Freedom is On The March!
Christopher Allbritton writes this morning from his hotel in Baghdad.
After yesterday’s dual attacks in the Green Zone, the center of power in Iraq is locked down, meaning no one gets in or out without a special pass. But to get that pass, one has to go into the Zone to get it, so it’s a bit of a catch-22. Bother.
And since it’s Friday and the start of Ramadan and the Green Zone is locked down and it’s too dangerous to go out and just roam around looking for stories, there’s not a lot I can do today other than make a few phone calls.
This is the reality of journalism in Iraq — at least if you’re Western. And since we’ve been under a semi-lockdown of our own since I got back because of Paul Taggart’s abduction, I haven’t even had a chance to get my legs back under me and find new stories to work on. The ones I have started reporting require access to the government or the embassy, which are closed and … oh, you know the rest.
Aren't you glad the President reassured us this week that so many good things are happening in Iraq? The complete disconnect between what is, apparently, really happening, and what almost half the country apparently thinks is happening, is truly frightening. Not just Iraq -- taxes, economics, science policy, environmental policy. Orwell in spades.