George Bush and John McCain keep telling us how well things are going in Iraq. Just yesterday, McCain was telling us all about Baghdad's safe neighborhoods (before he denied he was talking about them despite saying just that to four media outlets). But, these days, even the safest Baghdad neighborhood, the Green Zone, is under attack:
Iraqi insurgents are increasingly hitting Baghdad's fortresslike Green Zone with rockets and mortar shells, officials said Wednesday.And as for strolling around the Green Zone without any security, that's not happening either. So, the Green Zone doesn't make the cut for safe neighborhoods:
Insurgents have struck inside the Green Zone, which includes the U.S. Embassy, on six of the past seven days, once with deadly consequences. A U.S. soldier and a U.S. government contractor were killed Tuesday night by a rocket attack that also seriously wounded a civilian, military and embassy officials said. One soldier and at least three other civilians received minor injuries, U.S. Embassy spokesman Lou Fintor said.
The attack stunned a workforce normally blase about Baghdad's habitual wartime booms and blasts.
A State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, also said, "There are increasing attacks on the embassy."
Wednesday morning, embassy personnel received a bulletin citing the "recent increase of indirect fire attacks on the embassy compound." It included strict instructions: Body armor and helmets would now be required for all "outdoor activities" within the sprawling embassy complex, even short walks to the cafeteria. There would be no group gatherings outside, including at the famed Palace Pool. No "nonessential" visitors would be allowed in the compound.We're still waiting for McCain to identify just what Baghdad neighborhoods he was talking about. Has anyone in the media actually asked him yet? Or are they worried that if they ask McCain real questions, they won't get invited on the bus?
A U.S. official in Baghdad characterized embassy personnel as "anxious and alert."
