United Colours of Bennetton, classy driving and questionable phrases.

There are a lot of nationalities out here doing various things. As far as civilians are concerned I guess there's everything under the sun, though I have not been here long enough to meet that many. Also I guess you need to be connected to an Embassy or something to get to meet the full range of nationalities.

It's worth mentioning something about the security personnel (by which I mean military, as opposed to private security companies). The checkpoints outside the IZ are manned by the Americans, but they are gradually handing over control to the Iraqis. At the many checkpoints around the IZ you'd think it is American military who are carrying out duties. From what I have seen, that isn't the case. Most I have come across are South Americans, Colombian I think. Good guys, ready to have a bit of friendly banter even though they are doing a really shitty job. They have to sit there under the hot sun for hours on end just checking people's badges and doing vehicle searches. Maybe they're bringing some goodies from back home to keep themselves from falling asleep from the monotony...

Then there's the Georgians. They're a different breeed altogether. Not respected. Everyone (apparently) looks down on them, including the Iraqis. I hear that in the past they have sometimes taken bribes and I know they are unduly aggressive in their approach to their work. When they drive around the IZ they speed around expecting everyone else to yield to them. When you see a military vehicle at the back of a convoy with someone sticking out the top manning a machine gun you need to keep a distance of 50-100 metres. In the IZ it's not really necessary for them to be sticking out the roof at all, as they are usually returning from the Red Zone and are obviously no longer in a hot area. Sometimes you inadvertently get within the range (for example if they pass through a roundabout and you're at one of the entries). With anyone but the Georgians, this is fine, but the Georgians do the universally understood sign for stop or keep your distance, which is a raised fist on a straight arm. This means, come any closer and we might shoot, and they mean it. It's just not necessary in the IZ though, which is why everyone gets pissed off with them because they're being over the top. But they're the ones with the guns, so I just stay back.

Driving here generally is pretty bad, but very funny. Nobody seems to know how to use a roundabout, so basically the biggest vehicles (or the Georgians) have right de facto right of way. It is pretty amusing. Some of the overtaking is pretty classy too. This place makes India look like a driving school.

A PSD was taking personnel out of Baghdad the other day. Their vehicles were properly marked, i.e. had their company logo on the side, so they could easily be identified as a PSD and not a militia. This is required as they have armed vehicles front and back. Anyway, they were passing through an American checkpoint, and the Americans started shooting at them. Unbelievable. They were properly marked, so what was the deal? You have to wonder why they arm kids to the teeth and don't ensure they can read or carry out basic mental functions to make decisions that, ultimately, other people's lives depend on.

Which got me thinking, why the hell do they call that sort of incident "friendly fire"? Doesn't sound very friendly to me. "Yeah I'm just off to Pete's for a barbeque, we'll pound a few beers, eat some steaks and maybe fire a few rounds at each other, it'll be great". Just like the term "collateral damage" which has always made me sick. I'm sure it's not very "collateral" to the people you're killing or their families.

For that matter, why does the word "stutter" have so many t's, or "stammer" so many m's? Why is phonetic spelled with a "ph"?

Close shave

One of our guys was in the Red Zone the other day and was stopped in traffic. He saw three men with guns approach the car in front, drag the driver out and stick him in the boot of the car, and drive off. He was, understandably, shit scared. He said the thing the frightened him the most was the look on the man's face as he was bundled into the boot. Hving seen the look on his own face the other day after that meeting, I can see exactly what he means. He makes a point of not washing his car and he drives an old banger because kidnappers target expensive cars or expensively dressed people. Not that I ever had that excuse....

Conflicting graffiti, exaggerated media stories, Ramadan and the UN

I remember before I came here I was reading in the papers that previously mixed neighbourhoods of Shia and Sunni in Baghdad were fragmenting and becoming predominantly Shia or Sunni enclaves. Under Saddam, society was much more secular and Shia and Sunni (and Christians) intermarried, lived next door to each other, went to the same schools, built and worshipped at their mosques (and churches) in the same neighbourhoods, etc etc. If this claim of fragmentation were true, it would have been one of the worst aspects of the consequences of the invasion. Upon speaking to Iraqis here, the message I get is that those stories are exaggerated and that, although it is happening to some degree, it's not as much as the papers say.

Ramadan started yesterday and will last for the next 30 days. The authorities are predicting an upsurge in the sectarian violence. It started yesterday with a big bomb at a place where people had gone to get cooking oil. 35 or more dead and who knows how many maimed for life. Even before I found out about that, there seemed to be something in the air that didn't feel right. It wasn't the feeling I was in danger, just generally an uneasy feeling. I wondered if maybe I'd reached the end of the honeymoon period, but today's fine, so maybe it was just something intangible in the atmosphere. Maybe we're tuned in to fear like animals are to earthquakes or eruptions.

I hope it doesn't go too ape shit during Ramadan, otherwise those stories of fragmentation will probably be closer to the truth than they are at the moment.

One of our guys handed in his notice the other day. He's been offered a job in Jordan and wants to get out of Baghdad so his daughters can go to school again. It got me thinking, well if it gets bad enough outside the IZ that more of our staff decide to get out of Iraq, then that will be curtains for my job. So I registered with the UN to try and keep a step ahead of the game. It means my personal history can get checked out by them now so that if I need to find something else in a hurry further down the line I shouldn't have to wait as long. Assuming they take me on of course.

