The Baghdad Zoo has opened new horse stables and a pool:
Mowery, a native of Parkersburg, W.Va., said the horse stables and swimming pool were in one of the most damaged areas of the park, but now, he said he feels good about the positive impact the two new facilities will have on the entire park and zoo facility. While the pool will be open to the public as soon as weather permits, the horse stables will only be available for staff and an equestrian team, Dr. Adil Salman Mousa, the Baghdad Zoo’s director, said. Yet, he added, he hopes the horse stable may one day be open to the public, as well. The horses that are currently in the zoo are a mixture of horses found on Saddam Hussein’s and other former dignitaries’ properties throughout Baghdad. Mousa said he believes the newest addition to the park will draw more visitors as did the news of the zoo’s reopening earlier this year. “We are very happy for the assistance of the Army in opening the stable and also the pool,” he said. “This should increase visitors to the zoo and (stable).”
The picture shows Army Captain Amy Cronin, of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, “christening” the new children’s pool with a couple of Iraqi men during the grand opening ceremony. Children’s pools and zoos don’t typically get much attention in a nation with a failing central government, in the midst of a civil war. This is more evidence that Iraq doesn’t fit that description.
