Topic: The Places
There aren't too many bars inside the Green Zone, and almost as quickly as they open, there are rumors that the State Department's security officers intend to make them off-limits. Thus, that is why I feel real lucky that I recently made it to another Green Zone Bar - Ocean Cliffs.

The bar is housed in a British diplomatic compound called "Ocean Cliffs." Don't let the name fool you. There is no ocean, and there are no cliffs. The compound built inside the lower level of a parking garage. It is buried under lots of sand bags and filled with converted metal cargo containers that serve as makeshift "homes" for many British foreign service officers posted to Iraq. Somewhat depressingly, the place feels like a cave.

Presumably, in an effort to keep up morale, the Brits opened up the "Whine Bar" in the middle of their cavernous underground compound, though I think the official name for the bar has been forgotten by most people who live inside the Green Zone; everyone simply calls it Ocean Cliffs. To get into the bar, you need to be British or get a Brit to let you into their bar. I guess that they want to keep the bar somewhat manageable and keep the riff-raff out, especially since people are living in metal boxes that surround the bar.

The prices are VERY reasonable. Beer only costs a buck and mix drinks cost $3. Interestingly, they accept U.S. money even though it is a British bar.

And in other somewhat related news . . . even though the Brits sent thousands of troops to Iraq, at least a few Brits were worried that the Americans didn't do a good job of planning for the post-war period.