Word: baghdad
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...April 10, 2003, the day after Baghdad fell. Late in the afternoon, I made my way to Saddam's main palace in the city: There had been some silly rumors that the Americans were preparing to blast it into rubble. I found a small group of American soldiers combing through the vast palace (it would later house the U.S. embassy), looking for documents. Many Iraqis - who were never allowed near the palace during Saddam's reign - had gathered at the main entrance. Many were there out of idle curiosity, and some were cheering the Americans...
...sheikh and Spainhour stroll through this former war zone together: to survey the extent of the damage. Spainhour and his commanding officer are trying to help the sheikh rebuild his village as part of the larger strategy to bring peace and reconciliation to their corner of Baghdad. It illustrates the paradigm shift that has been taking place for the U.S. military across Iraq - trying to win over both former enemies and stave off potential new ones with the use of large sums of cash...
...will take accord wherever it can. Hence the strange sight of the White House applauding a new law that would help members of Saddam Hussein's outlawed Baath Party get jobs and benefits that the U.S. had stripped from them in 2003. On Jan. 12, lawmakers in Baghdad passed legislation that would give midlevel bureaucrats who worked for the former regime a shot at government jobs, and Baathist retirees with a clean record a chance to collect pensions...
Passage of the measure marked a rare effort by Iraq's political factions to ease tensions and drew praise from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who appeared in Baghdad Jan. 15. "There seems to be a spirit of cooperation," Rice said. But a telling reflection of Baghdad's continuing dysfunction came in the vote on the law: roughly half the parliament didn't show. Moreover, the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki still faces a boycott by the country's largest Sunni bloc, the Accordance Front, and followers of Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr...
...Serena, has decided to move to a secure, isolated compound. This doesn't just limit fun for the foreigners; it walls off the understanding and communication that comes with spontaneous interaction. More barricades may bring the Westerners safety, but it also brings us one step closer to Baghdad...