Listening To the Land

"Originally published by the New York Times on April 17th, 2006

War comes in waves and cycles. First, there’s a little apprehension and a lot of excitement about the unknown future. There’s bonding, adventure, hardship and growth. After a while, even though the pace is still rapid and new occurrences are born daily, monotony sneaks up on you. You’re always alert, sensitive to the sounds around you, but the nuances can become muted. You have to be a good listener.

Native Americans would put their ears to the ground to hear or feel vibrations of, say, a train coming, or a cavalry of soldiers on horseback. Out here we have intelligence analysts with their collective ears to the ground. They listen to the Americans fighting in Iraq and to the people of Iraq. They help us understand the sounds of the land. They spend their days poring over intelligence reports about things like the disposition of the Iraqis and enemy tactics. The intelligence flows from the battlefield, all the way up the chain of command. It is continuous, like a tide."
Wordsmith at War