Blackhawk Pilot Steve Harper (pictured left) and I decided to have a look around the Basrah International Airport during a free moment. After convincing the Iraqi Police who guard the place that we didn’t plan to go AWOL (absent without leave), they allowed us entrance. The airport is in impeccable shape for what this nation has been through and it looks ready to facilitate thousands of people a day. The interior is beautiful marble throughout the cavernous rooms and the infrastructure is in place. All we are missing is people. The problem is that investment has been slow to come back to this area due to the uncertainty over future stability.
During my last tour in Ramadi, in 2006, people rarely left their homes if they hadn’t fled the city altogether. The streets were desolate and sometimes eerily quiet. Unfortunately they usually didn’t stay that way for long, as attacks on our forces were as frequent as any time during the war. Basrah 2009 is a far cry from Ramadi 2006. When we fly over Basrah we see the green palm tree groves, the bustling markets, and kids playing outside which have replaced my memories of blown out neighborhoods, empty streets, and citizens running for their lives to escape violence.
This place has more than a fighting chance. If the security situation continues to improve as it has since General Petraeus implemented his strategies, the Basrah Airport could become home to business and leisure travelers. It seems to me that Iraq is in a better position to be turned over to the Iraqi Forces now than ever before. Violence is more sporadic than ever, the Iraqi Forces are still standing up after taking some serious hits over the years, and the public seems to be pushing their politicians to end the corruption in their government. While the situation is far from stable, I for one can attest that this is not the Iraq I remember three years ago.
Booker T. Washington once said “I have begun everything with the idea that I could succeed, and I never had much patience with the multitudes of people who are always ready to explain why one cannot succeed.” I hope those who are fighting for Iraq can instill Booker’s sentiment in the rest of the population.