Two conflicting pieces of graffiti. No prizes for guessing which one cracked me up.

A realisation. And a tank.

Something happened recently that gave me much more of a sense of how hard it is for Iraqis. I would say it "brought it home to me" but really I can have no idea. Just a better one than I did. One of our guys went to a meeting and ended up being pushed into doing translations for the Iraqi speakers, who were members of one of the government Ministries. Our guy didn't know the meeting would be filmed, nor did he know he would be asked to translate. It just happened when he got there. He came back after the meeting visibly shaken. Some people can have a scared look, like a kid who's been caught doing something naughty at school and knows his parents will find out, or maybe like someone who's been caught smuggling drugs through customs or something, but this was a look like I have never seen. It made me scared just to see it. The problem was that the film was to be released to all sorts of media outlets in the region, including online. He would have had both Shia and Sunni after him. It's not being melodramatic to say he'd have been dead within a week. I know his circumstances outside the IZ, and he would have been well and truly fucked. He was too frightened to think straight, so I made him get on the phone to the right people and arrange an appointment with the media folks while the footage was in post production. I was dropped him off at the checkpoint out of the IZ and watched him walking towards the exit. It was the walk of a man who was beaten - shoulders sagged forward, a slow trudge, no reason to want to get to his destination. That's when it occurred to me what risks he takes to do his job here. I went to the media office the next morning and arranged for his face to be edited out of the end product.

Having had some more time to see a bit more of the place and meet a lot of people, I have to say life here so far has exceeded my expectations. It's nuts, for sure, but I'll never forget my time here and I don't regret coming for a second.

We have been using an armoured Suburban the last week or so to get around. I'm no petrol head and still have no interest in cars, but this thing is awesome - I feel like I've added another couple of inches. It's heavier than Harry Rednapp's eyelids and takes a wee while to get any speed up but you could leave a Rolex on the dashboard in Rio de Janeiro with an invitational sledge hammer and it would still be there when you got back. Bulletproof. We took it to fill up with petrol the other day and it took 135 litres, amid fits of laughter. Most surreal driving experience so far: giving way to a tank on a roundabout. I had right of way but you can't really argue with a tank.

Some of the monumets and architecture here is pretty amazing. This link has more information and pictures but here are some pictures I took of the Monument to the Unknown Soldier and the Hands of Victory.

First impressions

So here I am.

The flight into Baghdad is a bit of a laugh, instead of a straight descent the plane comes down in big loops because a straight descent is considered too dangerous. I'm told the take off is the same when you fly out, and because you're pointing upwards instead of down, motion sickness is a problem. NASA could probably recruit from these flights - if your stomach is strong enough you're in!

I was brought to the Green Zone (called the International Zone or IZ by everyone here, so that's what I'll start using) in a PSD (personal security detail) convoy. Before I came, I had the impression or expectation that the PSD guys would be a bunch of Rambo's with no necks and steroid addictions, but actually the ones I have come across have been very professional and focused on their job. They look after you and make sure you know what to do in the event of any trouble. IEDs (roadside bombs) are not so much an issue now because vehicles have to be searched to even get onto the road, so the more common issue is incoming automatic fire. The armoured vehicle you're in has 2 inch thick windows so even if there is incoming, it's not a problem. Plus there are armed vehicles front and back of the convoy with guys out the roof with machine guns so you have extra protection there.

It's very weird being in a place where you can walk down the street freely, go to the beer shop, sit on the swinging sun lounger thing on the front lawn and have a smoke, while there are people being blown up within a few miles. At night instead of police sirens you hear helicopters, but it all means the same thing - someone's having a much worse time of it than me. Instead of a normal fence there's an 8 foot one with razor wire. Instead of a postman there are armed guards. You get the idea. I'm not sure whether it's because of these things or in spite of them, but I really like it here. It will be better when I have my badge and can move around freely and use things like the pool and gym, dining facility ("DFAC") and the big general shop ("PX") which is basically Tesco Armed Conflict, but for now it's all new and exciting so not having those freedoms is no biggie. It beats being blown up by a car bomb. We have Iraqis working for us and they sometimes have to go out into the Red Zone to go to one of the Interior Ministry buildings. One of them went out today and 10 minutes ahead of him was that car bomb that killed 5 Iraqi police. He was fine, just had to go another way round. This is reality for these folks. They've been through a hell of a time but still have spirit like you'd never believe.

I'm learning a new Arabic word or phrase each day and really like being able to say little things to the Iraqis in their language. They have good English, but you can tell they have pride in their language and like to teach you, and appreciate the effort. Like most nationalities I guess, except maybe the French who live in Paris, who get the arse with you just for being there.

It's pretty hot in the daytime, usually around 42 - 46 celcius, but it doesn't feel as hot as that because there is low humidity. It's still the hottest midday sun I've ever experienced but in the shade it's not too bad. It's showing signs of cooling down though, and by Christmas time it will be hovering not far above freezing. The nights will start to get cooler next week. On days when it is windy, there is a lot of dust. It makes the Northern Line look like a Swiss mountain railway. The locals are sneezing a lot but so far it hasn't affected me at all, except for one night when I felt like I'd been sitting in an airport smoking lounge for a couple of days.