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| Iraq |
| From Baghdad to Jordan -- a Journalist’s Westward Trip |
| 2003-03-29 |
| *This guy is one of two journalists who ticked off the Iraqis and was ejected. Here's a few paragraphs about what he saw on his trip from Baghdad to Jordan.* ...after passing Iraqi military positions on the way out of the city, we saw no Iraqi forces whatsoever. At first, we couldn't tell who was in control of the highway. But less than 50 miles on, we ran into what looked like American forces. We stopped the car and got out, waving white handkerchiefs. We walked 100 yards to a position of what turned out to be Australian special forces, armed with artillery and about a dozen Humvee-type vehicles. *Huh? Special forces with artillery? By the way, note the "50 miles". I'm speculating, but now I'm wondering if the 3rd ID stopped exactly where it was supposed to stop when they got 50 miles from Baghdad.* Despite the fact that they surrounded us, making us get down on our hands and knees as they searched us, we were delighted to see them. Once the Australians determined we were friendly, they were happy to see us too — and interested in how little military presence we'd seen exiting Baghdad. Then they sent us on our way toward Jordan. *Yeah, I'll bet they're very interested to hear information about the western approaches to Baghdad.* The desert road was surreal, littered with the carcasses of dozens of burnt-out vehicles, including Iraqi armored personnel carriers with incinerated bodies inside. *Dozens of kills — that sounds good. It also sounds like the reporters couldn't resist poking around inside at least one of them. That's maybe not too smart due to unexploded ordnance and possible boody traps.* We saw ruined bridges and what looked like the skeleton of a Syrian tourist bus. *Ruined bridges, but this guy mentions no problem with traversing the road — so the damage isn't too bad. And wasn't there something about a clobbered Syrian tour bus in the news recently?* Red Crescent vehicles passed in the other direction, ferrying medical supplies toward Baghdad. *They don't seem to be scared of our ‘vicious bombing campaign’.* At one point a U.S. Black Hawk helicopter bore hovered above, but it left us alone after making out the letters "TV," which we'd applied to the roof of our truck with black duct tape. *That's obviously a guess on the journo's part. But I'm still happy they didn't make the acquaintance of something that emits explosives or a lot of high-velocity lead.* For 350 miles, we saw no Iraqi military presence at all. But at the border, Saddam loyalists were still in control of the Iraqi side — 200 feet from our nominal allies the Jordanians. Customs officials elaborately searched our bags and stamped our passports. They checked to see that the serial numbers on our computers matched those indicated on our entry documents — as if we were leaving some normal country. *Governments come and go, but the bureaucracy is immortal.* |
| Posted by:Patrick Phillips |
| #5 Lotsa Arab lunatics are making a lot of noise about volunteering to head for Baghdad and fight the Great Satan. Got a feeling the insurance rates on Syrian tour buses just went way, way up. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2003-03-30 00:39:03 |
| #4 I'm sure there are a few "assets" along the way, to tidy up the mess here and there. Looks like Syria is trying hard to beat out Iran or NK for that number 2 spot. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2003-03-29 13:58:35 |
| #3 I'd assume we do, but would hope that the burned out "jihadi human shield tour" bus was too far into Iraq to change the minds (as if....) of the following |
| Posted by: Frank G 2003-03-29 13:58:05 |
| #2 Anyone know if we might have all routes west from Baghdad covered? That'd make jihadis' trips from Syria short but sweet... |
| Posted by: Bulldog 2003-03-29 12:55:54 |
| #1 Reading a report like this makes you wonder just how viable the Iraqi army still is. Also considering the distance from the Syrian/Iraqi border to Baghdad, we probably have electronic sensors that monitor traffic pretty well. Fish in a barrel sounds apt. |
| Posted by: Doug De Bono 2003-03-29 16:51:04 |