The US fortress inside Baghdad, where the American embassy sits behind razorwire and concrete blast barricades and where the “Interim government” of Iraq installed by the US is stored, is being penetrated more and more frequently by the Iraqi resistance. In a report today from the AP:
The warning to Americans and Iraqi officials in the Green Zone followed the discovery Tuesday of an explosive device at the Green Zone Cafe, a popular hangout for Westerners living and working in the compound which houses major U.S. and Iraqi government offices. A U.S. military ordnance detachment safely disarmed it, U.S. officials said.
A loud explosion shook the Green Zone on Thursday afternoon and smoke was seen rising from inside the compound. The U.S. military had no immediate information on the incident. Insurgents regularly fire at the compound.
Americans living and working in the zone were warned to avoid non-essential movements, travel in groups and avoid specific areas.
A Financial Times article from September 15 cites American military commanders:
US military officers in Baghdad have warned they cannot guarantee the security of the perimeter around the Green Zone, the headquarters of the Iraqi government and home to the US and British embassies, according to security company employees.
At a briefing earlier this month, a high-ranking US officer in charge of the zone’s perimeter said he had insufficient soldiers to prevent intruders penetrating the compound’s defences.
The US major said it was possible weapons or explosives had already been stashed in the zone, and warned people to move in pairs for their own safety. The Green Zone, in Baghdad’s centre, is one of the most fortified US installations in Iraq. Until now, militants have not been able to penetrate it.
And so it goes. Less than a month ago, the 1,000 American deaths milestone was passed and as of 10/6/04 the toll stood at 1065 dead Americans. According to the Iraq Coalition Casualty Count website, there have been exactly FOUR days in the year 2004 which have passed without at least one American military death and the last such day was in June.
There is now no area in Iraq in which it is possible for an American to travel freely.
So much for the imposition of “democracy” at the point of a gun. The only question remaining about the American occupation of Iraq involves the details of how it badly and quickly it ends.
CORRECTION: A reader points out in comments that I have incorrectly counted the days which passed without an American death. The actual number is 62 days in 2004 without an American death, according to the Iraq Coalition Body Count website, here and here.
UPDATE: The Sheraton Hotel in Baghdad, popular among Western journalists and located near the Green Zone, has been hit by rockets.