Got home just in time to catch an interesting report on WAFB television. The US government is actively trying to recruit oilfield workers for Iraq here in Louisiana. The report focused on efforts in Morgan City, and noted that the effort has met with little success, in spite of the large sums of money offered--up to $2,000 a day.

The report was interspersed with shots of buring oil wells, but it looked more like footage from Gulf War I. It also did not make clear if the big bucks would go to anyone, or just to folks with specialized skills like putting out well fires.

Reporter Jennifer Hale found one person who seemed to say he was heading over. He noted his father was an Iraqi national who is deceased (the cause of death was not reported, but it would have been a number of years ago--the person said that his father died when he was nine years old--and he looked to be in his thirties). At least one other person said that while the offer was tempting, his concerns for family and safety outweighed any financial gain. Interesting.

Nothing on Channel 9's web site--if I see anything I'll post it.