Overflying Iraq
We flew with LH from FRA to KWI on 08 Aug 2004. I too was surprised to fly over Baghdad and Basra before a VERY steep decent into KWI - we were still at 23000' over Basra before a decending turn over the Gulf into KWI.
We have flown that route many times but normally fly via Cyprus, Syria, Saudi, and in over the southern border of Kuwait.
The return trip was back via the more familiar route. There had been some insurgent problems in Iraq over the previous few days so whether that had some bearing.