Darfur in the Iraqi Desert

Who knew that refugees from Darfur went to Baghdad twenty years ago?  Not I, surely, until I heard about it from a Marine officer of my acquaintance.  His unit has recently spent time with these unfortunate people, who for the past several years have lived in tents in the desert.

There are few stereotypes in American public life more misleading than the caricature of our fighting men and women.  They are often described as losers, people who joined the armed forces in desperation.  Hardly anyone knows that you MUST have a college degree to become a commissioned officer in our ranks.  Hardly anyone knows that our fighters look a lot better than the population at large when you run the numbers on smarts, and success.

It would not occur to most folks, even to experts, that the Marines have been tending to refugees from Darfur.  But there you have it.  It’s a great story.