Into the City

I went deeper into Baghdad this morning. We took an armored convoy into the IZ or "Green Zone" where the Army has a few bases and where the embassy lies. It was pretty uneventful, other than the fact I had to be up by 0430 so we could link up with the convoy by 0510. Sleep has become my nemesis.

The city is nothing like I remembered. We've reduced our presence in the city tremendously. We went there to coordinate with Armed Forces Network personnel and the Combined Press Information Center. They are both located on a small FOB, surrounded by areas we have already turned back over to the Iraqi government.

AFN transmits live radio programming to bases all over Iraq. They also send out Soldiers to cover stories for broadcast on AFN television stations that air in theater. CPIC does the direct liaision with the Baghdad press corps, both Western and Pan-Arabic. They are the entry point for media that wished to embed with our units. It was valuable to meet with them again and review how we can interface with them, how they can support our efforts, and the best ways to take advantage of their services.

Here are a few pics from the trip.

Here is a familiar pose in front of the crossed sabres that Saddam erected to commemorate the "victory" over Iran in the Iran-Iraq War. It's in a worse state of repair compared to the same picture I took there three years ago. However, the area now belongs to Iraqis, thus I couldn't get as close as I would have liked.

This picture is me standing on the balcony of one of Saddam's mistresses' palaces. The Grand Mosque is under construction in the background. It's been under construction for a while now...since Saddam's time, I believe. They ceased work on it for a time because it was going to be bigger than a mosque elsewhere- some other more important Islamic city. Completeing it would have been an affront to this holy site, although I'm uncertain where that city is exactly. They've restarted construction because Indonesia has gone ahead and built an even larger mosque. Problem solved...let the construction effort commence!

The most notable thing is the city behind me. Other than the sound of traffic it was very quiet. No explosions, no billows of black smoke, no gunfire...it was pleasantly quiet in the city.

Lastly, here is a picture of me on a chair at Al Faw palace on Camp Liberty. We visited our higher headquarters after the trip into the Green Zone. Safe and sound.

The Chair was given to Saddam as a gift from Yassar Arafat. Both men are now dead. I get to sit in the chair. I kind of like that.