Chai Tea, Mud Huts, Villages With No Names

This war will be won over glasses of chai tea, in mud huts, in villages with names we cannot pronounce. - K. Henry"

(Photo by: Iraq the Model)

DefenseLINK News: 'Operation Harvest Light' Launches to Help Iraq's Date Industry

Officials from the Najaf, Karbala and Babil provincial agriculture departments met with coalition forces representatives April 27 at the regional embassy office in Hillah to discuss "Operation Harvest Light," an operation to spray date palm trees with insecticide to eliminate insects that threaten to obliterate the crop.

Iraq dates were once considered top quality because of their high sugar content, superb flavor and texture. Drought, security issues and insect infestation have contributed to reduced yields in recent years. In addition, Iraq's small crop-dusting helicopter fleet was destroyed during the conflict, and the agriculture ministry's pesticides were looted in the chaos following the collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime.