Another view of the “War in Iraq”

In general I am against what we have been doing in Iraq and that it is despicable that we went in to that conflict under false pretenses. Whatever else we’ve done there since the initial invasion causes me to have a mixed reaction that falls somewhere between: A.) I don’t want any more violence to happen to our troops or innocent people and B.) Hopefully that country will be able to rebuild itself eventually.

These feelings were complicated further when exactly a year ago my older brother, Will, deployed with the Army to Baghdad. He is a lawyer in the Army in the 4th Infantry Division out of Ft. Hood in Texas, and is now a Captain. Being a lawyer, he has mostly been on base and in an office out of harms way, from what I know anyway. The communication I’ve had with him about exactly what his duties are has been sparse. However, I was recently forwarded an article that will likely be published in an Army newsletter or government publication that describes exactly what he is doing.

In an article written by Major Lorraine Januzelli titled, “MND-B Rule of Law Team: Striking a Balance”, she describes a two person Army team in Baghdad who are part of an assignment to help re-write and update the Iraqi legal system. The system is still based on the Code of Hammurabi from ancient Babylonia and involves everything from marriage to slavery. The tablets that describe this law, according to the article, are on display at the Louvre in Paris and date to 1792 B.C. The goal of the partnership that this “Rule of Law Team”, according to the article, is working towards modernizing the legal system “so that it is a sustainable part of the current legal infrastructure, respects the historical context, and is accepted by the culture.” One of the people working on this team is my brother, Captain Will Obringer.

I don’t know if I would have been made aware of this particular partnership that the U.S. and Iraqi’s are working on if my brother was not involved. I received the article as a forward from my brother’s fiancee. Upon reading it, I felt really good about what my brother is doing over there. Working with the theories of laws of an ancient people is I’m sure a rare opportunity for those in the Army. I’m sure they must have studied up on the history of the land and history of the laws. They are trying to make sense of two different legal systems, Common Law (U.S) vs. Civil Law (Iraq). It’s a big issue to work with. One that will help modernize the Iraqi legal system. According to the article, they are mostly working with the “initial stages in the legal process” which involves due process to ensure evidence and suspects that enter the legal system happens fairly. They are also working to preserve the traditions and history that exist in Iraqi law because, according to the article, the Iraqi people are proud of their legal system for the most part.

I don’t know if it is being proud of my brother, or finding something out that we are doing in Iraq that is good, but I am happy to hear about our activity with this type of partnership. If we could work with the Iraqi’s to make their legal system a bit more fair, a bit faster and more streamlined, I think it would be a good thing for them.

I’m sure there are many other good stories going on over there that involve our troops. Some people have closed their eyes and ears and won’t recognize anything we are doing in Iraq after finding out our motives for going into that country were fraudulent. I was close to that point, and then my brother was sent in. Talking to him before he left, he was proud of what he was doing and was looking forward to his experience in Iraq. I’ve been proud of him, and now knowing what he is doing is encouraging to me. Hopefully there are other stories happening in Iraq that we can all be proud of. I encourage all who might have closed their eyes to our troops there to open them up and find a good story. You may not even think that this is a good thing that our government is doing, helping Iraqi’s with their legal system. I understand. But I do know that there are good people in our military, who are working hard. I respect that, and am proud of what one soldier is doing, and I’m sure there are others.