Laith, an engineer with rimless eyeglasses, was younger and taller, and given to bursts of enthusiasm and displeasure.
"It's been a good day for Iraq, " said Laith Kubba, a top aide to transitional Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari.
The one comforting thought for Othman and Laith was that, four years into the war, the Palestine was no longer worth attacking.
Laith had a job with an American organization, affiliated with the National Endowment for Democracy, that encouraged private enterprise in developing countries.
It is possible the handover of the bodies could be seen as a trade-off for the release of militant Laith al-Khazali, on 6 June.
The bomb that missed Laith killed at least seven people .
CNN: War-scarred Baghdad places little faith in U.S. election
These were coveted jobs, but over time they had become so dangerous that Othman and Laith could talk candidly about their lives with no one except each other.
Among the ex-detainees was an Iraqi in his mid-40s, identified only as Laith, whom U.S. soldiers took into custody in October 2003 and who was released from Abu Ghraib in June 2004.
The two Iraqis, Othman and Laith, had asked to meet me at the Palestine because it was the only place left in Baghdad where they were willing to be seen with an American.
Othman smoked by the window while Laith sat on one of the twin beds. (The names of most of the Iraqis in this story have been changed for their protection.) Othman was a heavyset doctor, twenty-nine years old, with a gentle voice and an unflappable ironic manner.
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