Freckle-faced boys and girls

There are U.S. Marines at the Hotel Kut where we are staying in Al-Kut. A lot of them. We first discovered that there were a lot this morning when we came down for breakfast and there was no food left in the restaurant. None. Worse still, there was no coffee. The Marines were gone, but I could imagine their sergeant saying, "Let's eat up people."

Even if no one said anything remotely like that, they did eat up. There had been plenty of food the night before. The funny thing was, when we saw them later at lunch in the restaurant, most of them seemed so little. Where were they putting all that food? They also seemed very young. Freckle-faced boys and girls touring a foreign country. In desert camouflage uniforms that meshed nicely with the beige fly-specked walls. With weapons slung over the backs of their chairs, barrels facing down.

No weapons of mass destruction, certainly, but destructive enough.

Most of the Marines here are from the 4th Marines out of Washington, D.C., and most of the men and women are from points south. We keep asking if there is anyone from Washington state, but so far, we haven't found anyone here in Al-Kut.

They're all friendly enough, even if they do call you "sir." What they can't understand is why we are here in Iraq. One guy was incredulous when Dan told him that he had been here before and wanted to come back.

"You knew what this country was like and you still volunteered to come back?" he asked. His companions just shook their heads in disbelief.