Rahim's Battle

My longest story yet. I hope someone reads it. *is desert storm **is operation desert fox. launched by Clinton cause Saddam kept defying no fly zones

A-10 "Warthog." Designed to attack and destroy enemy armor. A-10's
carried a variety weapons. Most notably a 30mm revolving cannon
mounted under it's nose that fired at a rate of 3900 rounds a minute.
When fired an A-10's cannon sounded like sheets of metal being ripped
in half. Hajji called A-10'S "Wahs" or monster in English.


Bradley fighting vehicle equipped with a 25mm chain gun and a
TOW missile system.

US Army utility truck.

Humvee

Rahim was looking through his binoculars down onto the road that ran parallel to the sloped, rocky bluff he and his men were positioned behind. His two diggers were scrambling their way back up the bluff as the sun rose a pale yellow in the morning desert sky. The diggers reached the top of the bluff and ran up to Rahim and saluted. They were mere boys no older than thirteen. Rahim looked down at the lads:
"Are the bombs planted in the right positions with their detonators set?" He asked the boys.
"Yes Sir!" the one boy replied.
"Good work lads." Rahim said. "You've done your regiment proud."
Rahim patted the boys on their shoulders and beamed a big, approving smile through his thick black beard. The boys smiled back at him. Their youthful exuberance warmed Rahim's heart and broke it at the same time. Such beautiful boys he knew would likely soon be dead. He had two sons and a daughter of his own and had a strong urge to tell these two lads to go home and wait until they were men to fight the Jihad. A combat regiment was no place for children. The boys scampered away laughing. Rahim shrugged off his fatherly feelings and turned his focus to the task at hand. His regiment, such as it was, fifty six men in all. A rag tag team of men and boys from from a half a dozen jihadi groups. Iraqis, Saudis, Jordanian's, Sunnis, Shea. Most were good men but their were some bad elements. The worst was a gang of thugs from Syria that claimed ties to Al-Qaeda. They're were rumors circulating among the men that the Syrians were financing their Jihad through kidnapping, extortion, paid assassinations and robbery. There was no doubt in Rahim's mind the Syrians were bad men but he needed all the fighters he could get. Iraq needed all the fighters it could get.
     Before the American invasion Rahim had been an officer in the Republican guard. His family was Sunni with ties to the Baath party and Rahim had been ferociously loyal to Saddam Hussein. He fought the Americans in 1990 in the mother of all battles.* He had narrowly escaped death by American air power when an A-10 attacked his unit as they fled Kuwait over the Saddam highway. He fought the Traitors of Iraq in the Kurdish uprising that followed the American withdraw. During the unprovoked attack by the Americans in 1998** with their cruise missiles and stealth bombers Rahim's base was badly damaged and several of his comrades were killed. Rahim vowed revenge on the Aggressors but he was growing weary of war and death. In his heart he knew the Americans would come for Saddam one day and Iraq would be destroyed if she resisted. When the Infidels invaded again in 2003 like many members of the Iraqi military Rahim took off his uniform, donned civilian cloths and sat the fighting out. Rahim was no coward but he was a practical man. He knew Iraq was no match for the American war machine. At first Rahim was skeptical of the Americans. They did nothing to prevent the chaos and looting that followed in the wake of their invasion and they were quick to use excessive force over the tiniest infractions. After a few months and some good will by the Americans Rahim had a change of heart. He thought that perhaps the Americans could help restore Iraq to her former glory. Everyone knew about Saddam's notorious brutality against his own people, particularly the Shea and Kurds. As a Sunni Rahim feared reprisals on his people from the Shea majority. He hoped the Americans would prevent this from happening and for a time believed what the Americans were saying about free elections, security and peace in his country. Then Rahim was detained in a sweep of his home town of Ramadi by the Americans and was sent to Abu-Ghraib prison. He sat in a grossly overcrowded cell for six weeks and witnessed the American guards taking pleasure in terrorizing and humiliating the prisoners. One night Rahim was blind folded and made to lay naked in a pile of other men while the guards walked vicious dogs around them. Rahim could hear the dogs barking and snarling while the guards laughed. The guards kicked the pile of men while the dogs nipped at them. When it was over Rahim was thrown back into his overcrowded cell naked and had to wait days to get his cloths back. It was the most humiliating experience of his life and when he was released from Abu-Ghraib Rahim was radicalized and vowed revenge on his oppressors. He hooked up the Al-Qa-Cerra brigade and as a former officer in the Republican Guard he was given a leadership role in organizing and executing ambushes. He was now on his Biggest assignment yet. Ambush an Army supply column that was set to pass by his position within the hour. His commander assured him the intelligence was good and the Infidel's blood would run through the streets. Rahim was excited but wary. He knew all to well how overwhelming American firepower could be.
     The sun was rising high into the sky and the temperature was soaring. Flies were buzzing around everyone's heads as scorpions came out of the rocks spooked by all the commotion. Some of the men smashed the scorpions with their rifle butts while others tried their luck with picking the scorpions up and throwing them at each other. Rahim shook his head in disgust. He remembered his days in the Republican guard where honor and discipline was the rule. Now he was leading a pack of childish hooligans into battle. He prayed they wouldn't all get themselves killed. He ignored his men's antics and called his lookout on his cellphone.
