Following on the heels of the British directive from earlier in the week, the road connecting Baghdad airport to downtown is now off limits to US embassy workers. No problem though, everything is under control. The local insurgents surely won't figure out how to adapt yet again and they have never ever never shot down helicopters so the new transport program will surely be another success story.
Precisely because of the road's importance, insurgents have shown increasing boldness and ferocity in targeting vehicles used by U.S. military personnel and civilian contractors.
An embassy spokesman said Thursday that U.S. personnel who need to travel between the airport and the embassy, which is in the heavily fortified area known as the Green Zone, would be transported by helicopter.
U.S. forces have tried a number of security measures over the past year, only to see insurgents adjust their tactics and pose fresh threats to traffic.
The Army's 1st Cavalry Division has about 1,000 soldiers dedicated to guarding the highway, which the U.S. military refers to as Route Irish. Still, suicide attacks there have averaged several a week.
But while the casualty tolls have tended to be relatively low -- less than four dead or injured per attack, on average -- the impact on public perceptions has been high.
