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(U) MG Q Iraq Theater TDY: Day 3, April1, 2005
FROM:
Iraq Issue Management Team
Run Date: 04/06/2005
(U) Sunrise over Baghdad. Eight months ago, if you had told me
that I would be standing on the porch Sadaam's Al Faw Palace,
witnessing a beautiful April First sunrise over Baghdad, I would
have thought that you'd be pulling a world-class April Fool's day
prank on me. But at 0705 this morning, that's exactly where I
found myself. The sky was slightly hazy, the temperature was in
the low 60s, and the breeze was almost chilly. And yet, if it hadn't
been for the pair of Black Hawks crossing the morning sky, and the
vision of the bombed out shells of several previous Iraqi palaces,
and the team of coalition Officers speaking jovially in a melodic
Korean behind me, I just as easily could have been in Columbia
Maryland.
(S) A Day of Firsts. I do not have a long history of TDYs to war
zones. In fact, prior to 36 hours ago, the most hostile ground my
feet had trod was the third-world sidestreets of Cancun, Mexico.
And yet, in the course of a few months, the NSA Deployment
Services team had coordinated training and education that resulted
in my preparation for participation in a TDY to the Iraqi Theater
with MG Quirk and a team of SID Seniors. And to top it all off, in
the course of less than 24 hours:
I flew in my first military aircraft (C-130 flight from Doha,
Qatar to Baghdad, Iraq),
I took my first flight in a rotary wing aircraft (Black Hawk
flight from Camp Victory to the Baghdad International
Zone)
I stepped foot on a military camp in a war zone (Camp
Victory, Camp Slayer)
I talked with a US Ambassador (Ambassador Jeffrey)
I met with a CIA Chief of Station (CoS Baghdad)
I was briefed by tactical collectors at 4th Brigade, 3rd ID at
the No Heads Palace, who were completely enthralled by
the capability that the ONEROOF system provided them.
All in all, not a bad 24 hours.
(U) Baghdad: More Than Just A Dot on the Media Map.
Skirting over the streets, parks, homes, and businesses of Baghdad
this morning, I became strikingly aware of a fact not well presented
on TV- Baghdad is a city. It is full of people. By far the vast
majority of these people are not our enemies. I saw people driving
to work, kids playing in the streets, and plastic lawn furniture on
back porches - not so different than an overflight of any major city
would reveal. Driving from presidential palace to presidential
palace, many of them now becoming overrun and overgrown due to
lack of care and nurture, one can only imagine the splendor of
what this city may have looked like only a few years ago and more
importantly what this city could look like in just a few years as
democratic reform and the resultant national pride are realized in
the beautification of this city.
SERIES:
(U) SID Leadership '05
TDY to CENTCOM AOR
1. MGQ's Notes from
the Field - Part 1
2. Field Station Rattler
3. Hello from Iraq!
4. MG Q Iraq Theater
TDY: Day 3, April1,
2005
5. The Art of Sharing:
Insight and
Continuity
6. MGQ's Notes from
the Field - Part 2
7. MGQ's Notes from
the Field - Part 3
8. Summing Up the Trip
9. The Trip in Photos
10. Seeing into the
Global SIGINT
System - A View
from the Field
(U//FOUO) SIGINT Excellence and Professionalism in The
Iraq Theater. If you've ever wondered if our SIGINT contributions
are making any difference in the campaign in Iraq, stop wondering.
From Combatant Commanders, to US Ambassadors, to CIA Chiefs
of Station, the message is remarkably consistent, and
unquestionably complimentary. Quotes like the following became
remarkably routine as we traveled around and met with in-theater
SIGINT customers:
"Your service is unparalleled..."
"Truly Phenomenal..."
"Dedicated people who truly make a difference..."
"Overwhelming coverage. My single greatest source of
intelligence."
"Yours is a free-thinking organization. We get nothing but
enthusiasm and support."
"Your intelligence is timely and accurate. We seldom get
surprised..."
"The NSA Cryptologic Support Group (CSG) Baghdad Daily
Read is the best intelligence document that we receive. The
document is readable and concise - Spot On..."
(S) And as we visited with engineers, analysts, linguists, collectors
and SIGINT professionals of every type and every experience level,
it became clear that the common denominator amongst all of them
is that they are a dedicated, highly-trained, and extremelymotivated workforce. Their love for their mission, and their
expectation that their efforts will translate directly into a safe,
stable, transformed Iraq are the key factors in the their extremely
successful drive for excellence.
"(U//FOUO) SIDtoday articles may not be republished or reposted outside NSANet
without the consent of S0121 (DL sid_comms)."
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DERIVED FROM: NSA/CSSM 1-52, DATED 08 JAN 2007 DECLASSIFY ON: 20320108