Hearts and Minds...

During a flight shortly after I first got here, we had stopped off at a small outpost in the middle of a town to drop off supplies and personnel.  As we were taking off, I watched the village below me.  I saw a young boy, probably no more than 10 years old, throw a rock at the helicopter despite our being well outside his feeble range.  It was an image that stuck with me, and was renewed in my mind this week. 

 

After returning from another mission off base, I was riding back to our office from the flight line in our van.  The road connecting the two areas passes along the inside of the perimeter fence.  It is not uncommon to see people on the other side of the fence grazing their camels and goats, or simply milling about.  Security issues aside, it has become common enough to not cause alarm.  This time, as we rounded a turn, there were again herdsmen on the other side of the fence.  As we made the turn, a young boy, not yet a teen, threw a bottle of water at our vehicle, successfully drenching the side.

 

So it would seem, in my minimal interaction with the local populous, that we (the military) are not too well liked here.  I can't say I would be too fond of an occupying force taking over small towns in the US, so I can't say that I blame them.  But with our primary goal of winning hearts and minds, I'm not sure if we're succeeding.  Young children are hardly our primary concern, despite the fact that 10-12 is not too far from old enough to be a fighter.  But children grow up, and their thoughts and memories stay with them as they grow...  Are we really winning their hearts and minds, or was this simply a case of children being children, throwing rocks at cars and causing mischief for the simple sake of causing mischief?

 

I hope the latter, otherwise we will be living and fighting and dying in this place for many more years.  And considering we had rocket attack #24 in the middle of my writing this post, I think it's time to leave for good.