Baghdad to US: You Owe Us $1B

Baghdad has asked the US to apologize and pay it $1 billion for damages wrought by Humvees and blast walls during the Iraq war. "The US forces changed this beautiful city to a camp in an ugly and destructive way, which reflected deliberate ignorance and carelessness about the simplest forms of public taste," the city said in a statement.

The statement makes no reference to damage caused by bombs, Reuters notes. Officials instead made mention of the concrete blast walls constructed throughout the city, which they say tend to cause traffic jams and have damaged sewer and water systems, pavement, and parks . Only 5% of the walls have been removed since violence in the country died down. They also say US Humvees, which were driven over gardens and street medians, caused further damage. (More Baghdad stories.)