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From The Times
December 17, 2003

Good Mooooooorning, Baghdaaaaad

From Roland Watson in Washington
IT’S not just on the battlefield that American soldiers in Iraq get all the top assignments; back at base they get the best entertainers, too.

Robin Williams and Bruce Willis are turning out for the GIs while British troops have to make do with Jim Davidson and Bjorn Again.

Williams became the latest American star to tread the boards yesterday when he began his gig with the inevitable words “Good Mooooooorning Baghdaaaaad”, reprising the signature line of his 1987 film Good Morning Vietnam.

Following in the footsteps of Bob Hope, a legendary entertainer of US troops, Williams was supported on the bill by the more modest talents of Shannon Tweed, a former Playboy Playmate of the Year turned actress, wrestler Curt Angel and stock-car racer Mike Wallace.

Perched on a flatbed trailer in a rakishly tilted stocking cap and army camouflage jacket, Williams surveyed the crowd of about 200 soldiers and told them their gear would be fashionable on the inner-city streets of Los Angeles. “I’m looking at a group of heavily armed people here,” he joked with the soldiers. “I’m telling myself, ‘If you’re not funny, it’s a problem’.”

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