Baghdad Dreamin'

Apparently all the fowl have been killed in Iraq, because no can count their chickens before they hatch. The latest ridiculous story out of the war-torn country tells of a massive upscale development in the Green Zone . The multi-billion dollar plan is like a mirage in the desert sand. Hotels, shopping and condos are a part of a complex that the Pentagon and others see as the future of Iraq.

From the AP:

BAGHDAD (AP) — 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.

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.

So billions in investment so that our ridiculously oversized embassy has friendly neighbors? Do people in the Pentagon really believe this will work? Before you can build anything you need services (sewer, water, power, etc) that do not exist because the area is in complete chaos. This is wild fantasy of a few rich people that clearly are not rooted in reality. If they want to know what that is, all they need to do is look at what is going on there today.

Winning Their Hearts And Minds

To quote a great horrific leader, we're over there to win hearts and minds...yada yada yada. Other reasons include stopping Saddam Hussein, WMDs and the war on terreh. The Iraqis would greet us as liberators and throw flowers at our troops as they rolled on to Baghdad and victory. Remember all that stuff? So now that it's been almost five years since we occupied liberated Iraq, how are they liking us now?

From The LA Times:

BAGHDAD -- Dozens of Iraqi lawmakers walked out of parliament Wednesday to protest what they view as overly aggressive and humiliating treatment by U.S. soldiers as representatives enter Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, where the legislature is located.

"I and many of my colleagues who live outside the Green Zone face a lot of problems," said Feryad Rawandozi, a high-ranking official with the Kurdish parliamentary bloc. U.S. soldiers "are very arrogant and impolite when they talk to us, especially with those who don't speak English."

Hmmm, that doesn't sound very comforting. Army Maj. Anton Alston, who runs the operations around the Green Zone calls it a "cultural thing." However, members of the Parliament have another idea. They want special permits to grant them quicker access, you know, so they can govern and lead their country. Isn't that what Bush wants to happen over there? Oh wait, he's rather have us stay in Iraq forever, my bad.

Look At All The Progress In Baghdad, Wow!

Man, I had Petraeus pegged wrong. Not only are things going well, non-Iraqi civilians don't even have to go out anymore. Actually, they are being banned from traveling outside the Green Zone but hey, whats the difference? Apparently that little Blackwater incident that ended up killing several civilians angered the people of Iraq to such a degree that it is too dangerous to be anywhere in the country, except for maybe the Green Zone.

From The Huffington Post:

BAGHDAD — The United States on Tuesday suspended all land travel by U.S. diplomats and other civilian officials in Iraq outside Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, amid mounting public outrage over the alleged killing of civilians by the U.S. Embassy's security provider Blackwater USA.

The move came even as the Iraqi government appeared to back down from statements Monday that it had permanently revoked Blackwater's license and would order its 1,000 personnel to leave the country _ depriving American diplomats of security protection essential to operating in Baghdad.

"We are not intending to stop them and revoke their license indefinitely but we do need them to respect the law and the regulation here in Iraq," government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh told CNN.

Details of the weekend shootings haven't been released, but the New York Times reported late Tuesday that a preliminary review by Iraq's Ministry of Interior found that violence erupted as Blackwater security guards fired at a car when it did not heed a policeman's call to stop, killing a couple and their infant.

Imagine that happening here? We'd be attacking every country in sight. Over there, its just another day, another atrocity committed by forces that aren't accountable to anyone. The Iraqis tried to look tough and expel Blackwater, but now they are being pressured to sit down and behave. How pathetic.