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06/05/2007: "SigAlert On The Baghdad Expressway"

We hear a lot from Iraq these days, but it's usually about a soldier killed here or a cafe' bombed there. We hear very little about life in Iraq itself. Sure, some things have changed since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein ... it used to be you worried about your government shooting you; now you worry about your neighbor shooting you. But for the most part, life goes on.

To watch the footage, you'd think Iraq was nothing but cames and mud huts. But Baghdad is a major population center with over 5 million people - larger than all but a handful of cities in America. Like any big city, there are miles of tract housing, shopping centers and freeways. In fact, look close enough and it's very similar to the city you're probably living in right now.

That fact was driven home to me the other day in an interesting way. I like to use the Google Earth program to explore places I've never been - or in this case, are not likely to ever be. I was using the application to "fly" over the city of Bagdad when I saw a sight all too familiar to a Los Angeles resident - a freeway traffic jam. Look closely at the image - you can see the southbound lanes are blocked with traffic stopped near the top of the image; northbound traffic is stopped just south of the interchange.

It's only when you look closer that you are reminded where you are. The vehicles blocking the road are the all-too-familar desert tan of the US military. Something's going on with that red truck they've pulled over, and they're not going to let anyone get too close - just in case it's still ticking.

Yes, life goes on in Baghdad - and it still sucks.