*It is with great sadness that I report that a friend of Informed Comment, Naval Reserve Lt. Kylan Jones-Huffman (31), was killed Thursday near al-Hilla. The wire services said: "BAGHDAD: A US serviceman on duty with a Marine unit was shot dead south of Baghdad, the US military said today, as the UN prepared to fly out more staff in the wake of this week's truck bombing attack. A gunman shot the serviceman yesterday after approaching his vehicle, which had been caught up in traffic in the city of Hilla, 100km south of Baghdad, the military said in a statement. The attacker escaped into a crowded market. " Kylan had studied, and later taught, at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, and was an Arabist. He was called up in January, and was scheduled to go home at the beginning of September. He had planned to begin a Ph.D. in Middle East Studies at George Washington University. He was bright and informed. An article about him is: http://www.sunspot.net/news/nationworld/
iraq/bal-te.md.huffman23aug23,0,1855968.story?
coll=bal-local-headlines

Like many real military people, Kylan thought the Iraq war was a big mistake. But he also felt he had a duty to keep the US military as informed as it could be. He emailed me before he went to Iraq.

(For a fuller archive of Kylan's messages, see http://www.juancole.com/archives/kylan.htm).

Date: Mon, 14 Jul 2003 05:25:28 0000 (UTC)
From: Kylan Jones-Huffman
To: Juan R. Cole
Subject: update
Cc: nizami@earthlink.net
X-Mailer: Earthlink Web Access Mail version 3.0

Juan - quick update for you on Umm Qasr port facility, derived from newsletters of Barwil Agencies. The contractor in charge, SSA Marine, has hired Barwil Agencies to work as one of the agents in the port. Updates can sometimes be found at www.ssamarine.com or www.barwil.com.

As of late June / early July, there were ongoing security problems, including a major sulfur fire at the old terminal, which damaged the sulfur facility and loading equipment. A badge entry / access control system is being set up as a result. SSA Marine has also reportedly hired a private security firm, Olive Security, as well as an Iraqi group called Basra River Services (armed former Iraqi Navy and Coast Guard personnel) to secure the port facility. This appears to have had an effect, and vessels have been unloading containers, palletized goods, and bulk food (reportedly 84,500 tons bagged rice and 17,460 tons wheat flour last week).

Bechtel has gotten a substation running, which is supplying power to the new port, including container cranes. As of last week, however, the cranes still needed additional testing and re-certification, as they were damaged by looters after the war. Work is also continuing on the grain elevator, and ships wishing to discharge any cargo will have to be able to do so by themselves. Another problem is truck transportation from the port facility to the ultimate destination. While many trucking companies have hired private security, there is still no insurance available to cover loss in transit - not surprising.

A dredge has been operating at the quay and entrance channel, with draft at one berth at 12.5 meters, which should be adequate for most any ship which might call.

Customs is in place to check goods and manifests, but there is not yet any provision for immigration, so no one is allowed to debark and enter Iraq from shipboard.

Incidentally, I may be headed back to Iraq, to Basra and Hilla, next month. I'll keep you posted if I go, and send you a narrative and pictures if I come back...luckily I won't be headed to Sunni country, but I guy I knew (and who was a good friend of a friend) was killed near Hilla not long ago enroute to relieve an ambushed unit.

Cheers,

Kylan


I told him to be careful out there.

He said:


Date: Wed, 16 Jul 2003 16:10:20 +0300
Subject: Re: update
From: Kylan Jones-Huffman
To: "Juan R. Cole"

Oh, I'll be careful as careful as I can, and I won't be going unarmed
this time. Unfortunately, the body armor they provide us won't stop
rifle ammunition, even on the trauma plate over the heart. Command
detonated mines combined with small arms / RPG ambushes on the highway
are another concern. In addition, the folks I'm supposed to be
briefing were mortared the other day during a meeting, and had one
round hit the building, knocking people off their chairs inside, and
wounding a Marine on the roof. Should be interesting ;)

I wouldn't worry too much about Abu Hatim; he seems like a pretty
decent guy from what the Brits say, for a guerilla leader trying to
transition to politics, anyway. And he's not at all connected to Imad
Mughniya and the guys from Lebanese Hizballah...

More later,

Kylan


Another message:


From: "Jones-Huffman, Kylan (LT)"
To: "'Juan R. Cole"
Subject: thanks!
Date: Wed, 30 Jul 2003 11:33:14 -0000

Juan - thanks for concisely laying out a position on Iraq which takes into account reservations about the way the war was sold and spun, but which doesn't, in a fit of righteous indignation, advocate actions which would essentially punish Iraqis for American mistakes. Enough of that will happen anyway, without the assistance of the morally certain - it's always the poor average person who gets it in the neck.

My boss here reminded me that it is still dangerous in Iraq, especially in Hillah, and asked whether I really wanted to go on my planned trip next month (Navy intel types aren't usually keen to be shot at). I told him that, now that we are there, we can't afford to fail, for our own sakes as well as that of the Iraqi people. If there is something I can do to make a direct contribution, I feel that I have an obligation to do so. And in this case, I think that I can make a contribution, if only by helping to sensitize people to issues like the Karbala shrine shooting (which no one appears to be taking seriously - perhaps I'll be able to find out whether there is more behind it). Naturally, I don't much want to be ambushed and suck up an RPG, but I'm in a position to do some good, so I wouldn't feel right sitting safely here in the air conditioning.

