Hello my peoples.

Just a quick note to tell you, in case somehow you had lost count, that I have only 19 days left in Baghdad. Can you believe it? Time really does fly, even when you're repeating the same day over and over, as we frequently are in Bdad.

What can I tell you? There's no national government, my local councils are eating each other, and the war continues. Yet still, amazingly, most people get up each morning and try to make their corner of this world a better place.

It is annoying that Iraq still has no national government, if only because one gets tired of these news stories that go on and on. It was exciting to attend the first session of the new National Assembly, but now it's been over a month and still they haven't picked a prime minister. At the same time, you have to remember that this is a huge significant first time for these people to do this government creation thing. Plus, they're really negotiating not just the names of certain ministers but also constitutional positions and other major agreements that will affect the future of this country. So far, the US has been patient and well behaved, repeating over and over to all and sundry that we don't care who they pick. But I digress. You can read this stuff in the newspaper, if you care.

I recently spent a week of vacation in Cairo. Cairo is quite pleasant, for a city of 15 million. I didn't get to do all the stuff I had planned, because I came down with a huge cold/flu thing the moment I got off the plane, but I did see the main attractions and spent a lot of time wandering the streets. I was struck with the hopeful idea that some day I might be able to stroll the banks of the Tigris in Bdad as safely as I did the banks of the Nile in Cairo. Maybe not any day soon. Anyway, the Egyptian Museum is amazing, just jam packed with thousands and thousands of ancient treasures. The mummy room is particularly interesting when you're a bit feverish. The Pyramids are similarly amazing. They're bigger and just a lot more solid than I'd expected.

So that's that. I'll get out of here just as it starts to get hot. I should be on US soil by 13 May or so. After a month of vacation, I have a few weeks of training in DC. By the end of July, I should be on my way to Madrid. I hope that I get to see lots of you while I'm in the US.

hope all's well. wish you were here.

rob