The bomb strapped to his body was studded with ball-bearings so that he could kill more villagers as they gathered for prayer. The detonation would eviscerate and dismember those closest, shattering bones into fragments, but the ball-bearings would ensure lethality beyond the percussive edge of the blast wave, ripping through the flesh of people

There is a hidden passion for Chuck Norris among some of the troops. His name seems to appear in every corner of Iraq—especially in outhouses. Sometimes lurid, mostly unprintable, always funny.

The Latest:

Chuck Norris’ tears cure cancer.

Too bad he never cries.

None of the military persons who’ve seen the photo were able to identify the weapon depicted in it.

Do you know what it is?

Do you know where it came from?

Please respond in the comments:

I was actually the “someone” who recognized the green ball as something potentially devastating with the slightest mishandling. I saw soldiers handing it up from the hole in the earth, and alarms blared in my head: RED ALERT. It looked like a sub-munition, which translates into FREEZE.

I am back in Baghdad, having driven with Command Sergeant Major Jeffrey Mellinger more than 1,200 miles up and down Iraqi roads over a ten-day period. CSM Mellinger’s direct boss is now General David Petraeus, and although the general has only been commanding the war in Iraq for three weeks, changes he’s made are already apparent. More on that during subsequent dispatches.

Something was strange about the moon.

Not able to sleep, I pulled from the sleeping bag and used a small red light to walk from the long dark tent into the Baghdad night. Inside had been dark, but outside the moon was so strangely bright that I crept quietly back into the tent, aisles flanked by sleeping bodies, and felt through my gear for the camera before creeping back outside.

March 23, 2007

From Baghdad
Recent mention of cooperation with FOX News kicked rumor into high gear, leading some long-time readers to lament my “selling-out” to a major outlet. Simultaneously, thousands of new readers via the FOX website have little idea why my work suddenly is featured there. This dispatch will hopefully quell both concerns. My website and Iraq coverage remain independent of all financial support save that of my readers.
Here’s a brief on how I became witness to this war:

Basra, Iraq

The explosions from enemy rockets and mortar fire have been constant companions for the small contingent of Coalition forces based at the former Basra Palace, on the banks of Shatt al Arab River. In the past five months, more than a thousand bombs have been fired at this small base, all while these British combat troops, Romanian soldiers and a small contingent of Americans continue their attempts to stabilize Iraq. The nearby US Regional Embassy office also is frequently targeted.

Earlier today when the email exchange published below was forwarded to me by General Barry McCaffrey (ret), it reinforced my original questions about how someone who can’t seem to fight keeps landing himself in the ring with undefeated champions of the written word. DiRita’s aim still exceeds his grasp—especially of detail when it comes to military analysis—as this latest exchange proves. While DiRita claims to have learned from his previous experience with Joe Galloway, he repeats the same mistakes with McCaffrey, only this time he does it with his eyes wide open.

To keep surprise, LTC Mark Kenyon dispatched a platoon of 26 men from the Duke of Lancasters Regiment. Major Ian Crowley was tasked to lead the group closer. As the platoon dismounted in darkness, I promised the squaddie named Brownie that I would stick very close, obey commands in combat, and do my best to remain invisible and weightless, but that I would be there if needed to carry casualties. The less-than-two-mile walk was more of a slog through sand, water and thick mud. The soldiers tabbed quietly, no talking, no glimmers of light, no clinks or rattles of gear, no coughs or sneezes.