Officially known as the International Zone (IZ), the was the epicenter of the American-led occupation. Surrounded by concrete blast walls, razor wire, and checkpoints nicknamed "Assassin's Gate," the zone was a bubble of Western privilege in the heart of a war-torn capital.
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Entry into the Green Zone for Iraqis was a humiliating and rigorous process, involving multiple checkpoints, retinal scans, and badges. The zone became a target for insurgents, who fired mortars and rockets over the walls indiscriminately. The psychological toll on those inside was immense; the fear was not of a frontal assault, but of the unseen projectile arcing over the Tigris. Officially known as the International Zone (IZ), the
As the years passed and the nature of the conflict shifted, so too did the Green Zone. Following the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops in 2011 and the subsequent rise of ISIS, the zone transformed. It was handed over to the Iraqi government, becoming the seat of the Iraqi Parliament and the Prime Minister’s office. Entry into the Green Zone for Iraqis was