One week after Petraeus says all is well, US bans almost all land travel by American govt. officials in Iraq

(AP) - The United States on Tuesday suspended all land travel by U.S. diplomats and other civilian officials throughout Iraq, except in Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone. The move follows a weekend incident involving private security guards protecting a diplomatic convoy in which a number of Iraqi civilians were killed.

In a notice sent to Americans in Iraq, the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad said it had taken the step to review the security of its personnel and possible increased threats to those leaving the Green Zone while accompanied by such security details.

"In light of a serious security incident involving a U.S. embassy protective detail in the Mansour District of Baghdad, the embassy has suspended official U.S. government civilian ground movements outside the International Zone (IZ) and throughout Iraq," the notice said. (More)

John Aravosis (DC), AmericaBlog.com: Imagine banning travel by land in an entire country. That's how bad things have gotten in Iraq. And just last week General Petraeus was telling us how well things were going. I'd like to see John McCain and Joe Lieberman, and George Bush, go back now for a surprise visit.