Starving children, sniper fire challenge soldiers in war-torn IraqAstoria police officer Greg Walker is serving with the U.S. Army Special Forces in Iraq. Here is his latest dispatch from the front lines.

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Another busy day doing escorts into the city.

Three days ago, I was driving the lead vehicle in a three-vehicle convoy when an Iraqi in a hurry passed us less than a half mile from a U.S. checkpoint.

Not a good idea.

Photo courtesy Greg Walker

While the Iraqi people suffered, Saddam gorged himself, his family and friends on its wealth. A lakeside palace, one of over 200 such palaces and grounds Saddam built in honor of himself.

Even as I was pulling to the side to get out of the guard’s line of fire I could hear his M16 sending rounds downrange … where I and my Hummer-mates were along with the overzealous speed demon. Friendly fire is not a good thing.

Thankfully, the sedan screeched to a halt several vehicle lengths in front of ours. I steered us around and past the confused looking man and his car full of passengers, the U.S. guard very clearly telling him not to do that again.

Sgt. 1st Class David K. Dismukes/U.S. Army Public Affairs

Maj. Rodney King, an Army finance officer, holds a stack of $100 bills, part of the estimated $650 million found hidden behind a fake wall at one of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein’s palaces. The money will be used in the reconstruction of Iraq, authorities say.It is many things here, but it is not dull.

A trip to the Palestine Hotel sees continued crowds lining up for work in post-war Iraq, and demonstrations for this or against that. We marvel at the Iraqis’ newfound sense of peaceful gathering and protest. Something very American about it. Ever so often the bandits and Saddamites churn the crowds up with sporadic gunfire trying, I suppose, to remind everyone of the bad old days when “freedom of assembly” meant jumping up and down praising – most often – a body double of Uncle Saddam.

The spirit of givingA small boy of about eight approaches me as I wait patiently outside the hotel. He asks for food and rubs his tummy in the universal sign of someone very hungry. He is wearing a dirty gray sports shirt and equally filthy gray trousers. His feet are bare, toughened from living on the streets in poverty. I slip him an MRE and tuck it up under his shirt.

David Dismukes – Special to The Daily Astorian

Col. Martin Stanton, left, and Sgt. 1st Class Greg Walker of Astoria stand in front of the Al Rasheed Hotel in downtown Baghdad. Stanton was held prisoner at the hotel during the 1991 Gulf War. A rose, cut from Saddam’s private gardens, is worn by Walker in honor of his wife, Carol.Giving food to the children brings swarms of them at us, and we can’t feed them all. Plus, the security risk is extremely high. The Palestine is a prime terrorist target, international media presence or not.

However, my little waif is by himself for the moment and we grin with delight at our little conspiracy to feed him for a few days. As he runs off with his plastic-wrapped treasure, I spot a British commando across the street from me. He’s seen our little handoff and he gives me a quick smile and curt nod. The Brits are a tough lot and Saddam’s Republican Guard and Irregulars didn’t do well against them in the south.

However, I’ve watched the Brits in Baghdad and they are a soft touch for the kids, always talking with them … and feeding them whenever possible.

A tour of the Special Republican Guard Officers’ Section in Baghdad reveals gross luxury and evil excess was alive and well among the ruling guardians of the Regime.

Photo courtesy Greg WalkerSaddam built over 200 palaces in honor of himself while the iraqi people suffered.Private canals, paddle boats, drag racers and custom motorcycles, expensive china and silverware from France, and ornate furniture is plentiful. Around each senior officer’s home are shallow fighting positions dug by once (believed to be) loyal troops.

Bits and pieces of abandoned uniforms and equipment litter the area. Along with their gear they left their wall lockers and simple mattress beds, placed alongside the foxholes they were supposed to fight from. It is a tragic testimony to a society indentured by a bandit clan of self-serving hedonists.

Saddam’s Iraq turns out to have been little more than a shallow mockery of a “regional power,” a power dedicated to enslavement and the exploitation of any and all who would buy into its insanity.

Shots in the darkTwo nights ago, we’re on our way back from the Palestine when some lunatic with a gun unloads on us as we enter the final traffic circle before crossing the Tigris River and heading home to relative safety. The roar of his weapon is amplified by the surrounding buildings, all darkened and blown out by the heavy fighting that did occur in this section of the city.

It is impossible to see where the shooter is and return fire. Unless the target is absolutely identified it would be irresponsible to even think of engaging. There are people, mostly homeless, living in these burned and broken shells that used to be – at best – a slum.

Sgt. 1st Class David K. Dismukes/U.S. Army Public Affairs

Iraqi children give a thumbs-up to American troops as they pass by near the Palestine Hotel in Baghdad recently. U.S. forces continue to work to re-establish order around the country as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom.Rather than risk harming the Innocent, I yell for my driver to “GO! GO! GO!” We hook a hard left and race up a pitch-black street. I want us out of the line of fire and away from the lunatic. Once clear we retrace our path to the bridge and cross over without further incident.

I’d been listening to this idiot for 45 minutes before we’d left the hotel. Clearly, he’s a regular night crawler in the traffic circle.

Twenty minutes later, we’re back at the “hootch” and a report is passed to the appropriate staff. The shooter will probably find himself dealing with a U.S. hunter-killer team in a night or two.

He’ll lose.