"Uday. This is Rahim. Do you see anything yet?"
"No sir. Nothing yet." Uday replied.
"Are your detonators ready?" Rahim asked.
"Yes sir. They're ready." Uday replied.
"Good Uday. Rahim said. "Remember your training Uday. Look for big trucks and tankers. Don't fire the detonator until a tanker is over the first bomb. The wreck and fire will slow the rest of the convoy down and our mortor men and RPG crews will have a better shot at the convoy. Do you understand your orders Uday?"
"Yes sir. I understand." Uday said.
"I hope so Uday. Rahim said. "You have the most important job in this attack. You have to get it right.
"Yes sir. I understand." Uday said.
Rahim said out and flipped his phone shut. Uday was as dumb as a mule and prone to excitement. Rahim hoped Uday's training, the hours of looking at different shapes of vehicles, of observing convoys, of learning to identify different weapons, of working with explosives, detonators and timing would pay off and Uday would blow the right truck. All Rahim could do know was pray. Rahim's phone rang. He answered and said:
"This is Rahim."
Uday's excited voice was on the other end.
"Sir! They're here! I see the convoy!"
"Tell me what you see Uday." Rahim said in a calming tone. "Do you see any big trucks or tankers?"
Uday gave his report:
 I see four Humvees with weapons mounted on their roofs. Looks like .50 caliber machine guns and Grenade launchers. Two Bradley fighting vehicles with big chain guns and what looks like missile launchers. More trucks are coming. Two three axle utility trucks and two more Humvees. I don't see any tankers. The first Humvees are almost over the first bomb sir. What do you want me to do?"
Rahim peered over the road with his binoculars. He could see the four Humvees and the two Bradleys. This wasn't a supply column. It was mobile combat infantry and from the looks of the vehicles it was the Marines. This wasn't the mission Rahim was sent to accomplish. Blowing supply columns was one thing but attacking Marines. He knew they wouldn't run the kill zone the way a thinly guarded supply column would. They would take up defensive positions and fight and what was worse they had heavy weapons. Rahim's casualties would be many if he tangled with this column. Before he could make a decision as to what to do his men opened up on the column. With automatic weapons fire and RPG's screaming down on the Marines they quickly took up defensive positions and started pounding the bluff with their .50 calibers and grenade launchers. Rahim had no choice now but to attack. With .50 caliber rounds whizzing past his head and grenades exploding everywhere he yelled into his phone for Uday to fire the first detonator. A Humvee went up in a deafening explosion. Rahim's men cheered "God is Great" and waved their weapons in the air. Marines frantically ran to the burning Humvee to save their wounded comrades. A Bradley fighting vehicle fired a TOW missile at Rahim's position. The missile found it's mark and tore a gaping hole through the bluff. Men were thrown into the air and hit the ground in grotesque heaps of mangled flesh and blood. The screams and cries of the wounded mixed with the roar of automatic weapons fire. The horrific symphony of war. Rahim's line started to waver when the Bradley's big chain guns started ripping apart the bluff. Men ran from one position to the next to get away from the chain gun's vicious pounding. Rahim's mortar men were raining rounds down onto the Marines as his RPG crews and machine gunners fired their weapons. A mortar round found it's mark on top of one of the big trucks. The truck went up in a blaze of fire and metal. Another missile was fired into the bluff and another massive hole was blown open. More of Rahim's men were killed and wounded.
    The battle had been raging for a good thirty minutes. Despite the pounding the Marines were giving them and the two missile strikes Rahim managed to reform his line and his men were holding it as well as the Marines were holding their position. He knew the Marines could call in an air strike on his position which would be a catastrophe. He had to do something quick.
   Rahim was considering a withdraw when above the roar of battle he heard a deafening, shrieking scream fly over his head. When he looked up his heart leaped into his mouth. A-10's. Two of them. His chest was gripped with terror as he watched the two planes bank right and come around to strafe his position. Men dropped their weapons and ran at the site of the aircraft but in their panic they ran into the open.
Rahim screamed for them to take cover but it was to late. The revolving cannons on the A-10's opened up on Rahim's men with a sound like giants ripping sheet metal in the sky. Earth, flesh, men and bones, flew everywhere as the huge 30mm rounds ripped Rahim's position to pieces. Rahim threw himself against the rocky bluff as if trying to become one with it. The two A-10s screamed over head and banked left for another pass. Rahim watched in horror as the two planes seemed to come right at him. One of them fired two rockets that found their mark not twenty meters from where Rahim was taking cover. There was a ground shaking explosion and fireball as more 30mm rounds tore into the defenseless men. Then the A-10's disappeared into the sky leaving a twisted heap of bloody carnage in their wake. The battle was effectively over. What was left of Rahim's men ran away in complete disarray and as for Rahim, he was incinerated by the rocket attack. Their was no body left to recover.

