Iraq's July 14th Bridge: Baghdad Divided (VIDEO)

It is almost a tale of two cities; Baghdad's International Zone continues to see relative peace while the unsecured Red Zone is another story.

(BAGHDAD, Iraq) - Soldiers stationed in the Green or 'International Zone' of Baghdad, like Andrew Hanselman, a Public Affairs Specialist with the U.S. Army, say there is a relative state of calm that is not the case on the other side of the Tigris River, in what is known as the 'Red Zone.'

Baghdad's International Zone is a relatively safe place for both Americans and Iraqi people today. The other side of the bridge however, is a different story. The bridge itself is of historical significance to the people of Iraq.

Hanselman says July 14th is significant to the Iraqi people, as the July 4th holiday is in the United States.

'That's the Red Zone, right over there.' Hanselman indicated just how close the unsecured part of Baghdad is. In spite of that, the bridge sees a good amount of foot traffic each day, and many residents have reasons for moving frequently between the two parts of this historic city.

The Red Zone is an area that U.S. troops only visit when they are prepared for combat. Hanselman says units like Public Affairs do not venture there.

Of the Iraqi people I saw passing over the July 14th Bridge, none that I saw attempted to duck my television camera.

Among these pedestrians are women who tend to wear bright colors and they appear far less subdued than the women of Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan who, with few exceptions, still wear full burqas that cover their bodies completely. It was explained to me that many Iraqi women will speak with Americans as long as local men are not in the area.

What has been a hotly contested area in the past, is now fairly calm and most soldiers and citizens here are going through each day without the sounds generated from firefights and IED explosions.

To help maintain security on this Iraqi waterway, an Iraqi Marine patrol boat patrols near the July 14th Bridge, over the river that divides the Red Zone and Green Zone.

The ride back to my home base of operations, the Balad Air Base, was in an Army Blackhawk helicopter. Flying over this MidEast city at night is something that borders on surreal.

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Tim King is a former U.S. Marine with twenty years of experience on the west coast as a television news producer, photojournalist, reporter and assignment editor. In addition to his role as a war correspondent, this Los Angeles native serves as Salem-News.com's Executive News Editor. Tim spent the winter of 2006/07 in Afghanistan with Oregon troops, and his coverage from Iraq that was set to begin in April has now commenced and will be ongoing throughout the next many weeks. Salem-News.com is the nation's only truly independent high traffic news Website, affiliated with Google News and several other major search engines and news aggregators.
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