It was supposed to be a success story. CPIC, the US military’s Combined Press Information Centre, sorry Center, arranged for us to go to Saab al Bour.  The town is on the North-Eastern outskirts of Baghdad. More than $5M has been spent restoring the infrastructure. At the beginning of October insurgents started mortaring the town and death squads emerged. The grisly result saw 90+% of the 30,000 population desert the town.

 

 

I will also be getting a link to the package we made as a result of this trip. I’ll update in the next day or so. We only had an hour on the ground  - it was that unsafe; “we can get mortared at any minute” was the cheery guidance.  It was a very rushed affair. To be fair our Army escorts were hugely impressive. But with such a tenuous grip on security it’s hard to see the residents flooding back any time soon.

 

This was a fascinating experience. The optimism, determination and humanity of the troops leaves me in awe. They are putting their lives on the line to restore normality for the people here. But you are left wondering if the local cynics may be proved right. You need security before you rebuild.

 

Some of my pics are on the Photos pages.