Thursday, June 2, 2011

RUSSIA TODAY: Freak Sandstorm Chokes Baghdad

1 comment:

Steve Donnelly, AICP said...

What, exactly, is freak about it?

I spent 14 days in June 2008 in Tikrit waiting for a clear day to fly home on leave.

Combination of long-term regional persistent droughts, poor agricultural soil controls, and just plain bad weather conditions.

The Baghdad pics are never as bad as in the Tikrit, where you see the red wall marching toward you, and a complete red-out once it arrives.

Iraq is clay, not sand, so the usual term is dust storm. Census records from the 1950s-1970s tracked the days of dust storm obliteration--usually a few every year. Very different in recent times.

This Day In Iraqi History Oct 24 – Iraq said it took Khorrmanshahr major city in south Iran Was supposed to be taken in first week of war Took 1 month

1915 UK cmdr in Mesopotamia Gen Nixon told to march on Baghdad Gen Townshend said he couldn’t advance without more supplies ( Musing...