All that happy-talk from the administration, you'd think things were improving in Iraq. Well, maybe not.
You need to take a military escort to reach Baghdad airport these days. Yes, things are getting better in Iraq, according to President Bush -- remember that each hour that goes by -- but the guerrillas are getting so close to the runways that the Americans have chopped down every tree, every palm bush, every scrap of undergrowth on the way.Rocket-propelled grenades have killed so many GIs on this stretch of highway that the US army -- like the Israelis in southern Lebanon in the mid-80s -- have erased nature. You travel to Baghdad airport through a wasteland. Heathrow it isn't.
There's a Burger King across the lot, but it's in a "high-security zone" which mere passengers cannot visit. There's no water for sale...
But take a look at the passengers. There's a lady from the aid organisation Care heading off for a holiday in Thailand, and there's the Bishop of Basra in his black and red robes and dangling crucifix, and there's an outgoing television crew and the International Red Cross representative with a little Red Cross plane to catch to Kirkuk. There's also a British construction man up from Hilla who spent the previous night under fire with the local Polish battalion. "Rocket-propelled grenades and heavy rifle fire for two hours," he mutters. Of course, the occupation authorities never revealed that. Because things are getting better in Iraq.
[...]
A guy called Chuck wants to confide in me. "You know the most precious resource about this country, Bob?" he asks. "It's the Iraqi people. There's a lot of protoplasm here." I was contemplating the definition of protoplasm when the first mortar came in, a thundering roar that had the passengers ducking like a theatrical chorus and a big white circle of smoke rising lazily from the other side of the runway. There's a whizzing noise and another clap of sound.
"They're getting better," Chuck tells me. "They must have put that one close to the runway." The other Special Forces lads nod approvingly. Another tremendous explosion, and they all nod together. Another big white ring rippling skywards, as if a giant cigar addict had sat down for a smoke by the runway. "Not bad at all," says Chuck's friend.
"We used to have a five-mile safety perimeter round the airport," Chuck says. "That's now down to two miles. The max anti-aircraft range is 8,000ft. So two miles is on the edge." Translation: US forces used to control five miles round the airport -- too far to permit a man with a hand-held launcher to hit a plane. Ambushes and attacks on the Americans have reduced their control to a mere two miles. On the edge of that radius, a man might just hit a plane with a missile range of 8,000ft.
Replies: 2 people speak up
Heard on the news today that they're extending the 'security walls' that they've been building in Iraq.
It's not just around the airport that trees are being bulldozed.
http://www.guerrillanews.com/war_on_terrorism/doc3092.html
http://www.guerrillanews.com/intelligence/doc3271.html
Posted by Allison @ 10/29/2003 06:20 AM NY
Okay, so there were a few minor setbacks. Let them "bring it on" because we can "slog" it out. In the meanwhile, thousands of Iraqi children IS learning their alif's, ba's, and ta's.
All joking aside, what's this hour's update on Kobe? Anyone know what brand of aftershave he uses?
Posted by Metropolitan99 @ 10/29/2003 10:57 AM NY
