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"  BAGHDAD, June 26 \u2014 Tonight around 1800, walking past the U.S. embassy compound&amp;#039;s military checkpoint manned by proud Peruvian soldiers, I hear in the distance a deep, heavy whump, whump. Last time I heard that sound, it was 2005 in Camp Taji. I register it but don&amp;#039;t say anything, and, although we both glance toward the direction of the sound, neither does my PAO escort. This compound is converted from one of Saddam Hussein&amp;#039;s former palaces\u2014think Arabian Nights a la 1970s Las Vegas, only worse. Within minutes of entering the garish, ornate hulk, an alarm sounds. Over the intercom, echoing through the vast marbled halls and rooms, comes a mechanized voice: Duck and cover, duck and cover. Stay away from the windows and seek shelter. This is repeated several times.  There&amp;#039;s no running or turmoil, but everyone\u2014dozens of soldiers, airmen, U.S. and coalition forces and civilians\u2014walks a little faster, with greater purpose and shoulders hitched a bit higher. Beside me, Maj. Armando Hernandez tenses up some. &amp;quot;Those were mortars?&amp;quot; I ask. He just nods. As we wait in one of several gaudy antechambers off the compound&amp;#039;s main hall for the two Iraqi-American interpreters I&amp;#039;ve come to interview, we don&amp;#039;t saw much else. Such nervous acceptance of indirect fire is telling: The people who live and work in this huge space have grown more accustomed to frequent attacks, but it is an uneasy, fearful accommodation. The embassy compound and the International Zone have been hit several times just this year, killing and wounding military personnel and private contractors. It seems that Al Qaeda, militias and insurgents may be targeting the Green Zone more frequently. My female interviewee confirms this later.  In fact, the strikes are closer to my billet than I&amp;#039;d thought. I find out later that days before my visit, indirect fire hit close to my quarters in the Green Zone. Some have taken to calling this\u2014perhaps ironically\u2014the Amber Zone. About four minutes after the initial alarm comes another sound I&amp;#039;ve heard before: All clear, all clear, all clear. For now. \u2014Leslie Sabbagh "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.popularmechanics.com/military/a1919/4219459/>