It's official! We've won in Iraq!

[unhappycamper]

Katie sez so in her first blog post after this white woman get to the Green Zone.


Katie: Greetings From Baghdad
Posted by Katie Couric
August 31, 2007


Here I am, my first day in Baghdad... It is overwhelming to be here and there is so much to take in.

We arrived at the airport this morning on a private plane. I was surprised to hear that there are now three Royal Jordanian flights into Baghdad every day. It was difficult to see much from the air ... though I did see the Tigris River. The scope of the destruction can better be taken in at ground level. I had heard a great deal about the corkscrew landing into Baghdad airport, ostensibly to avoid being a clear target for SAMs, or surface-to-air missiles.... But the airport has gotten much more secure; we banked slightly, but it wasn't nearly as jarring as I had anticipated.

The airport itself was fairly unremarkable. Not many people, but there was a duty free store with candy and scores of watches ... and a number of Iraqi police or military units hanging around. (The largest contingent, I was told, was from the Ministry of the Interior.) And everyone had a gun ... AK-47's.

I was not looking forward to the road from the airport, having heard so many stories about how dangerous it was. It's about a five-mile stretch, a straight shot to the so-called Green Zone (which is really called the International Zone), and it's pretty much a mess ... concrete barricades everywhere, lots of barbed wire, and many checkpoints, some manned by Iraqis, others by U.S. troops.

The place used to be strewn with IEDs (improvised explosive devices), or people would just shoot at cars, especially at military convoys passing by. The U.S. military has made a point of securing it; they’ve blocked off a number of on ramps, and Iraqi armored personnel carriers are dotted along the road, pointing to the neighborhoods that border the highway, as if to say, "Don't even think about it."

~snip~

It's ironic that I was in New Orleans last week, which seems like nirvana compared to Baghdad. You can’t help but wonder if this place will survive, much less thrive. Meanwhile, all U.S. and Iraqi soldiers patrolling the streets have my renewed respect and appreciation. One-hundred-and-ten degrees with full-body armor and heavy uniforms. I don't know how they do it. But they do, and we should be grateful.


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uhc comment: Since we've won, can we bring them home now? Please?

[pinto]

1. with candy and scores of watches ...!

:wtf:

[undeterred]

2. what kind of candy? so did you see any bodies floating in the Tigris?

[zanne]

3. Please! I'm trying to keep my breakfast down.

She's entirely too perky for a war zone. I wonder if she's helping with the Petraeus report.

[Cooley Hurd]

4. The airport's REALLY safe - just ask Dick Shelby & Jim Inhofe...

...they were nearly shot down there a few days ago.

[unhappycamper]

5. Tony & Dan went & had a good time

after the pucker-factor wore off.

[undeterred]

6. Just wait till they see perky Katie waving at them

:hi:

[lonestarnot]

13. Oh yeah, we're winning.

:applause:

[tanyev]

7. And New Orleans is nirvana!

Way to go for the twofer, Katie!

[leeroysphitz]

8. Wow. Sounds like a dream.

:sarcasm:

[tinymontgomery]

9. Wonder how many planes flew in before

we bombed the shit out of the place. And how nice, you can drive down the road and be safe because the ramps are blocked from anyone coming on them. I'm glad I don't watch her.

[onethatcares]

10. "and so much to take in"

like a spa treatment at the Botanical Gardens, or a leisurely cruise up the Tigris, maybe brunch at "Odays". Then on to visit the Indianalike farmers market.

I wonder if they have Cuban cigars at the duty free store.

[MasonJar]

11. Good! Now we can bring the troops home.

[Toasterlad]

12. Where Does She Say We Won?

Since that was the title of the OP, I'm not sure why you didn't include a quote of her saying that. Is it in the article?