Letters from Baghdad

[yesman065]

Sent: Fri, 27 Jul 2007 6:12 am
Subject: The wild wild West of Baghdad is getting stranger as the week goes on!


Well summer is in full swing here in the Wild Wild West of Baghdad. We
are having temperatures getting above 120 degrees each day. It will be
like that for the next 6 weeks HOT! We made the news again yesterday
and it was not a good thing. Well first off I was coming back from
dinner last night @ 6 pm Baghdad time, I was back in the palace and
than POW! ...Off went a huge VBIED, (Vehicle Bourne Independent
Explosive Device, a truck loaded with TNT/C4 suicide attack), it was
outside the wall of the complex. It was very powerful for you could feel
it inside the building and it blew out a window. I was almost knocked to
the ground by this woman running out of her office and diving down in
the hallway. It looks like the "neighbors" are getting bolder or more
desperate for they are now getting closer to the "International Zone,
IZ" here. We just got rid of the "Baghdad Rocket Man" and now it seems
the suicide bombers are now moving/focusing in on this area. The VBIED
ended up killing 50 people and wounding 49 all local Iraqi's. This type
of attack was also done a day earlier when the Iraqi soccer team won its
game and the fans came out into the street and one of those VBIED also
showed up and did the same type of damage to the fans

Earlier in the day a group in the Iraqi parliament announced that they
were leaving and not going to participate for a while. Well there are
all of these "benchmarks" that are to be meet by September, per
president Bush, and we are here to help them meet the benchmarks and
now they leave. It is a different world the way the process flows here
in Baghdad.

Later on this week the Iraqi soccer team plays Saudi Arabia in the final
of the Asia soccer cup final. We got to be ready again for all of the
celebratory fire and of course got to keep watching for these VBIED's.
Well there is only so much I can do, so I think I will do something
practical and that I have full control over. I am heading back to my
hooch this afternoon and do my laundry! I know it is Friday back in
America so after work everybody should just relax stop off and have a
cold one and don't let the traffic get to you, you'll make it home OK.!

CDR "Downtown Baghdad"