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 6 Iraq sent forces to Syria while Iraqi jets in Egypt bombed Israeli targets in the Sinai as 1973 Arab-Israeli War began

1915 Sir Percy Lake new Chief of General Staff in India said UK must take Baghdad because it would be turning point in war in East (...