Unlikely Rescue

Now THIS is news. If it seems out of place for Iraq - that's because it is. And news, as I've said before, exists to report the out of the ordinary. Not sure why this didn't make headlines, because it's really strange.

Two American teachers had to be rescued in Iraq on March 2. But they weren't rescued from terrorists. Neither were they kidnapped. Actually, their rescue had nothing to do with the war at all, except that the rescuers were members of a military search and rescue unit stationed in Balad.

No, the Americans had to be rescued because they went hiking and got lost. That's right, they were just out for a walk in the mountains, taking in some fresh air.

The Americans are teachers at a school in Iraq. They went for a walk, took the wrong trail and got lost. No minefields, no groups of armed bandits. Just a poor trail map.

Everything turned out okay, however. After an uncomfortable night on a mountainside, the teachers were tired and hungry, but fine. They were rescued by American forces and released. They're still in Iraq.

Read between the lines a little bit, and you can see that things must be fairly calm in that part of the country for two American teachers to feel comfortable enough to go for a hike by themselves. What seem so strange about that is that it's just so...well, normal.

On an unrelated note, check out this photo of a soldier kissing an Iraqi baby. It has nothing to do with the above story, but it's pretty darn cute.