War Stories (56 page)

   
Though they have yet to fully comply, the Syrians have arrested and turned over the former dictator's half-brother, Sabawi Ibrahim al Hassan. And to ensure that those in Damascus who support terror don't get the idea that this is sufficient, President Bush has since told them to “get your troops and your secret services out of Lebanon, and give democracy a chance.”

   
In Cairo, Hosni Mubarak, never known to be a friend of liberty or democratic institutions, has announced that opposition candidates will be allowed to run for office in the upcoming Egyptian elections. Mubarak has been the only presidential “candidate” since taking power in 1981. While questions remain about who will be “allowed” to run, a taste of liberty in a democratic election may ignite the “fire of freedom” among the people of the Nile.

   
And now, even the royal family in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, seems to be getting the message, though the recent Saudi “municipal elections” were more show than substance—the elected councilors wield little power. The ruling House of Saud appoints as many councilors as were elected and only men can vote—yet the taste of democracy has intensified the call on the “Arab street” for
real
elections.

Last week, the Saudi kingdom's foreign minister Prince Saud al-Faisal, speaking the heretofore unthinkable, said that in future elections women “may” have the right to vote. Unfortunately, he then added, “We know we want to reform, we know we want to modernize, but for God's sake leave us alone.”

And therein lies the first problem: The prince doesn't get it. It's not just President Bush's promise, “When you stand for your liberty we will stand with you,” that is at work in Saudi Arabia. It's really a quest for freedom that's sweeping down the “Arab street,” right past minarets preaching repression and hatred for all things Western.

But Saud al-Faisal isn't alone in misunderstanding what freedom really means—and from whence it springs. Last week, when President Bush confronted Vladimir Putin about Russia's freedom of the press, Putin shot back with: “We didn't criticize you when you fired those reporters at CBS.” Apparently Putin or his advisers believe that a U.S. president has that power.

Thus the second problem: Saud al-Faisal and Putin apparently believe that holding an election is enough. It's not. As we have learned from the “election” of Hugo Chavez in Venezuela, there's much more to freedom than casting a ballot. Liberty also means a free press; freedom to worship—or not; the rule of law where justice is tempered with mercy; freedom from fear—of government, criminals, or outsiders, and the freedom to come and go, to speak politically, and to work and create wealth.

All of this—and more—is what freedom is all about. Elections are not the end of the process, just the beginning. That's what's wrong with the argument being waged by some in Congress to start withdrawing American forces from Iraq now that there has been an election. Whether it's the “Arab street,” or elsewhere, liberty doesn't march to the beat of a cadence—it arrives to the sound of many drummers, and impatience is never the friend of freedom.

GLOSSARY

AAV:
Assault Amphibious Vehicle

       
Carries eighteen to twenty Marines from ship to shore; serves as ground troop transport. Armament: .50-caliber machine gun and 40mm automatic grenade launcher.
See also
LVT.

ABM:
Anti-Ballistic Missile

AGM:
Air-to-Ground Missile

AK-47:
Russian- or Chinese-made automatic rifle.

Amn Al Khass:
Iraq's internal intelligence and security service; also known as SSS, Special Security Services.

APC:
Armored Personnel Carrier

APU:
Auxiliary Power Unit

ASP:
Ammunition Supply Point

ATGM:
Anti-Tank Guided Missile

AWACS:
Airborne Warning and Control System (U.S. Air Force)

BMP:
A Soviet-made, tracked, infantry fighting vehicle. Carries up to eight troops and is normally armed with a 73mm or a 30mm cannon and ATGMs.

Bn:
Battalion

CAAT:
Combined Anti-Armor Team

       
Consists of several Humvees equipped with TOW and Javelin ATGMs, .50-caliber machine guns, and grenade launchers.

CAS:
Close Air Support

cas-evac:
casualty evacuation

CENTCOM:
Central Command (Also USCENTCOM)

       
U.S. Central Command, one of nine U.S. unified military commands; headquartered at McDill Air Force Base, Tampa, Florida. During Operation Iraqi Freedom, CENTCOM maintained a forward headquarters in Doha, Qatar.

CG:
Commanding General

CO:
Commanding Officer

CP:
Command Post

DASC:
Direct Air Support Center

       
Provides a direct communications link between Marine air and ground units.

EGBU-28:
Enhanced Guided Bomb Unit

       
More accurate version of the “bunker buster” that uses GPS for guidance.
See also
GBU.

EOD:
Explosive Ordnance Disposal

EP-3:
Lockheed EP-3E Aries II aircraft, designed specifically for Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) collection. The aircraft operates with a five-person flight crew and as many as twenty intelligence specialists.

EPW:
Enemy Prisoner of War

FAC:
Forward Air Controller

       
Provides direction and control for aircraft firing or dropping ordnance in support of ground troops.

FARP:
Forward Arming and Refueling Point

FO:
Forward Observer

       
Provides fire direction and control for artillery or mortars.

Frag Order:
Fragmentary order

       
An abbreviated operations order that a commander uses to inform troops of information they need to carry out an assigned mission.

G-3:
Operations and training function for a military command of brigade or higher.
See also
S-3.

GBU:
Guided Bomb Unit

       
E.g., GBU-15, an unpowered, glide weapon used to destroy high-value enemy targets; the GBU-37 “bunker buster” is a five-thousand-pound laser-guided conventional explosive with a 4,400-pound penetrating warhead. The operator
illuminates a target with a laser designator and then the munition is guided to a spot of laser energy reflected from the target.

GOSP:
Gas-Oil Separation Plant

GPS:
Global Positioning System

Gunny:
Slang for Marine gunnery sergeant.

HARM:
High-Speed Anti-Radiation Missile

       
An air-to-ground missile, specifically the AGM-88 HARM.

HEAT:
High Explosive Anti-Tank

       
Armor-piercing, anti-tank ammunition.

HET:
(U.S. Army) Heavy Equipment Transporter

HET:
(U.S. Marines) Human Exploitation Team

       
Helps collect and interpret intelligence.

HMLA:
Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron

       
Flies AH1J Cobras and armed UH1N “Hueys.”