Touring the IZ in Baghdad, again

Gate decorated with Saddam's initials (in Arabic)

Outside the Al Rasheed Hotel, where there used to be a mosaic of George Bush, the 41st President. It was placed on the lobby floor, so that it was impossible for visiting diplomats not to step on it. After the 2003 fall of Baghdad, the mosaic was removed. Now there is a plain, polished marble floor. Missiles struck while Paul Wolfowitz was staying here, also in 2003. CNN's Peter Arnett covered Desert Storm from here in 1991.

Gate commemorating the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem

Goodbye, Baghdad.

While colleagues may disagree about the pace of reconstruction, all agree that flying in a helicopter window seat over Baghdad is the coolest thing ever.

I am back in Amman. Thank you all for your kind thoughts.