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Bringing Bandwidth To Iraq

Posted by kdawson on from the blood-bombs-and-bullets dept.

jemevans sends us a link to his nonfiction tale of two California cypherpunks who went to Baghdad to seek their fortune and bring the Internet to Iraq. A much abridged version ran in Wired a while back. From the original: "Ryan Lackey wears body armor to business meetings. He flies armed helicopters to client sites. He has a cash flow problem: he is paid in hundred-dollar bills, sometimes shrink-wrapped bricks of them, and flowing this money into a bank is difficult. He even calls some of his company's transactions 'drug deals' — but what Lackey sells is Internet access. From his trailer on Logistics Staging Area Anaconda, a colossal US Army base fifty miles north of Baghdad, Lackey runs Blue Iraq, surely the most surreal ISP on the planet. He is 26 years old."

4 of 230 comments (clear)

  1. Need employees by phorm · · Score: 4, Insightful

    One of my questions would be. Who out there is still hiring, what are the wages like, and who here on slashdot would be willing to sign up?

    We take a lot of our technology for-granted. Bringing modern technology to a war-torn, outdated country could be both a dream and a nightmare.

    1. Re:Need employees by slamb · · Score: 4, Insightful

      So come on, right-wing types! Where's your "support the troops" spirit?

      Maybe due to my left-wing political views, I don't understand this question. You seem to be talking about something entirely different than supporting our troops. It seems like there are several different actions you can take, including

      • what you're suggesting - strapping on body armor and do similar things as our troops, with shrinked-wrapped bricks of hundred-dollar bills replacing training, "semper fidelis", and command structure. This is what I call "being a mercenary".
      • joining the military yourself. Not as lucrative as mercenary work, but much more respected, at least historically. (The popularity of euphemisms like "private security" seems to indicate a recent change to that attitude.)
      • participating in our democracy to keep our troops as safe as possible - ensure they're not sent anywhere they don't need to be, and ensure they are well-equipped when they are sent there. This is what I think of when people say "support our troops".
  2. Re:Sensational by spencerogden · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Where are these positives articles about Iraq which you speak of?

    --

    Spencer Ogden

  3. Re:Internet in Iraq by ProfessionalCookie · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Thanks for your service.