Immediately after the war started, both the Brits and the US military got open arms and flowers in the south of Iraq, and in the north of Iraq, from people Saddam mistreated: Shi'a, "Marsh Arabs," and Kurds. I posted many, many links to photos and stories of ordinary Iraqis embracing the liberators, giving them food and tea and flowers, handing them their children to hold.
Of course, nobody expected open arms and flowers in Ba'athist strongholds.
What we did not expect was the murderous power struggle that ensued.
It was actually a surprise when, for example, the eminent Shia cleric Abdul Majid al-Khoei was brought home from exile in London, in triumph, only to be murdered in the mosque by followers of Sadr. You knew that, this is the reason we are attempting to arrest Sadr.
You may have noticed that these days, cooperation with the US leads to death. Even Salaam Pax no longer posts, and he was brave enough to post under Saddam.
dear_raed.blogspot.com
But it's either ignorance or mendacity to repeat, over and over again, that, while "we expected open arms and flowers," we did not get them. We did. |
