Pictures from the Green Zone

I'm up in the Green Zone for some training. These pictures are taken from the "Hands of Victory" monument in Baghdad. This monument was built by Saddam to commemorate the "victory" over Iran in the Iran-Iraq war. The hands each hold swords which cross, and the height is about 140 feet. As you can see from the pictures above, it is possible to climb up through one of the hands and look out. I went up there with an Iraqi "tour guide" who told me he wants to move to the United States and work at Best Buy. The climb up inside was actually a little difficult, as I was barely able to fit through a couple of the spaces. I also thought it would be quite ironic if I had fallen off one of the platforms inside and been hurt.

There are two sets of these hands, on each end of a large parade ground.