Baghdad's New Green Zone

Baghdad's Green Zone used to have women in stilettos and holsters, rooftop wet t-shirt contests at a South African contractor compound, steak dinners, and boozy parties. Now, The Washington Post writes, the U.S. Embassy, the U.S. military, and private defense contractors have "imposed strict rules, and in some cases curfews to restrict nonessential travel outside the mammoth new embassy compound and other fortified compounds within the Green Zone." Embassy and military badges no longer exempt the holders from checkpoint inspection, vehicles must have Iraqi license plates, and in two months, Iraqis will start issuing Green Zone badges to travelers. The transfer of power to the Iraqis on June 30 wrought the change, and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki recently ordered U.S. troops to hand over checkpoints to local forces. The changeover curbs U.S. visibility in Iraq, and reverses rules that used to give Iraqis second-citizen status in their own capital.