Iraq Diary: Interview With the Deputy Prime Minister, Convoy In the Red Zone

Today was a day of great contrasts – a small taste of the kind of dangers that abound here, a look at the work being done to rebuild Iraq, and finally the privilege of an extended private interview with one of Iraq’s great hopes for the future: Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih.

Coming out of breakfast this morning, we heard a loud explosion that couldn’t have been too far outside the International [Green] Zone where we were located. The blast was immediately followed by small-arms fire and the wail of sirens. “IED,” explained our experienced host. What got our attention was the fact that about an hour later, we were to be leaving the IZ behind to venture out into Baghdad and tour two of the hundreds of Army Corps of Engineers [ACE] reconstruction projects in Iraq.

A convoy of four vehicles and an escort of several armed guards – all ex-military – had been assembled. It was when the lead guard - a no-nonsense Irishman - gave us our briefing, explaining what to do in case of attack, describing the med-evac procedures in place, and . . . getting our blood types, that the realities began to sink in.

The vehicle I was in could have passed for a soccer mom’s SUV, which had me a bit wary until about 10 minutes into the trip one of the guards explained that in fact it was heavily armored and bullet-resistant. That lowered the blood pressure several notches, and our guards were incredibly professional and vigilant throughout.

First stop was a children’s hospital. Though under expansion and improvement by ACE, it was still serving a large number of patients. We visited wards for premature babies, many in incubators, each with a concerned mother, grandmother and/or aunt keeping vigil. Touchingly, one mother wanted to be sure that I videotaped her tiny infant.

We were off next to a Fire/Civil Defense site near Sadr City. The brave men there venture out not only to fight fires but to deal with the aftermath of IEDs, or even, as they did last week, to dispose of one that had been found before it detonated. Among our party was Army Reserve Captain Rob Nash of Jackson, MS, and the men of the fire unit seized upon his presence to importune him for everything from new ID cards to bullets. He promised to pass along all their requests. At one point during our visit there was a nearby burst of small-arms fire, but it was not enough for our guards to cut short the visit.

I must say that there was a certain exhilaration in going out there and sharing, if only for a couple hours, the kind of situations that our troops – and millions of Iraqis – face daily.

Later in the day I was granted the privilege of interviewing Dr. Barham Salih, Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq. A Middle East scholar in the US had suggested that if all possible I meet this outstanding man. By coincidence on the day the Saddam conviction was announced I saw an interview of Dr. Salih by Wolf Blitzer and came away deeply impressed. The Deputy PM, who has lived in the UK and US who speaks English eloquently, is a brilliant man with a hopeful but realistic vision for Iraq’s future. During a private interview that stretched to 35 minutes, he shared a number of candid insights on the current situation in Iraq, the effect of an abrupt US withdrawal, and even on the new Democratic congressional leadership. Check the web-site of our fellow MRC organization, Cybercast News Service, in the next day or so for my complete report.

So much more to say, but going to call it a night. Hoping for one more major interview here in Baghdad tomorrow, then it’s off to Fallujah.

Contact Mark at mark@gunhill.net