2008 Woodie Awards
Employees in the Green Zone remain inside, out of harms way
By: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Issue date: 3/28/08 Section: World
BAGHDAD - Warning sirens wail and within seconds rockets and mortars strike - sometimes one or two, other times 10 or more.
The Green Zone is again a prime target as American and British diplomats, Iraqi politicians, contractors and others struggle to go about their business - always aware that any time they are outside the most fortified buildings there is a chance to be injured or killed.
The danger has temporarily reshaped life: Green Zone traffic is minimal, few people venture out on the streets and security precautions - always high - have been boosted. Many diplomats and others prefer to bunk on cots in the stone and marble grandeur of the former Saddam Hussein palace that now holds U.S. Embassy offices.
Yesterday the State Department instructed all Embassy personnel not to leave reinforced structures. A memo sent to embassy staff says employees are required to wear helmets and other protective gear if they must venture outside.
The Green Zone is again a prime target as American and British diplomats, Iraqi politicians, contractors and others struggle to go about their business - always aware that any time they are outside the most fortified buildings there is a chance to be injured or killed.
The danger has temporarily reshaped life: Green Zone traffic is minimal, few people venture out on the streets and security precautions - always high - have been boosted. Many diplomats and others prefer to bunk on cots in the stone and marble grandeur of the former Saddam Hussein palace that now holds U.S. Embassy offices.
Yesterday the State Department instructed all Embassy personnel not to leave reinforced structures. A memo sent to embassy staff says employees are required to wear helmets and other protective gear if they must venture outside.
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