To Be a Friend Is Fatal
Page 34
USAID and Bechtel contract for, 58
Eliot, T. S., 265
Eva (US-affiliated Iraqi), 219, 220
Faisal, King, 134
Fallujah, Iraq, 58, 69, 73–75
assassination of Sheikh Kamal in, 129
battle and siege of, 73–74
burning of Blackwater mercenaries, 74, 298
Camp Fallujah, 77, 80, 87, 94, 113
citizens of, 83
Civil Military Operations Center (CMOC) in, 81, 83–86, 89, 90, 187
contractors and subcontractors in, 78
convoy runs, 81–83
getting PUC’d up (person under control) in, 86–87
“ink-spot” approach to, 75
insurgency in, 83–84, 85
Iraqis return to, 235
irrigation canal project in, 92
Johnson in, as “regional coordinator for reconstruction,” USAID, 75, 76, 77–80, 81, 84–86, 89–94, 187
Johnson’s quarters in, 77, 87, 93
mayor’s office furniture, 78, 90
poetry festival in, 85–86
police force, 83
“restive city of,” 78
rubble removal in, 80, 86, 89–90, 92–93
slaughterhouse in, 91
sniper in, 84, 85, 86
solatia (condolence payments), 84–85
tensions in, 84
veterinary clinic and supplies, 78, 90–92
wasted US money and fraud in, 89–92
“Fallujah Tragedy, The,” 85–86
Farahidi Institute, 210
FedEx: Iraqis employed by, 170, 173, 174
First Marine Expeditionary Force, 93
Folsom, John, 304
Ford, Gerald, 232, 265, 267
Fox News, 108, 256
Franklin, Benjamin, 298
General Accounting Office (GAO), 85
Genesis 11:5–7, 297–98
Geneva Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, 150
non-refoulement principle, 150
Gonzales, Alberto, 156
Green Zone (Baghdad, Iraq):
body armor hierarchy in, 47–48
Bunker Bar, 55
car bombs detonated in, 259
convention center, 56
electricity in, 57
fortifications, 3, 55
Hammurabi Office Building, 160, 258
Iraqis employed in, 62–66
Johnson leaves, 75–76
Jordanians in, 66
life in, 47, 55, 76
Nepalese employed in, 3, 47, 256
NOB (New Office Building), 45
private security firms and, 55–56
Rhino Runner, 56, 255, 259
shelling of, 48, 55, 62
USAID compound, 3, 45, 76, 160
US Embassy in, 160, 238
US housing in, 3
Voice of God, 48
“White house,” 3
Zone Washington, 43
Gregory, David, 236
Groningen, Netherlands, 15
Grotberg, John, 9–10
Guam option, 253, 254, 270–74, 275, 276, 280
Gulf War, 25, 74
Shi’a uprising following, 25–26
Habib, Philip, 263–64
Haifa (wife of Yaghdan), 3, 27, 32, 33, 160, 161, 173, 226, 241
in Syria, 189, 240
threats and, 159
in the UAE, 161–62
US bombing of Baghdad and, 28–29
as naturalized US citizen, 306
Halliburton-KBR, 47, 62, 213, 244, 255
Hammurabi, 156
Hans Wehr Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic, The, 87
Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government, 250
Hastert, Dennis, 11, 154–58, 167, 190, 237
Iraqi refugee plight and, 169
Hastings, Alcee, 272, 274
Hastings Amendment (National Defense Authorization Act of 2010), 274, 275, 276, 278
Al-Hayat newspaper, 20
Hayder “Homeboy” (US-affiliated Iraqi), 133–51, 303
American invasion and, 136–37, 138
amputation and disabilities, 147, 227–28
application for refugee status, 149–50, 226–28, 230
childhood in the UK, 133
courtship and marriage, 135
danger and risks faced by, 142–43
Dora as home, 136, 137, 142–43
Eighty-Second Airborne and, 144–45, 149, 228, 281
epilogue written by, 307–8
family’s return to Iraq, 134
father of, 133–34, 135, 147, 148
as “Homeboy,” 140
Iran–Iraq War and, 134
Johnson and, 227–28
in Jordan, 149–50, 227, 230
LA Times article on, 149
lawsuit against AIG and compensation, 151
