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Shiite
and Sunni religious leaders are the de facto rulers of
the land. |
Somewhere in America someone is
itching to say, “I told you so.” Elsewhere in the world
millions of people laugh, scoff, mock, and launch vitriol and
hyperbole when discussing America’s role in the world. All of
a sudden, the so-called victory in Iraq, which was neither a
military nor a popular victory, is beginning to look like a
public relations disaster.
Consider
the facts:
Iraqis
today fare far worse than they did under Iraqi President Saddam
Hussein. Yes, worse – you only have to ask the Iraqis
themselves, not the Friedmans and Krauthammers of the world, who
speak from a bastion of cultural ignorance. Iraqis no longer
feel safe in their own country, in their own houses. Some have
pooled their financial resources and bought weapons to defend
themselves. Others, who can afford it, have hired bodyguards.
The weapons trading and protection businesses are thriving in
lawless Iraq.
There is no electricity; with the traditional summer
temperatures of 135 Fahrenheit looming in the distance, Iraqis
will be unable to operate their desert coolers. There is no
running water. Eight million Iraqis are jobless, mulling about
at home, murmuring curses under their breath every time a US
military patrol or convoy passes. Food is scarce; medicines are
scarce; hospitals are barely functioning. Rape and murder rule
the night. An Iraqi family of four who lost their men during the
Iraq-Iran war were stopped by armed men one evening and asked to
leave their car behind. They were not hurt, but the loss of
their car broke their resolve. They called from an
ICRC(International Commission for the Red Cross)-run refugee
camp on Iraq’s Jordan border. “We have had enough,” they
said. They were applying for asylum in Jordan, a temporary stop
on their way to Italy, they hoped.
While
Iraqis rummage about their lawless “freedom,” certain forces
move hastily to assert control. Islamic law in Iraq seems a
reality, as Shiite and Sunni religious leaders begin to issue
decrees. They are the de facto rule of law in the land –
everything must be approved by them. Ironically, and thanks in
large part to US bungling, mismanagement and indifference,
Saddam’s popularity is soaring in many places. “At least
under Saddam, we could sleep safely in our beds, and not worry
about people barging in with their guns,” has become a popular
sentiment. Or “At least we had jobs under Saddam and could
feed our children,” goes another.
Iraqis
are now strangers in their own land. |
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Rumors
of Saddam’s betrayal at the hands of his kinfolk abound. One
says the Republican Guard sold him out at the last minute.
Another says Saddam is in the US, hidden in Crawford, Texas. The
most popular rumors are those pertaining to jobs. “We hear the
UN is hiring volunteers. Can you tell me how I can apply?”
said one disgruntled e-mailer from Mosul, who paid 10 dollars
for 5 minutes of Internet time.
Adding
insult to injury is the new phenomenon of Iraqi businessmen who
have infiltrated post-Saddam Iraq looking to make a quick buck.
They parade around with bodyguards armed to the teeth in newly
polished Benzes and BMWs. They are buying up everything in a
very volatile environment. Add to that the Kuwaitis who seem to
have expansionist dreams of their own, buying up large tracts of
land in the Basra area. This will not bode well as rumors have
almost become fact that it was the Kuwaitis who orchestrated the
torching of government ministries and hired armed brigands to
loot everything.
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Iraqi
National Front of Fedayeen said that they had nothing to
do with Saddam. |
Iraqis
in Baghdad now speak of the Kuwaiti invasion – the
partitioning of the southern port town of Oum Qasr, once fully
Iraqi, now sectioned off to the Kuwaitis. Iraqis in Baghdad are
also infuriated that their local companies are not allowed to
fix southern oil pipes; Kuwaiti firms have been handed the
contract – and they in turn have hired Filipino and South
Asian workers. Iraqis are strangers in their own land.
The sidelining of Iraqis, both in creating a government and in
running economic affairs, is pushing hatred of everything
American to new heights. This weekend, a new Iraqi resistance
group, Iraqi National Front of Fedayeen, said they had nothing
to do with Saddam or his cronies, and everything to do with
killing Americans. They promised to send at least one US bodybag
a day back home. A country that had no ill will toward Americans
now despises the very word.
No
wonder the US is seeking an international police force.
At
press time, 193 US military personnel had been killed. The
British military casualty toll came in at 37.
Firas
Al-Atraqchi holds an MA in Journalism and Mass
Communication. He is a Canadian journalist with eleven years of
experience covering Middle East issues, oil and gas markets, and
the telecom industry. You can reach him at firas6544@rogers.com
*This
article was originally published in YellowTimes.Org.
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