On our way walking back to to our bags we walked by a group of private military contractors. One of them asked Matt were we were going. Matt stopped to talk to the guy and became apparent that the guy had mistaken us for PMCs since he asked us who our”principle” was. I guess we have the contractor look down with our facial hair, softshell jackets, cargo pants and hiking boots.

That was last night. After we got back from the LZ. We called our powerful friends back in Washington to see if we could shake something loose. Tonight, we supossedly have reserved seats on a flight. Coincidence? Hmmmm…

Click and drag on the image above and feel like you are right her in the Combined Press Information Center here in Baghdad. It’s about 11 at night here in the common room. It’s quiet because all the Iraqi media that normally hang out here in the day have gone home.

The room is used by transient journalists coming in and out of Baghdad at all hours. Back in May, Erik and I stayed in this room with about 15 other journalists. There were cots everywhere. This time, there’s only a few of us, and we all have a bed, which is quite luxurious by embed standards.

We can’t get to the chow hall, so they bring us lunch and dinner. The computers are on the internet and the lights work most of the time. Seems the outlets are on the military generators while the room lights are powered by the Baghdad power grid. This means you surf the web in the dark, most evenings.