Hundreds of thousands of Shiite Muslims made the pilgrimage to the holy city of Karbala this year to celebrate Arba'inya, the end of the 40-day mourning period following the anniversary of the death of Imam al-Hussein, the grandson of Prophet Mohammad. Despite tightened security measures, which included the deployment of 40,000 security personnel, a suicide bomber managed to kill 40 people in Iskandariyah on Feb. 24.  One of those taking part in the religious ritual, Jalal Abdul Aal, 41, who walked 70 miles from Baghdad with four friends, shared his recollections from the journey: 

This is the first time I've gone on foot to Arba'inya. I usually go by car, but this year was special. I wanted to challenge the Wahabi Sunnis, who have attacked pilgrims in the past. At 7 a.m. on Monday morning [Feb. 25], I left Baghdad with four of my friends, Musa, Ahmad, Muhammad and Basim. We took some bottles of water and carried the picture of the Imam, Al-Hussein, and two flags, one green and one black to honor him. There were thousands of pilgrims filling the streets toward Karbala, and tents set up everywhere along the road to feed us. Some handed out cans of Pepsi and slices of cake. Others prepared rice and soup for us to eat and tea and water to drink. I heard from those who walk on foot every year that it is a good idea to drink lots of water and tea and take [medicine] for headaches and ointment for your feet. Every couple of miles, we rested and prayed. Basim, who we call Mr. Funny, told lots of jokes.

It took us three days to reach Karbala. I was tired, but it was nothing compared to what our Imam did to save our religion. He is the symbol of sacrifice, and we need him now to save our country from these hard times. It was not easy for me to keep going, but if you saw those old people and kids walking with the souls of fighters to continue all the way to Karbala, you would feel the power inside you to do the same.

Atta Kenare / AFP-Getty Images

From Tehran to Baghdad: Ahmadinejad
will visit the Iraqi capital in March

So far U.S. officials say they won't be attending any events during Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's planned visit to Baghdad March 2. And  the Iranian president might make it easy for them to avoid the awkwardness of bumping into each other in the Green Zone–-say, at an embassy "Salsa Night" or the "Liberty" pool. Iraqis planning the itinerary say that their guest has asked to stay outside the fortified area in a riverside compound belonging to his official host, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani.

Ahmadinejad is expected to sleep over one night and hold meetings with Iraqi officials, maybe sign an agreement or two, and hold a joint press conference with Talabani. Naseer al-Ani, director of the Iraqi Presidency office (remember, there's a president and two vice-presidents from the different ethnic and religious factions) told NEWSWEEK the plan now is to not rely on any U.S. assistance for security or other logistics–-though that could change.

A U.S. Embassy official said that America will offer any logistical help the Iraqis request–-as the Americans have when other dignitaries have visited. Iran and Iraq share a long border and many common issues and interests, so the embassy is treating it as a routine summit between two heads of state–-though the other neighboring rulers haven't dropped by yet. Given that Iraq has traditionally had bitter relations with all its bordering nations–-Turkey is currently invading the north–-Iran is probably the friendliest neighbor to Iraq's Shiite-led government and its Kurds, if not for  its Sunni Arabs).

A remaining question is whether there are any guarantees that U.S. troops won't spoil the party by arresting Ahmadinejad–-as they have other Iranian diplomatic guests who they accused of funneling assistance to anti-American forces. Al-Ani, stunned  into momentary silence when asked about this, said, "I don't know what to say. It can't happen," Yeah, probably not. After all, the Iranian president has already visited New York for a United Nations summit and made it out safely. He should be able to thread his way through the western contractors and U.S. troops surrounding the Baghdad International Airport.

This week I found myself staying a night at a giant FOB (Forward Operating Base). It's a mini-city providing living conditions not uncommon for American forces in Iraq. Guests are greeted in a base lodge with introductory guides to the amenities. There are two gyms offering indoor and outdoor basketball courts and a swimming pool. Recreation rooms have pool tables, ping-pong, air hockey and movies. There are two Internet cafes. The "Food Court" has Burger King, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut. (They apologized that budget cuts had ended the guest "maid service.")

People drive SUV's to the general dining facility, a single room as big as a department store with multiple lines for ice cream, cakes, salads and the main courses. The atmosphere is like an office cafeteria, jovial but bland. It's probably praiseworthy that those who specialize in building bases and making them livable--legions of Army engineers and private contractors--had created a world in which the war merited a reminder on the base information sheet. Under the heading, "!!!Quality of Life Warning!!!," it reminded residents that, while the living conditions are "excellent. DO NOT get complacent and get lulled into a false sense of security. We are in a dangerous place and there are people outside of the FOB who want to kill you! Stay alert, stay alive!!

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They looked like they could have been sisters--young women, with the same brown tint to their straight hair, round, smooth cheeks. Both were decapitated just under the chin but their faces were eerily intact, almost serene. They were, according to the U.S. commander who showed their photos, unwitting suicide bombers sent by Al Qaeda in Iraq. Apparently walking between blast walls meant to prevent car bombs, they shook Baghdad Friday with bombs in two open-air markets about 10 minutes apart. And, according to Iraqi officials, both women had Down's Syndrome. The theory is that they were tricked into carrying the explosives--one in a suicide vest and the other in a backpack supplemented with ball bearings the size of a fingertip.

Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Hammond, commander of U.S. forces in Baghdad, made sure to stand away from cameras at the end of a morning press briefing Saturday and showed two photos to a few reporters huddled around him. He said that out of respect to the families of the bombers, he would not show them publicly. "Judge for yourself," he said when asked if the women were related, but he said they looked remarkably similar and "there are some indications they were mentally handicapped."

The photos showed two women with narrow eyes (open) and broad noses, unusual features for Baghdad though not conclusive proof of mental disability. "The two women were used because they don't understand what was happening and they were less likely to be searched," Hammond said. Some reports stated that one of the women was known in the pet market she blew up as a cream seller with developmental disabilities. Women and teenagers have been used to carry bombs before.