    Rahim was survived by his father, his wife and two of his three children. His eight year old daughter had been killed by a cluster bomb dropped by an F-15 a mere week before he was killed. Always an inquisitive child she had found the odd little shiny object with the funny tail in the street a block away from her house. When she picked it up it detonated blowing her arm off and mutilating her face and torso. She was identified by her pink socks. Not much of an identification but it was all her mother had. Rahim never knew of the tragedy as he had not heard from his family for nearly a month before he was killed. When his family heard the news of his death Rahim's wife and two surviving children, perhaps still numb from the girl's death managed to hold themselves together. Rahim's father on the other hand was devastated. The old man threw himself on the floor weeping:
"Oh God! My Son! Oh my heart is broken! Allah take me now! I don't want to live without my son!"
The old man never recovered from the loss of his beloved son.
Rahim's wife promptly packed their meager belongings, sold their house for next to nothing, hired an SUV and driver and fled with her surviving family to Syria. A bold move for an Iraqi woman but she knew Iraq was descending into chaos and wasn't going to see another one of her children killed. Once they settled with distant relatives in Syria she put a framed picture of Rahim and her daughter on the mantle. She told everyone they were martyrs but in her heart she knew they died for nothing. A senseless war of aggression against her home land by a country she'd never seen and knew nothing about. She hoped that one day she might return to Iraq but with what she was hearing about all the violence between the Shea and Sunni and the Americans bombing everything she wondered if their would be an Iraq to return to. Everything she had known, her family, her friends, her culture, her heritage lay in a heap of smoldering ruins. Now she was alone left to care for a sad old man and two boys with no father in a violent world she was terrified of. Every day she prayed for a miracle she knew would never come. She was dead inside yet still among the living. She was in a silent hell.

