"Iraq" Baghdad by alfromcolorado

Some places just seem to keep popping up in your life. Some are good, some are bad. Iraq was neither. I was in Iraq during the Kurdish refugee crisis in what was known as Camp 4, with the closest reference point being a small Turkish Army outpost on the border known as Yakmal. I was in the army then and returned several times after that working with the Military Coordination Center in Zakho, not far from the Turkish border.

In May of 2003 I was offered a job at the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance. It was, at the time, a sort of provisional government that had a nice name. Soon after I got there they change the name to Office of the Coalition Provisional Authority, which didn't last long. They soon started using just Coalition Provisional Authority. It was destined for one more name change when in the summer of 2004 the government was turned back to the Iraqis, Paul Bremer went home and the first US ambassador to Iraq arrived. Then its name became the US Mission Iraq. I left in July 2004 right at about the this time. This was all in the Green Zone, the area where the Republican Palace was-now the temporary embassy. I have heard they call it the "IZ" now, for International Zone, home of many foreign embassies and such.

It was amazing the differences in atmosphere from the time I got there to when I left. We used to drive over to the international airport "no problem". It wasn't long before this became one of the most dangerous roads in Iraq for Improvised Explosive Devices-roadside bombs, and ambushes. A friend of mine lost his life on this road one day. An old army buddy sent me an email one day saying he was going to hook up with me in the Green Zone... He never made it.

We basically stayed most of the time in the Green Zone. I had to drive to Al'Hillah on occasion to the CPA office there. This is near the ancient site of Babylon. I also made trips up to Mosul and drove to the main northern CPA office at Irbil. We also drove to Tikrit and Kirkuk. Spent more time in traffic jams in Iraq than I particularly wanted to, but I am still here to type about it.

I wish I could have seen this place before the wars, back in the day that it was a still a tourist stop. It would be great to explore all the historic sites in the country. There are many. Who knows when this war will end and who knows what it will be like when it is finished. I know one thing, most people there are tired of it all. They just want peace, a job and to take care of their families. Too bad other folks won't let them.

I will get some more pictures on this soon. I am in another similar place right now, Kabul Afghanistan, and work seems to get in the way of posting here.

• Pros:Easy to find beer.
• Cons:There is a war going on here.