4 Marines Die in Iraq; President’s Wife Unharmed in Blast

[swag]

Source: New York Times

BAGHDAD — Four marines died in Anbar Province when an improvised explosive device exploded near the vehicle they were driving and in the capitol the Iraqi president’s wife narrowly escaped an assassination attempt.

Hiro Ibrahim Ahmed’s, the wife of President Jalal Talabani, was in a motorcade heading to the National Theatre, where a cultural festival is going on this week, when an improvised explosive device hit the car carrying four of her bodyguards. She was not wounded but four of her bodyguards were injured when the car was struck in the Karrada district.

The death of the marines in Anbar was one of the deadliest attacks on American troops in the province in recent months. The last attack on troops in Anbar was on April 22 when two marines were killed. For much of the past 18 months, Anbar, once one of the most violent places in Iraq, has been mostly quiet. But recently there have been several suicide bombings and other attacks, primarily aimed at Iraqis who have joined the Awakening movement, groups of former fighters and tribe members, who decided to work with the American military to chase extremists from the area.

Clashes continued in the capital’s Sadr City district and nearby areas, with the American military reporting that it had killed nine “criminals,” five in Sadr City and four in the neighboring district of New Baghdad. In Sadr City, three of those killed were believed to be preparing an attack on soldiers building a wall between the American held southern part of the neighborhood and the militia-held northern section.


Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/05/world/middleeast/05iraq.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

[SunDrop23]

1. I guess this is what they meant by "greeted as liberators..." (n/t)

[xchrom]

2. recommend

[junior college]

3. Ha Ha Ha it's just so all funny

(kidding)

ANd won't it be so nice to dine in the new "Zone of influence" hahahahahahah they're killin' me haaahahahaha


US-backed plan sees shiny future for embattled Green Zone

BAGHDAD - Forget the rocket attacks, concrete blast walls and lack of a sewer system. Now try to imagine luxury hotels, a shopping center and even condos in the heart of Baghdad.
ADVERTISEMENT

That's all part of a five-year development "dream list" — or what some dub an improbable fantasy — to transform the U.S.-protected Green Zone from a walled fortress into a centerpiece for Baghdad's future.

But the $5 billion plan has the backing of the Pentagon and apparently the interest of some deep pockets in the world of international hotels and development, the lead military liaison for the project told The Associated Press.

For Washington, the driving motivation is to create a "zone of influence" around the new $700 million U.S. Embassy to serve as a kind of high-end buffer for the compound, whose total price tag will reach about $1 billion after all the workers and offices are relocated over the next year.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080505/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_growing_the_green_zone;_ylt=AjDwm2puK8XjbteYieRH6jys0NUE

[pfitz59]

4. Just like "Mad Max"

Pump oil from a fortress surrounded by violence...

[NYC Liberal]

5. For a second I thought they meant Laura

You know, the one who said "no one suffers more than their president and I do"

Tell it to the families of those marines.