Iraq war blogs: Another ALM thesis blog, and Deeper Than War

There's a new ALM thesis blog in town: International Security. It's written by an ALM Government concentrator who is in the early stages of thesis preparation -- namely, gathering research. I've been there, and it's tough, but if you're enthusiastic about your topic, ready to do a lot of reading, and organized, you'll do well.

From reading the entries on the blog, it's clear that this candidate is very seriously exploring how private security firms operate in Iraq -- there are entries about connecting with a former CENTCOM general, attending a RAND conference, and lists of online and print references.

One online resource that I recommended to this candidate was a blog called Deeper Than War. It was a surprise for me to learn about this blog a few weeks ago -- it's written by a high school buddy, Tyler Boudreau, who I haven't seen for years. He complete a combat tour in Iraq, and he's been blogging about it, and the aftermath.

A little backstory: Like a lot of guys in our group, he was interested in the military. Almost all of us were Boy Scouts. We obsessed about Vietnam. Five or six eventually enlisted and/or became police officers, including Tyler, who joined the Marine Corps. He rose through the ranks, and was prepared to turn the Marines into a career.

But then he went to Iraq. And it was disturbing. He left the Marines after his tour, and is still coming to grips with what he experienced:

My heart pumps out a lot of rage since coming home from war, and I ride the rapid blood streams like a lone paddler, thrashing desperately to stay afloat. Sometimes I spew a head full of turmoil at the passing scenery, and sometimes I manage a little stoicism, but I’m angry all the time, and what I’ve found most frustrating is that I don’t know who I should be angry at.

Later in the same post:

... You can’t have swords without bad guys. You can’t have dress blues. You can’t have valor. You can’t have medals. You can’t have sacrifice in battle. You can’t have armies. You can’t have patriotism. You can’t have any of it without bad guys. We need bad guys. The preservation of an age-old, time-honored, sacred institution depends on it. We love this institution more than we love our own freedom. This institution is war. So who are the bad guys?

Tyler is an amazing writer -- reading his posts, I was immediately reminded of Chickenhawk and The Things They Carried. He has a lot to say about military life, readjusting to civilian life, and the policies of our government and military commanders -- issues that everyone should be concerned with, considering the terrible toll this war has wrought.