A Safer Iraq

Yes, Mr. President, the U.S., under your vision and leadership, has made Iraq MUCH SAFER for its citizens.

Wednesday, March 17, 2004 Posted: 1:36 PM EST (1836 GMT) BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- A powerful explosion, apparently from a car bomb, went off in the Karrada district of central Baghdad Wednesday, virtually destroying the Mount Lebanon Hotel and damaging a number of houses and offices nearby. Iraqi police sources said there were "many dead, many injured." A coalition military official said he believed the blast was caused by a car bomb. "It's a scene from hell here," CNN Baghdad Bureau Chief Jane Arraf said. "People are crying and screaming and debris is everywhere," Arraf said. "I heard the explosion and I ran down the street, and saw many, many people killed. There were children dead," Raad Abdul Karim, 30, told Reuters. "They are ordinary families. I don't know why this happened." The blast rocked the area about 8:10 p.m. (12:10 p.m. EST), leaving a large crater in front of where the hotel had stood. An hour after the blast, smoke continued to billow into the sky as ambulances rushed away with casualties. Rescuers searched amid burning timbers and crumpled brick for survivors. Iraqi police and coalition soldiers cordoned off the area. U.S. soldiers from the nearby "Green Zone" attempted to go into the area to rescue victims but were driven back by angry Iraqis....

Interesting how the Iraqis are trying to keep the Americans away from the scene (last sentence, bold). That speaks volumes about how much the country despises our presence there.