lawyer (Dwight) and, 148, 227
life in America, 306–8
love of Americans, 141
as refugee in Jordan, 150
son Ali, 141, 230
Titan Corporation and, 148–50
T. Miller and, 148, 149, 150
as translator for US military, 139–40
in Tunis quarter, 133, 135
wife, Dina, 135, 136, 137, 141, 143, 147, 149, 226, 230
wounding of, 144–46
Hellermann, Brian, 144–45
Herrington, Stuart, 267
Hezbollah, 155
hijab (women’s headscarf), 3, 207, 213
Hoekstra, Peter, 157
Holbrooke, Richard, 269–70
Holland and Knight, LLP, 200, 202, 204, 205, 225, 255, 302
Homs, Syria, 189, 240
“Hot in Herre” (Nelly), 139
Hussein, Saddam, 20–21, 62, 73, 74, 133, 207, 215, 233
Ba’ath Party executions (1979), 23
control of media, 136
electricity policy, 57
fall of, 29
infrastructure reconstruction, US firms, 24
invasion of Kuwait (1990), 24–25
Iran–Iraq War and, 23–24
Mujahedeen-e Khalq and, 77
9/11 terrorist attacks and, 136
Republican Guard, 26
Shi’a uprising crushed (1991), 26
trial of, 204
Western world’s support of, 24
Iceland, 20–21
Viking saga, 71–72
IEDs (improvised explosive devices), 3, 43, 74, 82
amounts paid to children and, 79
detainees and, 87
informant about, 217
Zina’s Humvee and, 218
Immigration and Nationality Act, 252
Indochina Migration and Refugee Assistance Act, 267
insurgency, 31, 47, 55, 63, 64, 75, 76
American attitudes toward, 68, 79
economy of, 79–80
electricity problems and, 61
in Fallujah, 83–84, 85
Green Zone and, 62, 68
payments by, 79
al-Zarqawi as leader, 73
International Organization for Migration, 199
International Republican Institute, 244
Iran:
Iraqi refugees in, 26
revolutionary government, 24
Iran–Iraq War, 23–24, 74, 133, 157
Kuwait’s bankrolling of, 24
Iraq:
American attitudes toward Iraqis, 38–40, 43, 46–47, 62–66, 79, 92, 109, 160
American companies in, 24, 29–30, 32–33, 47, 61, 62, 87, 125, 148–49, 150, 213, 214, 244–45, 290
American names for roads, 82
American dollars wasted in, 58–61, 79, 89–92, 233
Arab naming conventions and, 87
Awakening movement, 234, 246
“axis of evil” and, 136, 236
Camp Victory, 94, 95, 255–56
civil war, 108–9, 155, 157, 168, 245
Coalition Provisional Authority, 57, 121
; culture of, 3, 38–39, 92, 135, 140–41, 207, 209
democracy in, 75
detainees (PUCs), 86–87
elections in, 47, 75, 233
electricity lacking in, 29, 30, 32, 57–61, 94, 139, 141, 227
ethnic cleansing in, 108, 109, 178
extrajudicial court systems, 157, 245
Gulf War and, 25
humanitarian crisis (1990s), 27
infant mortality, 27, 57
infrastructure breakdown, Iran–Iraq War and, 24
infrastructure breakdown, US war and, 32
insurgency in, 31, 47, 55, 61, 62, 63, 64, 68, 73, 74, 75, 76, 79, 83–84, 85, 218–19, 234
invasion of Kuwait (1990), 24–25
Islamic extremism in, 209–10, 212 (see also specific groups)
Johnson’s return (2009), 254–59
kidnappings in, 31, 79, 209, 212, 225, 257, 293
kidnap victim recovery as business in, 212
loss of civil society, 52
al-Maliki as prime minister, 155
murder of gays in, 237
no-fly zones established, 26
oil production, 26–27
police force, 172
refugee crisis, 108, 155, 178
RSO in, 47
sanctions placed on, 26–27
sandstorms, 76
searches for relatives lost or detained, 87
Shi’a-dominated government, 247
Shi’a uprising following Gulf War, 25–26
Shi’a uprising late 1970s, 23
Shi’ites in, 23
Sunnis in, 23
TAPS program, 172
telephone service, 29
temperatures, summer, 57
topography, 42
Transitional National Assembly (TNA), 56
unemployment in, 79
