Headed For Afghanistan

It’s an evocative image, Veterans Day or not.

It was taken at the U.S. military’s Forward Operating Base in Mosul on election night. On the screen, Obama is giving his acceptance speech. In the background, U.S. Army Sgt. Patrick Kopecky from Manitowoc, WI. is calling home.

What first attracted me to the image was the sense of relief that Iraq planning will soon be out of neocon hands. As for Sgt. Kopecky, it’s impossible to say whether the election had any relation to his call. On the other hand, I can just imagine him telling folks back home he’s sure he’s headed for Afghanistan.

(image: Maya Alleruzzo/AP. Mosul, Iraq. Nov. 4, 2008)