Dateline: above the garage in Portsmouth RI, 5 August 2004

Crappy pair of flights home; one in a plane so small I had a ìwindows seatîómeaning one window on each side! And that after showing up at Norfolk Airport at 0500 for a United flight to Dulles that became an 0830 USAirways flight through Laguardia.

Iím crabby, Iím tired, Iím a bit incoherent and Iíve got about 72 hours to get ready for three weeks in China! (Thank God my wife bought everythingóincluding the luggageóand forced me to pack it all last weekend).

Then I stumble into my office after driving from the airport and bump into this email:

From: "Leon, Michael (O-5)"

To: tom@thomaspmbarnett.com

Subject: The Pentagons New Map

Date: Thu, 5 Aug 2004 09:52:46 +0400

Mr. Barnett,

Your book, "The Pentagons New Map" was sent to one of the Naval Captains here in Baghdad and once I picked it I was not able to put it down. Occasionally discuss your concepts of Core/Gap with a high ranking Iraqi official who is extremely intrigued about your work!

Yesterday I was conversing with an Arab woman who stated the number one priority for Iraq is "electricity and water, then fixing the sewer system so it would stop backing up into the households". I had emphasized the importance of "security" and she stated, "We need jobs, there is security in jobs, Iraqis would not think about fighting against the coalition forces when they are working, this leads to greater security within this country."

If possible would like to order and autographed copy of your book?

Sincerely,

Michael A. Leon

LTC, TCLiaison Officer, MNSTC-I-J3 Ops Center

Baghdad, Iraq

All I gotta say is, smart little old lady Mikeís got there!

So yeah, that picks me up and gets me through the day, which ends with a two-hour meeting I could barely stay awake through.

And yet, being that out of sorts makes this a perfect night to catch up on my Amazon reviews. Yes, I clipped a slew of articles today but Iím too damn tired to do anything about them. I think Iím done doing articles until after China. Between here and wheels up itís just going to be getting the last things out the door, getting the various attics organized, and then, come Sunday, itís Chinablog for three weeks straight!

[pause while I try to remember what day it is]

You know, today in a meeting an official from Raytheon was talking about a speech I gave at a conference in the spring and I had no idea of what the man was talking about in terms of location, timing, etc. Itís all beginning to blur, so maybe now really is the time to reboot in China, connect with Number 2 Daughter, and discover a whole new world.

But first, the Amazons:

∑ Reviewing the Reviews: The Amazon Tribe (Part 1 of 4)

∑ Reviewing the Reviews: The Amazon Tribe (Part 2 of 4)

∑ Reviewing the Reviews: The Amazon Tribe (Part 3 of 4)

∑ Reviewing the Reviews: The Amazon Tribe (Part 4 of 4)