satellite image of the post-bombing Republican Palace in Baghdad. The surrounding area is completely unscathed. But the photo raises a question: Isn't "republican palace" a contradiction in terms?
Posted by Virginia Postrel on April 02, 2003 • Comments
Reporters on Fox News Channel and MSNBC are displaying an exceedingly annoying habit of referring to Pfc. Jessica Lynch as just "Jessica" in news stories, the better to tug the viewers' paternal/maternal heartstrings. But Jessica Lynch is not the little girl who fell down the well. She is a U.S. soldier serving in harm's way. If you're old enough to be a POW, you're old enough to be referred to as "Private Lynch." Even if you're female.
Posted by Virginia Postrel on April 01, 2003 • Comments
Today's the final day to give to Operation Homefront via the tip jars on this site. All Amazon or PayPal contributions, net of fees, will go to support military families in the San Diego area. Thanks to your generosity, we've raised more than $600.
Posted by Virginia Postrel on April 01, 2003 • Comments
