McCain's Stroll

I had imagined this was the case, that the entire place was locked down, but hadn't found anything about it until now. Larry Johnson at Atlantic Free Press says there was a bit more than just doing a little shopping in that Baghdad market:

"While John McCain was excoriating the press in Baghdad yesterday for not presenting the "full story" about how swell things are in Iraq he neglected to mention the pre-visit security sweep that made that neighborhood stroll so safe. I am sure you have already heard about the 100 soldiers, the three Blackhawk helicopters and two Apache gunships that accompanied his entourage, but did you hear about the soldiers who swept the area before the American legislators and their security team showed up? Who cares about those mooks? They are expendable.
(...)
U.S. soldiers entered the neighborhood before the delegation arrived for its stroll. They searched for explosives, sent informants into the crowd, set up a perimeter, and secured the area before the Senators showed up with their 100 armed guards. And for what? To keep McCain, Graham and others safe. What happened to the Iraqi utopia John McCain so confidently insisted was there for eveyone to see? If the "true" picutre of Iraq was simply a matter of getting the news cameras pointed in the right direction then why did he need a security detail? If the peace and prosperity the Iraqi people are celebrating in safe neighborhoods is genuine then why wear body armor?"

But he didn't wear a helmet!