Author's Note

Most Americans have a view of the insurgents we fought in Iraq as fanatical bad guys hell bent on dying in a glorious Jihad so they could get some from 72 virgins just like the kings and sheiks did in the stories their culture grew up on. The truth, as always was much more subtle and complex than that. If you read this whole thing I thank you and I hope I shed just a little bit of light on who the Iraqi insurgency really were.

Reviews

[Marie]

I don't read war stories as a rule, but you are a skilled writer, and this was very interesting, very informative. War is not glorious, but a tragic waste.

[Baby Ricochet]

Yes it certainly is. Thank you Marie

[lee von cleef]

The price ? a lot of waste in war.

[Baby Ricochet]

That's for sure

[Rita L. Sev]

This is an excellent piece, Mark. You have made this conflict real, and what some may think of as monsters, you have given them humanity. No one wins in war.

[Baby Ricochet]

No they sure as hell don't. Thank you for reading Rahim's battle Rita. I appreciate it.

[Will]

Given your experience, you offer a unique insight into this world that most of us will never have. That said, you paint a vivid of picture of the man and his life, and who he really was. I liked it very much, because you showed him as a human being and not just a name, face, and bulls eye. Grammatical errors here and there, but I think you can run it through a program that could iron those out. Good story, Ricochet.

[Baby Ricochet]

Thank you Will. The story is kinda choppy cause when it comes to writing prose I'm always worried about the work being to long. Long meandering stories don't play well on the WC.

[Will]

I greatly enjoy story writing, and length is the last thing I worry about. I know I have a story that's at least 8 pages long printed out. Don't worry about it, just write what you want.

[Baby Ricochet]

I know I shouldn't worry about the length of a piece but I've got a poet's mentality to writing. I need to set it aside for prose. Thank you for your advice Will. I appreciate it. I

[Will]

Anytime...

[Pryde Foltz]

This is my first introduction to your prose. I was very impressed. You tell a clear and easy to follow story. (A lot of spelling mistakes but that just needs a proofreader) You also accomplish your goal. I can't say that I ever believed that 'enemy' in any war was anything other than human and you demonstrate this well. So, you can write, but let's look at your storytelling, which is something else. You do a lot of telling--i.e. Rahim's back story. As a reader I'd be more drawn in if you showed me. You have a lot of compelling stuff here, but you distance yourself and the reader by placing it in the past. I also find the opening a bit bland. You have the boys setting up for an attack. Even though you TELL me Rahim will be sad to see them die, I'd rather feel it. Show me either through the boys or Rahim's actions. It really was a well-written piece, and my critique is not meant to offend. Some ideas. Feel free to delete if you like. I won't be offended.

[Baby Ricochet]

The beginning needs something extra, that's for sure. I don't write to many stories. I'm always worried about them being too long. That's why Rahim's back story is so condensed. It was important to the story to know who he was and why he became part of the insurgency but it's short so it kinda reads like a news column. I left a few things out too. When hajji used IED's in coordination with ambushes they typically would blow the IED as a signal to start firing their weapons. I wanted to put in a conversation with Rahim discussing that with his team leaders as any regiment, platoon or unit is broken into teams and they all have team leaders that coordinate their team with others for an effective attack. I left it out cause I thought the story was to long as is was. That's the problem with short stories on the WC. To short they get choppy like this one is and to long they don't get read. Maybe the next time I'll write like three short chapters and spread it over a week. I might could smooth the story out more and avoid the "Jesus this is too damn long" effect short stories can have on this site. Thank you for your review Pryde. It's good to get constructive criticism. It helps you stand back from your work and thinkj about making it better.

[Emily B]

bravo

when our words meet metal we can change the world, i believe you've done it

[Baby Ricochet]

Thank you Emily.

[Emily B]

proud to know you