Topic: Scary Stuff
After nearly two months inside the International Zone (Green Zone), I went out into what is affectingly called the Red Zone. The Red Zone, in general terms, is anything outside of the Green Zone. I leave it up to you to figure out why we call it the Red Zone.

While I would love to share my opinions about the security procedures used to keep me safe, I can't. I don't want the "bad guys" to learn about the procedures used to make sure my head stays firmly attached to my body. If you want to find out what happens when US civilians head out into the Red Zone, you will have to wait until I get home and then try to get me drunk. Needless to say, the security guys took their job very, very seriously. Their job is to keep me in one piece; they succeeded.

During the drive to and from the reconstruction site that I visited, I finally had a few glimpses of the real Baghdad. Despite everything that is happening in this country, people are continuing to live their lives. I zipped by a street markets filled with people, looked at large traffic jams, watched children walking around with nothing to do, and marveled at street vendors that appeared willing to sell anything that would bring them a few dinars. All in all, Baghdad looked like any poor, developing country, except for the guns.

I saw guns everywhere. People in my convoy obviously had guns. I saw US soldiers with guns. I passed by a security detail that casually walked around with AK-47's slung over their shoulders. The police officers controlling traffic at busy intersections carried AK-47s, and I even saw what appeared to be a plain clothed police officer who was carrying a handgun, which he used to wave traffic through a busy intersection. The Iraqis don't seem phased by the weapons any more. Some Iraqis didn't even show any interest when my hard-to-ignore security convoy raced by them. After nearly two years of a low-level war, they have grown as desensitized as teenagers who play violent video games - except here people die.