An Aspen Times exclusive: Preston Mendenhall, who grew up in Aspen, is MSNBC.com's international editor. He is covering the war from northern Iraq and has agreed to send us twice-weekly dispatches about his experiences. SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq - The Kurdish official stopped himself midsentence and ordered an aide to turn up the television. "Is this video of Baghdad?" he asked to no one in particular. I, too, was transfixed. Iraq's capital, the center of Saddam Hussein's regime, was throwing a welcoming party for arriving American troops. In the Kurdish security chief's office, once his assistant confirmed the celebrations in Baghdad,...