Mazzin was a Brigadier-General in Saddam’s army. He fought in the Iran-Iraq war and in the first  war against the West. He could have shot Saddam. “But that man, he turned and looked straight at me, like he knew what I was thinking, and I just froze.” Now he was interrogated by me (you may know what it’s like).  

There may be anarchy outside but the Fox Villa was tonight host to a barbecue.  A team of US contractors dropped in. They included Melissa, a single Mom from Texas who’d only been outside the US once before. She wanted a better life for her and her 11 year old daughter. Melissa broke out of the rut by applying, on a whim, to take a secretarial job in Iraq. When she goes back home she says the first thing she’s going to do is take her daughter to get a passport.  Later they are going to travel the world.  Her daughter is staying with Grandparents. Her schoolmates, when they heard said ”your Mom’s dead!” Mom has had a word and is more alive than ever.

“I wouldn’t sleep with you if you were the last woman on earth.” Yes, several of the CNN crowd turned up. They are all very young. They were all pissed. I was neither so it was a little difficult to join in. The entertaining exchange was between a disgusted English cameraman and Arwa Damon (pic on photos page) . It took me back...a long way.  

If I look a little thinner than usual in the picture above, it’s because I am. I fell victim to insurgent activity in the Green Zone. The security team visited Burger King but failed to spot the terrorist who unleashed a germ warfare attack on my innards. Recovery took a week and a lot of antibiotics. Never Again.