Week 2

Back to Updates

We live behind Saddam Hussein's Palace. I's a grand structure, full of art and money. On the way to eat we pass by his pool, better than any I've seen before.

Baghdad was a beautiful city once. You can see it in the detailed brick sidewalks, the arched sentries hanging over the streets and the intricate décor in each building's design. There are no sky scrapers here. Buildings are large and sprawling. It seems this area of Baghdad wasn't the center of the city, just the heart of the government.

We patrol the Green Zone, the most fortified area in the world. The Tigris River runs around our backs and 15-foot walls separating us from the rest of the city. Aside from the occasional mortar volley or car bomb along the perimeter, we are safe.

A soldier we are replacing gives us tours. He is happy to be going home. From the small, square, bulletproof windows of our Humvee we take in the skyline. Many of the buildings are in bad shape. What wasn't bombed during the initial invasion has deteriorated over time. Trees and weeds grow unchecked along the avenues. The city is dirty now – grimy and unkempt. Their tan colored facades add to the disheveled appearance. The only buildings that have retained their beauty are occupied by Coalition Forces, and hidden behind walls and razor-wire.

Like those buildings, many things are hidden here.

Over the river, in a place I may never see, smoke billows in the air. Most smoke I've seen has been gray, but war smoke is black. Within minutes, a second plume rises less than a mile away. Those charged with securing the Green Zone become tense as Blackhawk helicopter sweep through patrols. CNN will later tell me a car exploded in a marketplace. No soldiers have been killed.

We hear explosions daily, some louder than others. Rifles pop sporadically, but never long enough to trace. We are in a bubble of dependence, protected by others who will expect us to do the same if our turn comes to man the checkpoints. Here, we are safe.