Baghdad: The Palestine Hotel

Published on Apr 17, 2003 by Luke Hunt

Shortly after the US Marines entered Baghdad, Luke Hunt filed the following dispatch for Agence France-Press. BAGHDAD, April 17 (AFP) – In one corner combatants of the self-styled Free Iraq Forces hold court, a Muslim cleric and his entourage sweep past marines in full battle dress while a middle-aged man hustles whisky out of a plastic bag. A marine yells: “Clear a path”, as General James Mattis tries to leave. But the order is ignored by the hundreds who fill the hotel’s lobby and bodyguards deploy the butts of their M-16 assault rifles to force an exit. Cameras flash and journalists shove microphones under the noses of military officers in the hope of an elusive quote. Marines remain unsure whether....

Taste of War, Taste of Beer, Taste of Home

Published on Apr 16, 2003 by Luke Hunt

As the dashing War Correspondent Mikey Sprengelmeyer entered Baghdad with 101st Airborne he filed the following yarn from the front lines for the Rocky Mountain News and its affiliates back home. It’s true what my friend Luke told me once when we were back in Kuwait: “There’s beer in Baghdad.” Actually, he didn’t say it once. He said it 400 times amid a gaggle of war correspondents. It became a battle cry for reporters sent to this dusty, alcohol-free region so far from home. “There’s beer in Baghdad.” When we shivered through the night in our sleeping bags, not sure if we were shaking because of the chills or the sound of the mortars exploding in the distance, we’d say....

Kurtz, ill-Will and a Luckless Weekend with Bernie

Published on Apr 13, 2003 by Luke Hunt

Editor’s note: As the US troops head into Baghdad, the Post’s intrepid and increasingly wary correspondent rounds out a week started badly for some and finished much worse for others BAGHDAD: April 15 — As the battle for Baghdad bounces off satellites and across your television screens, spare a thought for the Kurtz-like Colonel Joe Dowdy, commander of 5,000 marines who fought a dozen pitched battles along Route Seven from Nasariyha to al-Kut between hearty puffs on a Cuban. Dowdy was the one who prophesied that “we have the tools to I pose our will” on Iraq in that pre-war briefing, then went on to do just that in a slug-fest that took a heavy toll on both sides, numerous....

Moonstruck Marines with Attitude Lost in Desert

Published on Mar 26, 2003 by Luke Hunt

The Phnom Penh Post’s indefatigable Sheikh Ya’erbuti, now senior Iraq correspondent has left Kuwait and is with the marines in southern Iraq. He filed this piece on March 26. AL-NASARIYAH, Southern Iraq: Machine Gunner Lance Corporal Robert Carr likes his guns, wears a tattoo that says “attitude problem” carries pornography in his flak where his armor plates should be and despite some interest doesn’t really know much about astronomy. He was my escort across the border into Iraq, and as dusk fell while heading north he asked me: “Why did we go tonight sir?” “Because lad, it’s a little darker, there’s not much light and that provides us with some cover.” “How does that work,” the 20-year-old asked with some....

Sorry, No Surrenders: The Starter’s Whistle Hasn’t Blown

Published on Mar 14, 2003 by Luke Hunt

Editor’s note: in this issue, the Phnom Penh Post’s man in Kuwait, the indefatigable Sheikh Ya’erbuti, attends a raucous public holiday (along with his nervous camel), runs into a brace of drunken journalists, and wakes up near the Iraqi border. SOMEWHERE IN SOUTHERN IRAQ, March 14 — It was a merry party. Kuwaitis celebrating their 12th Liberation Day with the prospect that Saddam Hussein won’t be around for another year. Black Label flowed (legal exemptions were made for friends of the Emir) and roasted camel was delivered on a 30-foot silver platter, all served by Waqil whom I had lent to my hosts at the Hilton for the evening. My camel was none too impressed by dinner and left. Then,....