Kirkuk, the city in Iraq we were to take control of, was not just any city. It stands on the site of the ancient Assyrian capital of Arrapha, and was the battle ground for three empires Assyria, Babylonia, and Media. The ruins of a five thousand-year old citadel are nearby. The history of this place reeked of war, bloodshed, victory, and defeat.
On the day we entered the city in April 2003, thirty thousand Iraqi army soldiers were there to defend it. There were less than one thousand of us.
Being out numbered thirty to one, we knew it would be tough and we’d suffer many casualties. But I was also confident we would win. As we approached the city, I claimed Psalm 91:7 again: “A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.” We continued to march forward though the odds were not in our favor.
Upon entering the city, however, we were alone. The Iraqi soldiers, all thirty thousand of them, had retreated by the time we arrived. Not one was left. We took the city without incident or injury, and I praised God for his protection once again.
“What are we fighting for, anyway?” I can imagine the Iraqi soldiers asking each other before retreating. They served a tyrant. From the 1991 Gulf War until 2003, the former Iraqi government systematically expelled an estimated 120,000 Kurds, Turkmens, and some Assyrians from Kirkuk and other towns and villages in this oil-rich region. Meanwhile, the Iraqi government resettled Arab families in their place in an attempt to reduce the political power and presence of ethnic minorities. The Iraqi authorities also seized minorities’ property and assets; those who were expelled to areas controlled by Kurdish forces were stripped of all possessions and their ration cards were withdrawn.
The reason why Americans have been as successful as we have in war is that we have something to fight for something worth coming back home to. That’s why I believe we would have held up in battle, even outnumbered as we were. But I’m still glad we didn’t have to.
Lord, give me the courage and strength to march forward into the unknown, knowing you are with me.
“If you make the Most High your dwelling even the LORD, who is my refuge then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent.” (Psalm 91:9, 10)