Posted on 05/23/2007 11:19:52 PM PDT by MinorityRepublican
Congress and the White House may be sparring over funds for the U.S. effort in Iraq, but the mint chocolate chip is still flowing at the embassy in Baghdad. At least for now.
Life in the Green Zone -- a Foreign Service hardship post -- has long been mitigated by the culinary comforts of home. Virtually every bite and sip consumed there is imported from the United States, entering Iraq via Kuwait in huge truck convoys that bring fresh and processed food, including a full range of Baskin-Robbins ice cream flavors, every seven to 10 days.
But mouths turned dry Monday when an internal embassy e-mail announced a "Theater-Wide Delay in Food Deliveries." Due to an unspecified convoy problem, it said, "it may not be possible to offer the dishes you are used to seeing at each meal. Fresh fruits or salad bar items will also be severely limited or unavailable."
If the delays continue, the message said, "DFACs [dining facilities] will be required to serve MREs for at least one meal out of the day."
Instead of rice pilaf with turkey or fish -- Monday night's main entree, according to embassy spokesman Dan Sreebny, who said he topped it off with two cookies -- the staff would have to make do with military Meals Ready to Eat, freeze-dried concoctions with prescribed amounts of starch and protein, capable of withstanding parachute drops and remaining edible for three years after packaging.
"We've run out of some things," Sreebny said. "I miss my yogurt in the morning and my fresh-cut melon."
In April 2003, the U.S. occupation administration established its headquarters in Saddam Hussein's former Republican Palace and its surrounding grounds -- seven square miles on the west bank of the Tigris River.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Just wanted to note the complete awkwardness of that title.
Yeah You Can see the Fruits and vegetable trucks lined up at the kuwait Border, Furniture trucks... Flatbeads bringing in Trailers... You see the trucks all Ready to Roll...
No Kidding!
We had a Sandstorm that went from Iraq Kuwait to Saudi Arabia Last Thursday the visibility was 10 feet you couldn’t see a roadsign to turn off through Monday It was dangerous to drive... It was unhealthy AIR quality Your trailers desk would have an 1/8 inch of Sand...
I think the writer wanted to write a premise to a situation with missing food vs the Budget Fight..
Vegetables and Eggs come from Kuwait...
Gary Sinise didn’t Complain..
the temperature yesterday was a balmy 110..
Whaddya want (and need)? FR mail me. Tabasco? Chew?
A little private knowledge could go a long way, stateside.
J-
:) The little things in life...
At first glance I thought they were talking about the lack of baseball in Iraq.
But instead, the embassy staff are not getting their Baskin Robbins and Honey Dew Mellon in a timely manner.
The Horror.
Me too... Had to read it about 3 times.
“I miss my yogurt in the morning and my fresh-cut melon,” Sreebny said. And I can picture myself choking him as he tries to finish the sentence. My tank mechanic daughter didn’t get much fresh cut yogurt while she was in Habbaniyah. Green Zone, bah!
-ccm
Or Tusk Kits
An awesome story! Why aren’t the Iraqis grateful that we liberated them from Sadistic Saddam?
I think when the Violence dies down in IRAQ they will accept us.... What happened in Post Germany and japan... everybody was accepting??
There are many areas of IRAQ that are calm and we hve really stepped up the Infrastructure electricity, Schools medical clinics.. police stations military garrisons..etc people are directly affected and will rememeber.. The Economy is still growing..
Reports I hear from my friend fixin’ to go back for his third tour in Iraq (this war...he was there in 1990, too!) say that the majority of the average Iraqi people he and his unit encounter are extremely grateful and express it! You should read some bias from the military, not just the MSM. The United States Central Command web page will give links to all sorts of press releases, articles, pictures, etc. that tell a totally different story than what you’ll get stateside from a liberal media.
Oh, those poooooor State Dept Socialists! The horror!
Our troops, on the other hand, have it tough every day.
“We’ve run out of some things,” Sreebny said. “I miss my yogurt in the morning and my fresh-cut melon.”
When you have time, could you please lookup Sreebny and smack him a few times for me?
Thanks in advance
Oh, some of those Embassy people are such whiiiiiners.
In '04, we were on the MREs and no fresh produce diet for about ten days when hostiities clogged the supply lines. I never heard anybody whining. It's a war zone and these things happen.
We got the e-mail about this a few days ago and a couple of the military officers were snickering at the thought of those State Department people having to eat MREs. We're willing to do it just to see them have to deal with it. LOL
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