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First USO in Iraq opens

BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq — Gen. David Petraeus, a rangy left-hander, knocked in a 9-foot putt for a quadruple bogey Thursday on the third hole at the Mortaritaville Country Club.

The golf was virtual, part of a tour given to the top U.S. commander, who came to cut a ribbon at the first USO in Iraq.

Petraeus seemed captivated with the computer-simulated golf game — despite his wobbly performance and his declaration that he would rather run on golf courses than play them. The general is an avid runner and fitness enthusiast.

Then he listened as the USO’s president and CEO, Ned Powell, dedicated it to the U.S. forces.

“It is our commitment to you. We will be here as long as you are,” Powell said, under the nearly constant thrum of U.S. jets in the sky above.

The facility — which offers video games, Internet and computer services and telephone exchanges — received the name Mortaritaville because the base has had a difficult history of coming under routine mortar and rocket fire from Sunni insurgents.

The Balad USO facility joins hundreds of others worldwide that have been established since United Services Organization began operating in 1941, shortly before the beginning of U.S. involvement in World War II.

The private and nonprofit USO relies on donations from individuals and corporations — and is probably best known for the who’s who of stars and celebrities it has brought to U.S. troops around the world for decades, from the smoky Marlena Dietrich to the gyrating Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders. The late Bob Hope made 60 USO tours, starting in 1948.

And they keep coming.

“We send 20-some tours a year to either Iraq or Afghanistan,” said John Hanson, spokesman for USO at its Arlington, Va., headquarters. “Robin Williams, Kid Rock, Lewis Black and Lance Armstrong all went to Iraq in December.”

Hanson said that several USO shows have been interrupted by mortars, but the performances often resume.

“It’s always an unpleasant surprise, but the performers, who perform for free, are willing to put up with some of these inconveniences,” he said.

Even Petraeus had his own Hollywood moment. Before flying to Balad, he met in Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone with actress Angelina Jolie, who visited Baghdad on a mission as a U.N. goodwill ambassador to highlight the plight of Iraqi refugees.

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Associated Press writer Carley Petesch in New York contributed to this report.