“... at Balad, about an hour northwest of Baghdad,...”
How far is an hour? What a dumbass reporter.
When one lives in a big country, often, one ends up referring to distance in hours of travel.
People in Texas do it all the time.
People in Delaware... not so much.
Depends on how crushed together you have become accustomed to living.
/johnny (in wide open Texas, an hour from Dallas)