Grab Your Flak Vest and Kevlar Helmet and Let's Go to Lunch

The Green Zone is supposed to be the safest place in Iraq and you can't even go to lunch without wearing a flak vest and a kevlar helmet. Yet, Republicans still insist progress is being made while ignoring our troops are at even more harm each day.

From the Miami Herald...

The dress code at the Blue Star restaurant inside Baghdad's Green Zone now calls for vest and hat.

Flak vest and Kevlar helmet, to be precise. And it's a good thing.

At least four mortar rounds hit inside the Green Zone about 1:30 p.m. July 7, killing two Iraqi civilians, according to a U.S. soldier who could not speak for attribution because he's not authorized to talk to reporters.

Meanwhile, a State Department official, after initially denying that State had ordered its 1,000 Baghdad personnel to wear protective gear, said that a copy of the order obtained by McClatchy was an undiscussable security breach.

Saturday's attack followed a barrage of up to 35 mortars and rockets that slammed into the Green Zone -- considered the safest place in Baghdad -- on Wednesday.

The embassy issued its memo later that day.

''As a result of the recent increase of indirect fire attacks on the International Zone, outdoor movement is restricted to a minimum,'' it states. ``Remain within a hardened structure to the maximum extent possible and strictly avoid congregating outdoors. Personal protective equipment (PPE) is mandatory until further notice."