Thursday, October 16, 2003
From the Independent, a report on Iraqi sentiments towards the U.S. in one northern Iraq town:
'New babies are being named Saddam by their parents in this oil refinery town 160 miles north of Baghdad, such is the hostility to the US occupation, an official at the local births and deaths registration office said.'
'Iraqis queued yesterday for new dinar banknotes with pictures of Babylonian rulers and a 10th century Iraqi mathematician in place of a smiling Saddam Hussein.'
'But in Baiji, "Long live Saddam" slogans are scrawled everywhere. The mayor's office and a building which housed a pro-American opposition party are burned out, having been set on fire by demonstrators who brandished pictures of the former Iraqi leader.'
'A local sheikh said: "The people have decided that the disasters they suffer under the Americans are worse than those they suffered under Saddam Hussein." He pointed to a small pit in the concrete in the courtyard of his house where a grenade had exploded, thrown by someone who thought him too close to the Americans.'
Further down in the article we have another example of why people might prefer Sadam over the U.S. right now:
'A Swedish journalist witnessed US soldiers beat an elderly religious man, Maad Ibrahim, almost to death. Mustapha Can, a correspondent for the Swedish evening newspaper Aftonbladet, was with a US patrol, which was hit by two mortar rounds.'
'He told The Independent: "Suddenly I saw the soldiers kick in a door and drag out an old man who screamed, 'Me no shoot! please, please mister.' The soldiers shouted, 'Shut the fuck up! Shut the fuck up!' '
'"They tied his hands behind his back and then, as he lay on the ground, one said: 'Keep his head still.' He slammed him on the head with his rifle butt again and again. Then the others kicked him. There was blood everywhere." US officers later admitted they were probably wrong about the old man, but said "these things happen in the heat of the action".'
Andrew 11:09 AM : |
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