20 APR 05

The above palace know as the D-Main Palace was originally made for Saddams mother. It rests on a steep cliff beside the Tirgris River. This palace is much more flowery than his other palaces. There are many gardens around it and much of the interior decor makes use of a flower motif. There are between 70 and 80 palaces like this in Iraq.

Many of Saddams former palaces have taken on new and unusual uses. This Green Beans Coffee Shop (above) is a favorite spot for coalition personnel.
 

Here is a view of the Tigris river from a D-Main palace balcony. You can watch Iraqi's on the other side of the river swim and wash their cars in the river. Remember if you can see them, they can see you.

The first day I arrived in Tikrit a car bomb went off at an Iraqi check point a ways from the palace. The explosion was so viscous that it broke glass in the D-Main palace located a half a mile away. The blast killed 15 Iraqi Soldiers.


This photo was take as I drove out around 2 AM as part of Operation Hurtgen Forest in Baiji Iraq. Iraqi and coalition troops captured four suspected insurgents that morning.

This is one of Saddams bird houses. Saddam used to hunt wild game in the area I live and work.
 

Saladin's influence in and around Tikrit is very prevalent. This is a site of a former 600AD Christian Monastery, which now has a Muslim Mosk built on it. The original well is still in use today. This site has not been officially excavated. Since Iraq gained sovereignty on 28 Jun 04 no artifacts can leave the country and most significant artifacts captured by coalition forces during the ground war have been returned. Although, I did see one shred of colored glass on display at the Smithsonian website taken from the D-Main palace.

In the military there's a tradition to give a coin to someone for excellence or as thanks. We don't have a large budget so we created a wooden nickel instead, mainly to give out to individuals we interview. We ordered 1000 of the navy blue version for $136. They are printed on a late 19th century letterpress. I only wish I could have printed them myself!

This photo was taken as we flew in-between structures returning to Baghdad.

A side note: Never sit in the back right seat on a Blackhawk helicopter. I've seen others avoid this seat and now I know why. The rotation of the rotors blow winds at incredible speeds right into this seat. My sun glasses and ear plugs flew right off and out the helicopter within 10 minutes of taking off on a 45 minute flight.

Some of the shops on the smaller Forward Operating Bases (FOB) are very small. This shop at FOB Summerall near Baiji gets a shipment in once a week on Friday and the items go sell out quickly. This photo was taken on Tuesday and most of the shelves are bare. I spent a week living on FOB Summerall. Reporters from the Washington Post, Stars and Stipes, and Chicago Tribune where in the area preparing to cover a simi-large scale operation. I befriended Kevin Dougherty, a reporter from Stars and Stripes and he ended up writing a story on the Historians in Iraq. One week prior, Kevin accidentally fell asleep on his bag outside and received around 300 sandflea bites on his legs. Sandfleas normally scar for life.

Heat and dust are on the rise. It was 118 yesterday in Baghdad. A relentless four day sandstorm just ended here.

The Iraqi Army has is distinctly rich in military traditions. Here are soldiers rendering a salute and playing a horn for their commanding general who is passing by. Iraqi Army soldiers are extremely diverse educationally. This can be a challenge as we setup systems to teach and equip them. Some know how to read and write and some don't. Some speak English and some don't.

The above Iraqi soldier (on left) wanted me to take his picture. In fact, as I walked around their camp I kept hearing "take picture, take picture" and I'd see them motion as if taking a photograph.

I am impressed with the Iraqi people’s strength of heart. Many live their lives in perpetual danger and it doesn't seem to faze them on the surface. I had a wonderful conversation recently with an Iraqi Security Guard named R. who works for the Iraqi Government.  He would like to get married, settle down, and start a family but he feels the insurgents make life too dangerous to do so. When he goes home at night he changes out of his security guard outfit and doesn't dare tell a sole where or what he does for a living.


This Iraqi soldier is scanning for possible snipers along the parameter of his camp.

Not long ago a US convoy with US contractors got hit with an by an IED in a market. Two Americans and many Iraqis were killed. The ground really shook, it was like a small earth quake when  this went off. I wish I could say this is an uncommon event, but it happens almost daily. Occasionally, incoming mortar rounds or IEDs seem so close I'll role out of bed onto the ground.


A typical Iraqi shop owner straightening his goods. Shop owners sell DVDs containing as many as five movies on a single DVD. Many of these movies are recent releases currently being shown at theaters in the United States. The typical cost for one of these DVD ranges from three to five dollars.


Barbwire and concrete barriers surround most major buildings and roads in Baghdad, especially in the International Zone.




We fly via helicopter as much as possible, mainly for efficiency and safety. If one convoys regularly the chances are very good you will be attacked via small arms fire or IED. You may have heard about a helicopter getting shot down a while back. It was a Russian made private security contracts helicopter and it was flying alone which made it more vulnerable. I saw that helicopter just two days before it went down.


Many Iraqi Soldiers wear masks to hide their identity from possible insurgents. Family is extremely important to most Iraqi soldiers. Traditionally, they take one of every four weeks off work to visit their family and take them money. During the Iraq Iran war Iraq typically had a quarter of their soldiers on leave at any given time. During the Iraq Iran war Iraq lost over 1,000,000 lives.