The future of Iraq

Maya Alleruzzo tells a powerful story in the Washington Times. It is the story of Capt. Furat, an Iraqi soldier fighting back from severe injuries. It is the story of the kind of man who will form the backbone of a free Iraq.

I know someone who fought with Capt. Furat, and who trusts him. I first heard of Capt. Furat a few weeks ago through this person, and I wanted to help publicize Capt. Furat's story. I'll have more in a subsequent post with some thoughts on what we might be able to do for this soldier. For now, do read the entire article.

Capt. Furat, 28, struggles to sort out a life that was shattered Christmas Day in an ambush by gunmen disguised as Iraqi soldiers while he was visiting his family.

His wounds are slowly beginning to heal. The surgical staples holding his abdomen together are gone.

He somehow survived the destruction of 12 bullets, but one of them cut through his spinal cord, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down.

He is in good hands at the moment.

Col. Elisha Powell, commander of the 332nd Expeditionary Medical Group that runs the hospital, said Capt. Furat will stay there until he recovers.

The Air Force Theater Hospital in Balad is the busiest field hospital in Iraq. It consists of a sea of tents that house everything from state-of-the art operating rooms to patient wards with up to 10 beds per tent.

"If you come here alive, you have a 96 percent chance of leaving here alive," said Col. Powell.

Capt. Furat is a warrior.

A decorated officer with the 2nd Battalion of the 2nd Brigade of the 5th Iraqi Army Division -- also known as the Tiger Battalion -- based at Camp Falloc, 54 miles northeast of Baghdad, Capt. Furat loves Iraq and fought its enemies with a passion that won praise from American and Iraqi troops.

U.S. soldiers of Task Force 1-30 who worked with Capt. Furat often called him "Rambo"; he could wield an 80-pound machine gun and belts of ammunition as if carrying an Uzi.

"To me he is a superhero," said 1st Lt. John Newton of Hague, Va., from the 1st Battalion of the 30th Infantry Regiment of the 3rd Infantry Division, who wept at Capt. Furat's bedside hours after the attack.

"He was fearless under fire," said Lt. Col. Roger Cloutier, commander of Task Force 1-30, from Fort Benning, Ga.

He was ambushed by gunmen in Iraqi Army uniforms.

Capt. Furat brought along Sgt. Hussein, 21, a fellow soldier in the Dali Abbas Company of the Tiger Battalion. As they drove back to base, a red Opel station wagon blocked their path. Three masked gunmen in Iraqi Army uniforms opened fire.

At first, Capt. Furat did not shoot back because of the uniforms. He killed one of his attackers. Three civilians caught in the crossfire also died and Capt. Furat and Sgt. Hussein were severely wounded -- Sgt. Hussein with nine bullets to his leg and arm. Capt. Furat took 12 shots.

Capt. Furat is probably facing a future in a wheelchair.

"I was very straightforward with him about what to expect: That he'd be in a wheelchair," said Maj. Jeffrey McNeil, a cardiothoracic surgeon.

"It's kind of like a professional athlete having a career-ending injury," said Lt. Col. Jim Keeney, an orthopedic surgeon at Balad. "He is going to be much more functional but it's going to be a setback."

For Capt. Furat, the news was devastating. On some days, he just wept. On other days, he burned with rage.

"I love Iraq," he said in fluent English, which he learned in college during the presidency of Saddam Hussein. "I worked all over Iraq and liked all the soldiers I worked with. I loved my body. I loved all the civilians I helped, but I don't think all the civilians loved me. I was a brave soldier. I helped anybody -- men, women, children.

"But when Ali Baba shot me, and when I lay there in the street and couldn't move, nobody helped me. Why? Capt. Furat is dead because Capt. Furat is weak. Nobody on the street helped him."

Capt. Furat was fighting for his country, but he was fighting alongside our own military too, as brave as anyone.

Hopefully this country can say thank-you in some way so that in his recovery, Capt. Furat will never again have to wonder why nobody helped him.

I know I'm just one tiny blogger, but if we spread the story around, perhaps some good can come of it.