And They Say The Iraq War Is Over
Sometimes there was no sugar or Splenda for coffee. On chicken wing night, wings were rationed at six per person.
The New York Times reports on the agonies suffered by our boys in Baghdad:
After the American troops departed in December, life became more difficult for the thousands of diplomats and contractors left behind. Convoys of food that were previously escorted by the United States military from Kuwait were delayed at border crossings as Iraqis demanded documentation that the Americans were unaccustomed to providing.
Within days the salad bar at the embassy dining hall ran low. Sometimes there was no sugar or Splenda for coffee. On chicken wing night, wings were rationed at six per person. Over the holidays, housing units were stocked with Meals Ready to Eat, the prepared food for soldiers in the field.
The horrors.
via Andrew Exum, Jeremy Scahill, and others laughing hysterically as they tweeted
If Israel attacks Iran food will be the least of the problems the diplomats and contractors have.
U.S. Planning to Slash Iraq Embassy Staff by Up to Half
@Ron Beasley:
Given that Iraq is standing between Iran and Israel (and seems to be well on the way to being one of Iran’s puppets), reducing the number of potential hostages the US has stationed there as quickly as possible is probably a good idea.
Here’s what bothers me: the people shipping this have been well aware for months now the U.S. was pulling out, and they didn’t expect the Iraqis to bother checking their documentation afterward? That’s a great example of incompetence, or at the least underestimating Middle Eastern folk.