Word: mortars
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...magnitude of our project. Past cathedrals had taken centuries to complete; we had a peckish two hours to recreate this grandeur. We began by gathering our resources. From one corner of the dining hall we collected graham crackers to serve as the walls. Then, we carefully mixed our chosen mortar, combining powdered sugar with water to concoct a glue that would hold for the ages—or at least until Christmas. Finally, we collected our most precious artisanal creations. Carefully crafted gummy bears would serve as the line of saints that flank the facade of our cathedral. Pull...
...October - still a high number, but down well over 50% from late last year. Much of that decline reflects the declining influence of the Sunni terrorist group al-Qaeda in Iraq, and a reduction in sectarian violence. But the tactics of choice for Shi'ite militia groups - rocket and mortar attacks and sophisticated roadside bombings - have also waned...
Late in the summer the tide began to turn. Take rocket and mortar attacks: In June, U.S. bases in the area were hit with 69 separate attacks; in October that number was down to six, and even after Sunday's strikes (in which no U.S. personnel were killed) the tally for November is just seven. In June there were 129 roadside bombs planted in the battalion's area. That number had been cut in half by August. So far this month there have been only 16 roadside bombs found or detonated in the area...
...Department employees sign on. But Deputy Chief of Mission in Baghdad Patricia Butenis, who oversees embassy staffing, says widespread perceptions about life in Iraq do not match reality. Some seem to think that life at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad is a bunker existence. To be sure, rockets and mortars have fallen in the Green Zone, and at least three State Department employees have died in Iraq. But, according to embassy officials, diplomats in Iraq head for cement bunkers less often lately, thanks to a drop in violence around Baghdad and elsewhere in the country. "There are people who think...
...Babel where more than 200 Americans and most of the 900-strong Polish force work and live alongside 100 Mongolians, 62 Romanians, 46 Armenians, 36 Bosnians, 27 Ukrainians, a Lithuanian, a Latvian and a bunch of Ugandan guards. Together they and their numbers posted in urban outposts endure frequent mortar and rocket attacks. Between June and July they were hit with at least 350 rockets and mortar shells, Leckrone said...