Stephen Colbert is ‘Over There’

For months, Colbert has been promoting a trip overseas to visit troops and shoot episodes of The Colbert Report on location in the Middle East, but claimed that national security regulations kept him from saying exactly when he would go or where he would be filming. Well, the countdown clock that once read “? Days” till the Persian Gulf can now be set to zero.

US comedian Stephen Colbert has arrived in Iraq for a week to record special editions of his popular television show “The Colbert Report,” the US army confirmed on Saturday.

Colbert’s trip is dubbed “Operation Iraqi Stephen: Going Commando” in reference to the Operation Iraqi Freedom codename given to the 2003 US-led invasion of the country.

“The USO counts this as military service, right?” Colbert said in a statement on the Comedy Central website. “I might want to run for office some day.”

The week of shows will supposedly feature a guest appearance by Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, who spilled the beans about her “surprise” appearance last week on her Twitter. Colbert has several interviews scheduled with important political and military officials, including General Ray Odierno and the Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq, Barham Saleh. Here’s hoping they’ll be as amusingly uncomfortable as we’ve come to expect from the fake political pundit.

Proceeds from the iTunes sales of these special episodes of The Colbert Report will benefit the USO.