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IRAQ: Car bombings are all too common in Baghdad

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Better security was the topic of a news conference held by U.S. government and military officials inside the well-protected Green Zone on Sunday. Unfortunately, security concerns prevented some journalists from hearing the news first-hand.

I left our compound at 1 p.m., allowing a full hour to go no more than a few miles and to pass through two vehicular checkpoints. At the first checkpoint, which is usually the fastest, Iraqi troops who form the first line of defense against potential attackers waved us away. ‘Closed,’ was all they could say to the driver as we sat behind the red ‘stop’ sign, trying to look both innocent and official in hopes this would persuade the soldiers to let us pass. We were turned away. No reason was given. We went to the next Green Zone entrance.

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As we approached, I was hopeful. There were no cars in line, an unusually lucky development on what normally is a busy day at this checkpoint. As we drew near, it was clear why nobody was there. Razor wire was coiled across the road. This checkpoint also was closed. Again, there was no explanation from the Iraqi troops sitting in the shade of the trees lining the sewage-filled Tigris River.

I had run out of time to try a third checkpoint, at least a 45-minute drive away, so I decided to walk. This meant going to yet another entryway, for pedestrians only, walking across the bridge spanning the river, and getting a taxi to the press conference site. But the pedestrian access route also was closed. The driver asked the Iraqi guards what had happened. ‘Car bombs,’ they replied, the standard answer in such cases. This can mean anything from a verified car bomb being detected to a merely suspicious vehicle being checked.

Whether the threat was real, it was clear these checkpoints would not open soon. I returned home and began e-mailing other journalists to see if anyone had made it inside the Green Zone and could share quotes from the news conference. As I waited for a response, a thunderous boom shook the windows and roused us from the stupor of what had been a calm day. A car bomb had exploded in a nearby intersection. In the meantime, a generous colleague had managed to deliver me a tape of the news conference, a mission far more complicated than it sounds. The messenger could not gain access to our compound, because the guards on the perimeter do not let strangers inside. The man carrying the tape called me on my cellular phone, but he spoke Arabic. I don’t. I passed the phone onto one of my Iraqi staffers, who ran downstairs to fetch the tape.

By now, it was dusk, late enough for the journalists who had sent the tape to worry about their messenger. My phone rang again. It was the messenger again, telling me to call his bosses to inform them that the tape had been delivered and that he was safe. I did so and then listened to the tape. The military official had told journalists that attacks across Iraq were down 55 percent since an additional 28,500 U.S. troops had arrived in the country earlier this year. Then, I checked the details of the bomb we had heard exploded. At least seven people had been killed. Two hours later, the death toll had risen to 10.

— Tina Susman in Baghdad

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