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Politics : Idea Of The Day -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: IQBAL LATIF who wrote (43912)	3/30/2003 4:06:12 PM
From: NickSE	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 50167

Iraqis in Port City of Umm Qasr Show Small Signs of Confidence Saddam's Days Are Numbered ap.tbo.com UMM QASR, Iraq (AP) - The portrait of Saddam Hussein welcoming drivers to this port city has been freshly painted over with three red Xs. Overnight, locals say new slogans reading "Death to Saddam" and "Down with Saddam" appeared on the walls at the market. The new graffiti underlines the growing sense of security in this British-controlled city. But even Iraqis arriving Sunday to seek jobs at the port are hesitant to have their pictures taken - afraid Baghdad's agents are still on the prowl and that the U.S.-led coalition won't finish the liberation it started. "I hope they continue doing what they are coming for and they get Saddam," Haider Abduljabar Mrayir, 20, a former student who was hoping to get hired at the port, said of the U.S. and British forces. The job-seeking Iraqis were brought in military trucks and searched upon entering the Umm Qasr port under the close watch of British troops. Prospective employees were selected by the town council, which the military says has no ties to Saddam's Baath Party. British forces say they are trying to assure their new helpers that the coalition forces will stay until the situation is stable. "We're telling them that we're here to stay until they have a democracy, until they can manage themselves," said Maj. Allen Poulson of the Royal Logistics Corps, who is in charge of rehiring some 1,000 workers to operate the port. "What we want to do is give them back their own job so we can give their port back to them and they can carry on with their lives." Some workers said they were afraid of having their pictures taken for the jobs because they still have relatives living in cities under Iraqi government control. "The British army is here, we are safe," said Yasser Hassan Ghanim, 22, who has been unemployed since running away from the Iraqi army in 2001. "But we are afraid the armies will go back just like in 1991." "If Saddam Hussein is finished now, we are happy. But if not, we are still in danger," said Osamah Kadhem, 39, who was recently rehired at the port, where he had previously been a supervisor for eight years. "If they find me working here, maybe they will kill me." Samer Muhsin, 26, who has a degree in geography, said young men in this city of 45,000 now feel free from the watchful eyes of police and can pursue jobs. He said that under Saddam's regime, there was nothing for graduates like him to do except enter the military. Muhsin said the anti-Saddam slogans appeared at the local market overnight, and said Iraqis still wouldn't brave such an act of rebellion in broad daylight despite the British and U.S. military presence. All along the roads through town, children wave water bottles at cars and point to open mouths, shouting the few English words in their vocabulary, "welcome" and "Water," while waving the "V" sign or giving a thumbs-up. The first humanitarian aid ship docked Friday at Umm Qasr's port amid much fanfare after the waterway leading to it was cleared of mines. But Muhsin said it has been slow to reach residents. One man standing near the Saddam portrait with his black-veiled wife pleaded to passing journalists. "I want food, I want water, I want electricity," he said. "Before we had water, now we don't." Still, many Iraqis said they were happy coalition troops were patrolling the streets. "We don't want Saddam Hussein. He doesn't pay attention to our suffering," said Ferras Mohammed, 30, who was walking through town with water jugs perched on the back of a battered bicycle. "We have been waiting for you to come. We feel good to have soldiers here."

To: IQBAL LATIF who wrote (43912)	3/31/2003 6:43:37 PM
From: IQBAL LATIF	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50167

On tragedy today, the results are that Iraqi citizens are the victims and caught in the mesh of US Army fire power... Suicide bombings will not turn the tide of any conflict and will not levy unacceptable losses on American soldiers. The Anglo-American garrisons outside Iraqi cities are somewhat cut-off from access and therefore will not be susceptible to the waves of suicide bombings as seen in Israel. Suicide bombings are an effective tactic against civilian population, where it can induce a tense climate of fear however it cannot unseat a military base. It is as we see sadly today the Iraqi citizens who will be impacted from Saddam reign of terror. Using combatants in civilian clothes subjects the entire population to very high risk. By highlighting the concept of suicide bombing as part of the military strategy it only shows the scant regard this regime has for its own citizens.Today’s tragedy was result of yesterday Iraqi scorn, it is sad to see that poor citizens have to pay a very high price. War is a very difficult business and therefore it is the last resort. I have greatest of sympathies for the innocent citizens used as cannon fodder by Saddam fedayeens. One needs to ask if the soldiers of the 3rd Division were following the orders and rules of engagement by first waving to stop, second warning shots to stop , third shots in the radiator why the car did not stop!