One detail - Ansar al-Islam, as I understand it, is a Kurdish Sunni Islamist group, led my a fellow named Mullah Krekar (recently expelled from Sweden or Norway?) and an off-shoot of the IGK. It doesn't have much of anything to do with Pakistan, except insofar as the same Gulf mujahidin facilitation network which feeds the Kashmiri and Chechnyan conflicts also feeds AI. In addition, there appear to be some links to Jordanian extremist Abu Mu'sab al-Zarqawi, whose group is alleged to work on low-grade, improvised toxins and poisons, among other things.

Thanks again for putting out timely, informative information. I refer everyone I know to your website.

Cheers,

Kylan



Just before he left:


From: "Jones-Huffman, Kylan (LT)"
Cc: "'nizami@earthlink.net'"
Subject: trip to Iraq
Date: Mon, 18 Aug 2003 09:55:27 +0100


Well, travel plans finally fell into place at the last minute, and I'm flying out to Kuwait tonight, with onward convoy to Hillah tomorrow morning. I'm trying to decide if I want the M-4 carbine or an MP-5 submachinegun in addition to the SIG 9mm pistol they are going to issue me; I think the longer the range, the better. M-4 outranges an RPG, but unfortunately the insurgents still get to shoot first. Apparently, we also take spare body armor to sit on, in case we hit a mine on the way...

Anyway, I'll be in Iraq (Hillah, Basra, possibly Baghdad) for 3-5 days, and should be back by 25 August at the latest. I'll e-mail when I return. I'm taking my computer and camera, but doubt I'll have a chance to access e-mail while I'm up there - there isn't even cell phone service yet, except for Iridium.

Hopefully, I'll have some good stories when I return, since the people I'm going to visit have been mortared and ambushed several times, luckily without injury. I'm officially going to provide briefings and analytic support to the Marines as they turn over occupation responsibilities to Polish and Spanish troops in the southern region. I'm going to concentrate mostly on the political issues surrounding the Interim Governing Council, as well as some of the dynamics and interplay of Shi'a clergy. Using the Shi'a revolt of 1920 to frame the problem seems to work well, so I'll probably do that. If I can keep someone else from trying to tear down a banner of the Imam Mahdi, or getting into a violent confrontation with a crowd out side the shrine of Imam Husayn, I'll feel like I've made a contribution ;)

Cheers,

Kylan


From Kuwait:


Date: Mon, 18 Aug 2003 12:18:10 0300 (GMT)
From: Kylan Jones-Huffman
Subject: arrived in Kuwait

Well, the SAS Radisson is quite nice, if expensive. As you can see, it has a LAN connection, so I can access my e-mail. Flight was uneventful, though I found it interesting that my Kuwaiti visa is a number written on a sticker applied to the back of my military ID card...

Tomorrow we are off to Hillah, after we draw weapons, ammunition, and better body armor from one of the local American bases. The route is fairly well traveled, and comparatively safe (though there have been a few ambushes, mostly using improvised explosive devices, such as several artillery shells wired for command detonation, and hidden under rocks at the side of the road...)

Not sure how long we will be up in Iraq - 3-6 days, possibly. When we get back, I'll post another e-mail from the room here. Inshallah, we won't wander into any kill zones while we are there, but I think it's important to go nonetheless. I may get the chance to speak with or brief some people in the Coalition Provisional Authority in Hillah and Basra, as well as the Marines, and Polish and Spanish officers who are taking over occupation duties from the Marines.

More later!

Kylan



From Iraq:


Date: Thu, 21 Aug 2003 13:19:59 +0400 (GMT+04:00)
From: Kylan Jones-Huffman
Subject: note from Babylon

Just a quick note to say that I'm safe and enjoying the heat in Hilla. Hottest it's been was 141 the week before we got here, and it's been a bit cooler so far. Been out in town a few times, and it feels pretty safe - my Arabic (poor though it is) has come in handy several times, including a trip to meet the new internal affairs officer in the police department. We did get the universal signs of the hand drawn across the throat and the pulled trigger finger from some tribesmen swathed in ghutras sitting in the back of a pickup we passed north of Diwaniya, but not much other than that. I showed them my M-16 and smiled, and we left it at that.

I've got a fair number of photos, and some other interesting stories for when I get back to reliable communications. Hope you all are doing well. I doubt I'll get up to Baghdad, but did hear about the bombing at the UN HQ there. Haven't seen much detail, and won't have a chance for a few days. My initial reaction is Hizballah, but it could be someone like Zarqawi. Mujahidin and Ba'thist types are less likely. Perhaps we'll find out eventually, but I doubt it...

Cheers,

Kylan




I only knew Kylan from email exchanges. His death sent me to my knees like a kidney punch. I will post some more of his messages, which he gave me permission to do when I asked, in future.