Bunker Mulligan "Let us endeavor so to live that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry." ~Mark Twain

Makes a father’s day. Yesterday my oldest boy called from Bagram. Today, the youngest called from Baghdad.

Slice, my Marine captain, is now in-country. I’ve set up a page for him with a link under “Who We Are” on the left. Birdie is still in Baghdad, and his platoon patrols the baddest neighborhood in Baghdad, home to such luminaries as Chemical Ali and Saddam’s daughter. I’ve added two photos he sent today on his page. One is the aforementioned Chemical Ali’s Palace, and the second is a shot driving through the Baathist stronghold.

They have had pretty good success in quieting this area, although they still have some confrontations. Mostly, though, the locals don’t mess with the guys with the “AA” on their left shoulder.

One way they’ve learned to deal with the youthful antagonists is to truss them up with tie-wraps and leave them lying on the ground. Instead of hauling them in, they let the elders in the area take care of discipline. He says most of them whine about being left tied up, but it’s certainly better than shooting them.