Sarah Palin’s Trip to the Iraq ‘Battle Zone?’ Never Happened

Here’s some more of Sarah Palin’s vaunted foreign policy experience.  You’ll recall how well she’s grappled with U.S.-Russian relations based on the fact (and yes, she did say this to Charlie Gibson) that you can see Russia from an island off the Alaskan coast.  And also, that Palin made her only foreign trip in her life to visit Alaska National Guard units in the Iraq “battle zone.”  Turns out not only wasn’t she in a battle zone, it’s arguable she was even in Iraq:

Following her selection…as John McCain’s running mate, aides said Palin had traveled to Ireland, Germany, Kuwait, and Iraq to meet with members of the Alaska National Guard. During that trip she was said to have visited a “military outpost” inside Iraq. The campaign has since repeated that Palin’s foreign travel included an excursion into the Iraq battle zone.

But…campaign aides and National Guard officials in Alaska said…that she did not venture beyond the Kuwait-Iraq border when she visited Khabari Alawazem Crossing…on July 25, 2007.

Asked to clarify where she traveled in Iraq, Palin’s spokeswoman, Maria Comella, confirmed that “She visited a military outpost on the other side of the Kuwait-Iraq border.”

And oops, did we say she visited Ireland?  Hardly:

Earlier, the campaign acknowledged that Palin made only a refueling stop in Ireland…

Palin boasted to Charlie Gibson that she’s visited Mexico and Canada:

Comella said yesterday that Palin had visited Mexico on vacation, and Canada once last year.

On vacation?  What did she learn about Mexico?  How many sombreros you can buy for a buck fifty?

She appears to know about as much about Canada as she does about Russia–with the key difference that Canada borders directly on Alaska, is a friendly neighbor, and speaks the same language.  Yet she visited ONCE?!

If you have not yet read it, the N.Y. Times investigative report on Palin’s political career in Alaska is must reading.  If you’ve been following this story and think you know all there is to know–the Times report will make your jaw drop even lower than any other previous report you may’ve read has done.