March 16, 2014.

Iraqi Officer Takes Dark Turn to al Qaeda

"It was only an ’opeless fancy,
It passed like an Ipril dye,
But a look an’ a word an’ the dreams they stirred
They ’ave stolen my ’eart awye!"

For Iraq, he was a decorated war hero, severely wounded in battle. As an officer for the Iraqi army, Brigadier General Mustafa Al Mashhadani fought against Iran in the 1980s, against Kuwait in the early 1990s, and on his home turf against Americans in 2003.

The drivelling song seemed to have kept its popularity. You still heard it all over the place. It had outlived the Hate Song. Julia woke at the sound, stretched herself luxuriously, and got out of bed.

But now, coming out of retirement at age 55, he is doing battle with a new enemy in his hometown of Fallujah: the army he served for decades. And he is doing it with a contingent of more than a hundred al Qaeda-linked fighters.

"I’m hungry," she said. "Let’s make some more coffee. Damn! The stove’s gone out and the water’s cold." She picked the stove up and shook it. "There’s no oil in it."

"Every time I fight, I whisper to myself, "It's me, you idiots," said Gen. Mashhadani. "This could have been different."