Back to the palm groves

(photo taken outside the palm groves of Diyala Province, where farmers grow dates and militants take shelter under the thick canopy and often boggy terrain)

KAISERSLAUTERN, GERMANY - After a lengthy break replete with the restorative power of friends, beer, and snowboarding (sometimes all at once), it's time to head back to the layers of khaki-colored intrigue that constitute Iraq.

If all goes well, I'll be trading the snowy, cabbage-infused wonderland of Germany for the dusty, cardamom-spiced desert of Diyala Province on Friday.

I've been derelict in posting story links and the Stripes archiving system is fickle at best, so here's a few stories from my last rotation, if you're interested. I'll be posting links regularly this time.

Kirkuk:

http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=58295
http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=58150

Diyala:

http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=58872
w/sidebar: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?article=58873
http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=58578

Baghdad:

http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=59222
http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=59041