News of War in Iraq

News of war in Iraq is easy now compared to how it was back in 1990 during the first Gulf War.

Back then, communication took weeks by letter and phone calls, when they were allowed, were very expensive and were monitored by the military. As soon as one "wrong" word was uttered by either party, click, dead line. Every phone call.

I can remember our home phone bill at about $300 per month during that short war for just a few cut-off phone calls. As soon as I would ask, "where are you?" or "what are you doing?", click, dead air.

Now things are much brighter. You don't have to wait for weeks to see if your loved one is alive and well. Computers are great! An e-mail account can be accessed from around the world through a host of e-mail providers.

Fortunately, there are several ways we can communicate to give and get news of war in Iraq and from home, such as:

E-mail

Back in 1991, when David went to the Gulf for the first time and I was due to have our second child, it took two weeks for me to get an answer from David through the mail.

Telephone

Skype phone

US Mail

I watched the news each day, wondering if he was okay. I lived to check the mail each afternoon. Most days I would walk away feeling empty and alone because Mr. Postman would not deliver the letter....

Now, I can send an e-mail and possibly get a response from my husband in Iraq within minutes if he happens to be on his computer. E-mail is the only thing that has helped to make his absence over the better part of the past three years bearable.

First thing in the morning, I check my e-mail. Last thing at night, too, and whenever I get the chance I check to see if there is any news of war in Iraq.

I can let him know about the kind of day we are having as events happen if I am at home. If I need to know something right away or give him some important information, I can get a response within a few hours.

With the internet in Iraq, I find that I worry less about his safety and I sleep better knowing that I have heard from David just moments before turning in.

If you are not familiar with e-mail, it is so easy to use. You can get a free e-mail account with MSN, AOL, Google, or Yahoo, plus a host of other internet providers. Make up an e-mail address, such as your name or something more creative such as a nickname or a favorite hobby.

Then put your loved one's e-mail address in the "to" section of the e-mail, put a subject such as "hi" in the subject line and type your message. Click send and it is on its way. If you need help, ask the nearest child or teen. They know how to use e-mail! Easy!

You can get news of war in Iraq through your regular telephone service, satellite phone, or cell phone if you have an international plan.

No matter how you slice it, telephone service from Iraq to the US and vice verse is expensive.

There are some good international plans you can sign up for with large carriers, but it still costs a lot, especially satellite phones.

Some friends of ours took jobs as computer programmers with a company contracting with the government four years ago. They bought a satellite phone and said it costs about $100 per call to Texas to speak to their kids for just a few minutes so they saved it just for emergencies.

On the military bases in Iraq, there are phones for the military to use free of charge, but there are so few phones and so many who want to call home that the lines are always long. Civilian contractors are not allowed to use them. They must use their own company phones to call the US and my husband just found out that in March 2007, the military is not allowing anyone on base with a satellite phone. He was selling them in his store in Al Asad but now he can no longer do this.

Phone calls with news of war in Iraq are rare. Because of the nine hour time difference between Iraq and San Antonio, calls come late at night or very early in the morning. The time difference makes phone calls inconvenient, especially for the kids who have to get up early for school.

Sometimes when David calls, he reverses the charges so they show up on our home phone bill and they are so expensive. A better way to do it that he has found is to buy prepaid phone cards at the PX and then use that to call home. No nasty phone bill surprises at the end of the month.

Now when he calls, he can give us news of war in Iraq without being censored and getting disconnected, which is a big improvement over the way it was 17 years ago.

Skype is phone service through the computer. There are other carriers who provide this service as well. Skype is the first carrier we heard of so it is the one we use for news of war in Iraq.

Go to skype.com for the most awesome and wonderful free phone service through your computer! You can download this phone for FREE onto your computer. Your loved one in Iraq or the states has to do the same.

Next, purchase Skype headphones which are available at Radio Shack, Wal-Mart, and lots of places including PX's in Iraq. You can choose from several types starting at around $10 and going up to about $40. They will say for Skype on the package. You can even purchase them online from skype.com . Then you can talk to each other FREE of charge thanks to Skype! Thank you Skype!

No, this is not an ad for Skype. I (Juanita) just think it is so nice of them to do this for us who are separated from our loved ones by war.

Hook up webcams to your computers and you can see each other while you talk. If you don't have a webcam, you can find one at Wal-Mart for about $20. It is very easy to install on your computer. Skype with a webcam is the coolest thing. My husband discovered it more than a year ago and that is how we get our news of war in Iraq.

Again, thank you, Skype, for making getting news from Iraq a little easier and less costly for us!

Thank you for your visit.

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