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Hi, BBC world just broadcasted a totally different story from a commentator saying reports from journalist travelling behind the troops tell the story of Iraqi civilians complaining about the American presents in their country and accusing the Americans they were just there to steal the Iraqi oil. The same commentator suggested the fierce resistant could maybe be explained by the fact the Iraqi army isn't so much fighting for Saddam but far more against the Americans. Indicating the level of pride most Iraqi have for being Iraqi outweighed their hate for Saddam. They simply didn't want to see an American rule over their country. I guess we will not know the real story at least until this war is over and even then it will be a question if we ever find out the truth. But it strikes me as odd that we have seen almost no pictures of Iraqi civilians, let alone pictures of Iraqi civilians celebrating the arrival of the Americans. You would think the US military would go out of its way in exploiting this images if they would exist. The few pictures of civilians I saw showed people happy Saddam's rule was over but in no way cheering the American soldiers. SanderFaas Faaz@battl.nl http://battl.nl ----- Original Message ----- From: "Sama Hadad" <bintilhuda@lycos.com> To: <casi-discuss@lists.casi.org.uk> Sent: Sunday, March 23, 2003 2:33 AM Subject: [casi] more 'stupid' iraqis > http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,919642,00.html > > 'You're late. What took you so long? God help you become victorious' > > 'I want to say hello to Bush, to shake his hand' > > James Meek in Safwan > Saturday March 22, 2003 > The Guardian > > Yesterday afternoon a truck drove down a side road in the Iraqi town of > Safwan, laden with rugs and furniture. Booty or precious possessions? In a > day of death, joy and looting, it was hard to know. > > As the passengers spotted European faces, one boy grinned and put his thumb > up. The other nervously waved a white flag. The mixed messages defined the > moment: Thank you. We love you. Please don't kill us. > > US marines took Safwan at about 8am yesterday. There was no rose-petal > welcome, no cheering crowd, no stars and stripes. > > Afraid that the US and Britain will abandon them, the people of Safwan did > not touch the portraits and murals of Saddam Hussein hanging everywhere. It > was left to the marines to tear them down. It did not mean there was not > heartfelt gladness at the marines' arrival. Ajami Saadoun Khlis, whose son > and brother were executed under the Saddam regime, sobbed like a child on > the shoulder of the Guardian's Egyptian translator. He mopped the tears but > they kept coming. > > "You just arrived," he said. "You're late. What took you so long? God help > you become victorious. I want to say hello to Bush, to shake his hand. We > came out of the grave." > > "For a long time we've been saying: 'Let them come'," his wife, Zahara, > said. "Last night we were afraid, but we said: 'Never mind, as long as they > get rid of him, as long as they overthrow him, no problem'." Their > 29-year-old son was executed in July 2001, accused of harbouring warm > feelings for Iran. > > "He was a farmer, he had a car, he sold tomatoes, and we had a life that we > were satis fied with," said Khlis. "He was in prison for a whole year, and I > raised 75m dinars in bribes. It didn't work. The money was gone, and he was > gone. They sent me a telegram. They gave me the body." > > The marines rolled into the border town after a bombardment which left up to > a dozen people dead. Residents gave different figures. A farmer, Haider, who > knew one of the men killed, Sharif Badoun, said: "Killing some is worth it, > to end the injustice and suffering." The men around him gave a collective > hysterical laugh. > > The injustice of tyranny was merged in their minds with the effects of > sanctions. "Look at the way we're dressed!" said Haider, and scores of men > held up their stained, holed clothes. "We are isolated from the rest of the > world." > > The marines took Safwan without loss, although a tank hit a mine. "They had > to clear that route through. They found the way to punch through and about > 10 Iraqi soldiers surrendered immediately," said Marine Sergeant Jason > Lewis, from Denver, standing at a checkpoint at the entrance to the town > where, minutes earlier, a comrade had folded a huge portrait of President > Saddam and tucked it into his souvenir box. > > The welcome, he admitted, had been cool. "At first they were a little > hesitant," he said. "As you know, Saddam's a dictator, so we've got to > reassure them we're here to stay _ We tore down the Saddam signs to show > them we mean business. > > "Hopefully this time we'll do it right, and give these Iraqis a chance of > liberty." > > But the marines' presence was light. They had not brought food, medicines, > or even order. All day hundreds of armoured vehicles poured through the > town. But they did not stop, and the looting continued. Every government > establishment seemed to be fair game. People covered their faces in shame as > they carried books out of a school. Tawfik Mohammed, the headmaster, > initially denied his school had been looted, then admitted it. "This is the > result of your entering," he said. "Whenever any army enters an area it > becomes chaos. We are cautious about the future. We are very afraid." > > Safwan yesterday was a place where people were constantly taking you aside > to warn in veiled terms that it was necessary to be careful. Everywhere was > the lingering fear that the revenge killings that swept the area in 1991 - a > product of US encourage ment and then abandonment of the southern Iraqi > revolt - could happen again. > > "Now, we are afraid [Saddam's] government will come back," said Haider, as > the Safwan Farmers' Cooperative was being looted behind him. "We don't trust > the Americans any more. People made a revolution, and they didn't help us." > > Safwan is a crumbling, dead-end place, full of poor, restless young men, and > reliant on the tomato trade for its income. Farmers were panicking yesterday > as they asked journalists, in lieu of anyone better, how they were supposed > to sell their tomatoes. > > A handful of soldiers, mainly US marines but with a few British, are > struggling to cope with the chaos and the lack of health care or aid. > > At a checkpoint just north of the town two British military policemen with > paramedical training and a US doctor rushed to treat two Iraqi men brought > in on the back of a beaten-up pick-up truck. Their legs were lacerated by > shrapnel. The military policemen did their conscientious best, and may have > saved their lives. > > _______________________________________________ > Sent via the discussion list of the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq. > To unsubscribe, visit http://lists.casi.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/casi-discuss > To contact the list manager, email casi-discuss-admin@lists.casi.org.uk > All postings are archived on CASI's website: http://www.casi.org.uk > _______________________________________________ Sent via the discussion list of the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq. To unsubscribe, visit http://lists.casi.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/casi-discuss To contact the list manager, email casi-discuss-admin@lists.casi.org.uk All postings are archived on CASI's website: http://www.casi.org.uk