Green Zone - week three

The sites....well our department is lucky enough to have a couple of vehicles and a couple of my co-workers dove me around the Green Zone to check it out. We went to the Crossed Swords where thousands of troops would march ceremoniously and Saddam would preside over them. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hands_of_Victory) I got to climb and venture up into one of the hands through a complex, narrow maze of ladders and tunnels. It was not meant to be used as place for the general public but a place for security to lookout.

In hindsight, it was a little dangerous climbing up and down, but our sense of adventure got the best of us. There are two sets of crossed swords that encompass a long avenue or general assembly area, one on each end. Huge light towers once lit up the entire 1 mile length. Now it is mostly abandoned with the occasional people like us visiting, taking some photos and walking around. There are some locals here and there walking about; not sure if they are just hanging out or on there way somewhere else.

We tried to see the tomb of the unknown soldier, which looks like a flying saucer. It's enormous. But we got turned away by some Iraqi security guards and we weren't about to argue. They didn't even want us taking pictures so we drove away pretty quickly.

Next we went to a place called Union which is another U.S. compound. It contains the Baath Party Headquarters building. It's tall and square.....like a big cube. We didn't go in that bulding, but there was a small restaurant and a few shops selling pirated DVDs, movies and TV shows, as well as music CDs. There are also a coupld of barber shops.

In our drive, we encountered many huge speed bumps andcheck point and had to repeatedly show our badges. It's oneof the things you really have to get used to. A wide assortment of people will check it.... from U.S. Marines, Army, Air Force, Iraqi Security, Iraqi Army, private security, contract security, wal-mart security.....ok ok I just wanted to see if you were paying attention. Which does bring me to an important aspect, you really have to pay attention at the checkpoints becuase they are authorized to use deadly force if they see something that doesn't jive. All the check points are armored and lock and loaded. It can be unnerving. There have been a few incidents where,...... well one example is a person behind the wheel accidentally lurched forward when he was reaching for his badge and he took 6 shots through the windshield. Unfortunately he perished.

There are precise rules about check points that they drill into you. Being extra cautious goes a long way. You have to respect and be aware of where you are at all times or else there can be catastrophic consequences.