Go to the mobile version of this Web site.

Login | Contact Us | Site Map | Paid archives | Electronic edition | Subscription Questions | Extras

Home › News › Local News

The long road to Iraq

Aaron Harber, Special to the Rocky

Published January 29, 2008 at 2:59 p.m.
Updated January 29, 2008 at 2:59 p.m.

Text size  

More Local News

More stories »

Aaron Harber of KBDI-TV was invited by General David Petraeus to visit Iraq. This is his report on his trip. If you have questions you would like Aaron to consider asking General Petraeus, send your e-mail to Aaron@HarberTV.com.

DAY 1: Going to Iraq has to generate mixed feelings in any rational person. I was excited at the opportunity to visit General David Petraeus but I also was unenthusiastic about going into a War Zone. I had never been in a War Zone and it wasn't exactly a life goal. I had talked during last summer with Bob Woodruff about his ongoing recovery from a near-death experience when he suffered severe injuries while on duty for ABC. With a 13 year-old daughter depending on me almost every day of the year (along with four dogs), I was reluctant to go. From a journalistic perspective, however, being personally invited by General Petraeus was an opportunity I could not decline.

I had met then Lt. General Petraeus when he gave a talk to a packed crowd in 2005 at Princeton University. I was with Hodding Carter, ABC's Charlie Gibson, and The Washington Post's George Will when I was introduced to Petraeus so I probably appeared far more important than I was or am. He remembered me two years later and gave me an exclusive interview at the Pentagon after his testimony before Congress this past September. Petraeus struck me as savvy, smart, honest, and committed to his country. He was trying to make a difference and one could see how devoted he was to American soldiers and how they felt similarly about him.

The night before my departure I hosted a party for KBDI-TV to thank viewers of my program, "The Aaron Harber Show," at The Wynkoop Brewery in Denver. Thanks to Lee Driscoll, the owner of the Wynkoop and several other Denver establishments, all 250 guests had a great time. It meant, however, I only got 90 minutes of sleep before leaving for the airport. I was an hour behind schedule but Assistant Producer Emily Emerick got me to Denver International Airport in enough time to make my flight. Of course, thanks to being in a rush, I forgot a dozen items I intended to take.

My production crew had already checked in for the flight to Washington on UNITED Airlines. Don Souza, my Producer and ace videographer, had organized the technical side of the trip. Don was on loan from American Furniture Warehouse and was a veteran of travel documentaries and other challenging productions. My other videographer was Danny Marinelli. Danny had come in from Hermosa Beach, California, to be my second videographer. He also was a veteran of world travel and had just finished the season filming for the NFL. Our still photographer was Chris Rojas, the principal of Crux Photography. It was a great group and I was fortunate to have them with me.

The flight to DC was good but we had a 10-hour layover. Between Danny's Red Carpet Club membership and UNITED's largesse, all four of us were allowed in for the duration. It allowed us to plan the trip in greater detail and work with some of the military and civilian people we expected to see in Iraq. It also gave a number of people the opportunity to tell me I was crazy to go to Iraq. As I boarded the UNITED non-stop flight from Washington to Kuwait, I hoped they were wrong...