unrest and American failure to restore electrical power, 57–61
USAID-ARDI program, 52
US-installed leadership, 75, 155, 233
US reconstruction of, 155
US reconstruction of, cost, 49, 52, 59
US reconstruction of, failures, 57–61, 66, 75, 233
US trained security forces, 75, 233
water and, 24, 25, 27, 30, 32, 57, 58, 66, 207
women in, 3, 135, 207
Iraq Daily Update (IDU), 51–53, 67, 76, 78, 89, 156, 185, 258
recycled stories in, 51, 52–53
USGspeak and, 51–53
Iraqi Christians, 67, 171–72, 191, 219, 237, 261, 280
Iraqi refugees. See also List Project
backlog of cases, 279
Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration and, 179–81
Clinton’s treatment of, 253
Congressional support for, 237–38, 271
delays in visa processing, 226, 229, 230, 235–37, 260, 269–70, 281
in Egypt, 220–21, 230
“enhanced” screening measures for, 236–37, 278, 283–96
Guam option and, 253, 254, 270–74, 275, 276, 280
historic parallels, 265–70
in Jordan, 108, 109, 150, 172, 227, 230, 259
Kentucky arrests of terrorists and, 277, 278
as largest crisis in sixty years, 168, 192
media coverage and accelerated visas, 191
number of, 168, 231–32
pleas to Johnson, 169–75
Refugee Admissions Program, 217, 277, 278
Refugee Bureau and, 179–81, 190, 198–200, 230, 235–36, 275
Refugee Crisis in Iraq Act, 238, 244
Sahwa cases, 247
Special Immigrant Visa and, 238, 242, 244, 245, 253, 271, 274, 278, 281, 302
in Sweden, 189
in Syria, 108, 109, 162, 168, 189, 240, 259
task force promise to admit (2007), 186
UNHCR and, 226, 228, 232
US admissions procedures, 168, 199, 232
US Refugee Admissions Program and, 177, 200, 245
visas granted in 2007, 186, 229–30, 249
visas granted in 2008, 245
visas granted in 2010, 278
visas granted in 2011, 282
VOLAGs and, 238–39
Iraqis, British-affiliated, 252
Iraqis, US-affiliated. See also specific people
American attitudes toward, 38–40, 43, 46–47, 79
badges of, 3, 4, 63, 64, 65, 106, 159, 170, 172, 173, 179, 201, 257, 259, 261
Blumenauer legislation to help, 237
body armor not issued to, 48
Bush administration and, 229
claiming asylum during US visits, 201–2
Congressional hearings on, 272–74
distrust of, 62–66
early optimism about US occupation, 61–62
embassy list of found by extremists, 174
Hastings amendment, 274, 275, 278
indignities borne by, 62–66
interpreters, 150, 171, 214–19, 246, 247, 252, 261, 271, 299–300 (see also Hayder “Homeboy”)
ISI assassination plan for, 272
jobs in the Green Zone, 55
Johnson’s list of, 174, 175, 179–81, 190
Jordanians hired to replace, 66
journalists’ interest in, 190–91
Kennedy support for, 192–94, 238
lack of plan for, post-withdrawal, 252, 254
as LES (Locally Engaged Staff), 65
murder of, 106, 170, 201, 292–93
number of, 231–32, 272
Obama and, 249, 253, 258, 260, 265
Packer writing about, 187, 190
payment to, 139, 148
pleas emailed to Johnson, 162, 166, 170–73, 185, 190, 198–99, 227–28, 283–96, 305
seen as traitors by countrymen, 62, 85–86, 142–43, 147, 148, 174, 217, 244
slain and injured, partial list, 299–300
threats and violence against, 3, 5, 63, 64, 65, 66, 106–7, 142–43, 159, 170, 172, 173, 283–96, 302 (see also Omar)
uninformed of rights, 150
USAID employees, 42–43, 47, 61–66, 79, 168, 169, 172, 184
US moral obligation to, 231–32, 237, 249, 261
US refusal to protect, 65, 106, 160–61
visas designated exclusively for, 238
visas granted to, 271
Iraqi Special Forces, 107
