So I'm in Seoul... South Korea. For various non-interesting reasons, I have a conference here. But was is always interesting to me is the actual act of travelling. I only had 2 flights, the first one to Atlanta and the second from Atlanta to Seoul via the North Pole (I think).
The Atlanta flight was pretty interesting as I had the opportunity to sit next to a US soldier in full uniform. Not wanting to assume that he was going back to Iraq I started some light conversation. But as it turns out he was heading back. I've always respected soldiers. Whether it is right or wrong to use such force, I can not deny the admiration I have for their bravery and willingness to do what I would not do myself--or at least, I have choosen not to do. Put me in a room with a gun and several men out to kill my family and I'm sure I give one them a bad limp and another would be missing an eye. I don't know much about soldiers or what it takes to be one. It was good to talk with this man and hear what he has seen and why he does what he does. As it turns out it was a Colonel responsible for security is Southern Bagdad. I had to ask all my questions. There could be no better source in my circle to get first hand information without the CNN slant.
Surprisingly he felt they were "winning" in Iraq. I had expected to hear the opposite. He did complain about the lack of resources early on hampering their efforts, but felt they were really making progress now. He sited an order of magnitude reduction in violent incidents in his sector (the size of San Francisco). Plus he was gaining more trust from the Iraqi people. This I found particularly facinating. A very large percentage of his time is spent helping rebuild schools, power, sewage and other infrastructure. While we routinely hear about every checkpoint bombing, it was good to hear what the Army is doing at such great costs. Its hard to say if all the loss of life is worth it, but at least it is doing something. I was also surprised to hear how much he desired to negotiate with the "terrorists" in the area. His goal was to get them to stop shooting and start talking... This man.. a soldier, not a statesmen... is trying to work toward peace. He does not have the full diplomatic backing of the State Department, he's doing it on his own. He said his whole unit is behind him, that his men in most cases believe as strongly as he does that they are doing the right thing--a thing that should be done. Maybe it is easy to dismiss the opinions of one soldier. But I have never found a soldier that lied about they way he felt about the situation he was in. Regardless... I'm glad I got to talk to him. I feel better about my own ideas and much more confident in the information I recieved that what I've seen on the news.
The 2nd leg of the flight was 15 hours. It is still much a blur. I watched a lot of movies. I landed at 5 Pm local time which was about 4 AM my time. The cab ride was about an hour to the hotel. I'm staying in the Grand Hyatt in Seoul. I have to say it blows the doors off any other Hyatt I've seen. But in my very limited international travel I have to say that the "american chain" hotels are always better outside the US. This hotel is so fancy I feel self-conscious in my jeans in the lobby.
Seoul is hazy, hot and humid. It also has more city lights than I've seen anywhere. The general terrain and cityscape looks exactly like every 1970's Godzilla movie I've ever seen. Must eat... I'll post more later.
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