No not me by friend Sgt. Tim. Boggs over at T.F. Boggs told me he had this lined up about two weeks ago. I have been pestering him daily, asking when he would have the post up.

I just check my email and got this message from Tim:

Rick,

I just got back from Interviewing the Iraqi General and it was just amazing. This story is going to be huge and I ask that you can do all you can to promote it. His answers were beyond anything I could hope for.

Let’s see Tim is serving his second tour in Iraq, interviewing Iraqi Generals and regularly posting some of the best milblog content around at both is blog and Michael Yon’s site, and all he wants me to do is help get the word out?
Done.
The blog interview of the summer, and maybe the year is up at T.F. Boggs. You can read an excerpt here but I suggest clicking this link now and reading the whole thing.

I wrote a story for Michael Yon’s Frontline Forum a week ago about the town I am stationed in right now named Qayyarah. Qayyarah is a model for other Iraqi cities because it was once a haven for terrorists but is now safe enough for anyone to travel around in without fear of terrorists. The main reason for the safety of Qayyarah lies with one man: General Ali. He is a myth-like figure around our base and everyone knows his name. He is a strict military man but is the type of man Iraq needs so desperately right now. I hope people the world over will read this interview and learn just what kind of men are in Iraq right now willing to take control of their own country. What follows is the truth. It comes directly from the mouth of a man who knows intimately what is going on in Iraq and knows where Iraq has come from and where it needs to go.

How long have you been in the military?

General Ali: I first went to the army in 1976, I became a staff brigade general in 1997. In 2001 I left the army because there were many problems between my tribe and Saddam’s regime. He fired many of the officers and put some of them in jail. I am one of the officers who was put in jail for ten months and afterwards I was put out of the army. When the coalition forces came to Iraq in 2003 I worked with the 101st (Airborne American army unit) in Qayyarah (*the town I am in now and where he lives) as an advisor. In 2004 the terrorists destroyed all of the Iraqi police stations and in that time the terrorists controlled all of this area. They controlled Mosul, south Mosul, and 40 km from where we are now. In that time no one came to help. All of the people and soldiers were scared and went home. I came to help and the Americans invited me to come command this battalion.

Have you liked working with the American soldiers?

General Ali: Yes, yes, yes. They believe me and I believe them. All the soldiers that have worked here know General Ali. I invite them to my house to eat with me and to train with me. I know they came to help the Iraqi people. That is why I work with them, that is why I tell my people the truth about the coalition. Before they might have disliked the US army because they did not have the real picture of the soldiers. I told the people though how the US army fought for us and also how they did projects for us. They fixed the schools, made roads, and made many things for the people of Iraq. The people see how we caught the terrorists, how we made it safe, they see that is more comfortable then under Saddam’s regime.

are you still here? Get over to T.F. Boggs and read the whole thing already. Tim has pictures of the legendary General and everything.

This is a long interview so Tim has broken it up into two parts. He will post Part 2 Wednesday so stay tuned.

In the second part of the interview General Ali shares his feelings about the American media, the future of the Iraqi army, and shares some words for the American people. Please spread the word about this interview. I believe what General Ali has to say needs to be heard by the whole world.

Great Job Tim! Why aren’t you a General yet?