“Iraqi Volunteers, Iraqi Refugees: What is America’s Obligation?” (House Subcommittee hearing), 231–32
Iraq Reconstruction Management Office (IRMO), 49–50
Iraq Refugee and Internally Displaced Persons Task Force, 185–86, 230
Iraq War, 20
allies’ protection of affiliated Iraqis, 252
ambushes and attacks, 82 (see also IEDs; VBIED)
Americans enter Baghdad, 136–37
American troops, behavior of, 140–41
antiwar protests, 21, 157
apathy of public, 247, 260
BATS system, 87
battle of Fallujah, 73–74
bombing of Baghdad, 28–29, 137
bombing of Basrah, 209
British forces, 252
Bush given ternary options for, 234–35
canine members of the armed forces, help for, 304
casualty rate, US forces, 108
catchy phrases used in, 233
children fighting in, 85–86
civilian flights (space-A), 93, 94
civilian-military gap perceived in, 75–76
“Coalition of the Willing,” 20
declassified Info Memo, 105
Democrats’ six-point plan, 108–9
embedded journalists, 254–55
funding drop (2008), 247
General Petraeus and, 234
“ink-spot” approach, 75
Iraqi dead, 234
judgment of history, 243
media coverage, 168–69
neoconservative support for, 21, 53, 109, 121, 234
night flights, 76–77
Obama announces end of, 281, 286
private security firms in, 38, 52, 55–56, 59, 61, 73, 254
requests for compensation, 216
the Sahwa (“Awakening”) and, 234, 246
Shock and Awe, 28–29, 43
status-of-forces agreement (SOFA), 246, 247, 254
strategies employed in, 75, 233
“the surge,” 234, 235, 246, 250
timetable for withdrawal, 251–52
tragedies and atrocities, 74
US allies and, 21
US dead and wounded, 234, 246
US shortage of Arabic speakers, 21
veterans, 181–82
withdrawal of US troops, 251, 273
withdrawal of US troops: Hastings amendment, 274, 275, 278
WMD and, 74, 75, 157
Islam, 23
Ramadan, 2–3
US reluctance to resettle Muslims, 235–36, 261
Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), 272
Islamist “pulp” writings, 20
It’s a Wonderful Life (film), 123–24
“I Will” (Radiohead), 42
Izzy (American soldier), 139, 141
Jaysh al-Sha’abi (Popular Army), 24
Al-Jazeera, 56, 135–36, 172
John (defense contractor), 87
Johnson, Carolyn (sister-in-law), 97, 98, 99
Johnson, Derek (brother), 7, 12, 13, 16, 97–98, 99, 100, 233, 285
Johnson, Kirk W., 7, 15
ABC World News interview, 191–92
American Amnesia (blog), 153
apartment in New York City, 224, 245
Arabic fluency and studies, 18–19, 21, 156, 169, 298
arrival in Baghdad, 42–43
basketball aspirations, 16–17
in Brighton, 166, 171, 174, 182, 197
Caribbean vacation, 93–96
checklist following accident, 117, 125, 132
childhood, 12–14, 233
code name, 76
Congressional testimony (2010), 272–74
danger faced in Iraq, 81–83, 86, 94
dating, 174–75
disillusionment, 67, 68
dissociative fugue state and, 95–97, 118–19, 174–75, 181–82, 304
Egypt trip and interest in Arabic, 18
email from Zina, 223–24
failed wrist surgery, 125–27
in Fallujah, as “regional coordinator for reconstruction,” 75, 76, 77–80, 81, 84–86, 89–94, 125, 187
Fallujah convoy runs, 81–83
Fallujah flight, 76–77
Fallujah quarters, 77, 87, 93
Fallujah return, desire for, 114–15, 117, 120, 125–26
family history, 15–16
family of, taking in refugees, 239, 240
father and, 9–12, 14, 40–41, 97–103, 120, 158, 240, 241
feeling of failure, 129, 132, 154
flashbacks/nightmares, 113–14
Fulbright scholarship, Egypt, 20
grandmother, Henrietta, and, 16–18
Green Zone life, 56
as “grenade swatter,” 82
Hastert and, 154–58, 190
hate mail, 194–95
Hayder and, 227–28