Today's news features the fact that within the Green Zone in Baghdad, Iraq, 4 Canadian diplomats attempting to pass a US convoy, were fired upon.
WASHINGTON (CP) -- Four Canadian diplomats, including the charge d'affaires to Iraq, escaped injury Tuesday when their vehicle was shot at in Baghdad by U.S. soldiers.
The vehicle, reportedly carrying charge d'affaires Stewart Henderson, came under friendly fire after it apparently attempted to pass an American convoy, said U.S. Lt.-Col. Barry Johnson, spokesman for the multinational force in Iraq.
http://www.thestar.com/...
When I initially began reading the report, I was almost sure that this had happened on some obscure road in Baghdad, or even perhaps on the infamously dangerous road that leads toward the Baghdad airport.
The details leading up toward the actual action included these facts:
The troops first tried hand signals, which didn't cause the car to stop, CTV said, and then shot over the vehicle, and then fired two shots into the engine block and a third into the lower front windshield.
I was much surprised when I read:
The incident happened in what's known as the Green Zone, a heavily fortified area in the centre of Baghdad where coalition and Iraqi government offices are located.
As my brother works in the Green Zone, I know how extremely difficult it is to gain access to the same on foot, much less in a vehicle. This is the most secure area in the entire country.
I guess, even in the most secure area of Iraq, the seat of power for the new sovereign government of Iraq, attempting to pass a US military convoy means you face death. Freedom, democracy, liberty....it all makes sense, right?