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Pastimes : Rarely is the question asked: "is our children learning" -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: John Sladek who wrote (1909)	1/26/2004 4:48:39 PM
From: John Sladek	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2171

23Jan04-Reuters-Iraqis examine U.S. bullets, not politics By Michael Georgy ADVERTISEMENT FALLUJA, Iraq (Reuters) - Pondering bullet marks and broken glass left after U.S. troops shot dead two civilians, many Iraqis in the flashpoint town of Falluja question whether Americans are more keen to hand over power or to display it. "Look what the Americans do. Look at all these bullet holes. All of this talk about elections and stability is empty," said Musa Ali, a Falluja resident staring at the damage. In the early hours of Thursday, a security guard at a car dealership and his 17-year-old son heard noises and stepped outside of their tiny room to find several American Humvees along the main street, just beyond a row of cars. "It was dark and they shouted 'Who are you?'," said Muhammad Jassim, a security guard who was shot in the hand while standing beside them. "The Americans opened fire from their jeeps. I heard helicopters." The U.S. military had no immediate comment on the incident. An Iraqi police official said the guards were standing outside to see what was happening when the Americans shot them. Iraqis have often complained that U.S. soldiers fighting a fierce insurgency are too quick to pull the trigger. Americans for their part face frequent attacks in the area from guerrillas sworn to drive them from their country. Anger is growing over civilian deaths as U.S. troops struggle to improve security before an American plan to hand over power to Iraqis by July 1. Many Iraqis, including influential religious leaders, want direct elections, not a complex series of regional caucuses they believe the Americans are proposing only to ensure U.S. political influence remains strong. VICIOUS CIRCLE For the Americans it is a vicious circle. The more they step up offensives, the greater the risk they will infuriate Iraqis and provide the insurgents and other anti-American political forces with recruits or supporters. Easing anti-American sentiment in hotbeds such as Falluja will also be crucial to American attempts to include the once powerful Sunni Muslims in the political process. Elderly men in flowing headresses and young boys looked through a bullet hole in the glass at deep pockmarks along the wall of the room where Ileywee Muthin and his son Hameed had slept. Bullets shattered the windows of cars that were on display at the dealership, one of the most modern businesses along the grim streets of Falluja, one of Saddam Hussein's former power bases in the Sunni triangle north and west of Baghdad. "They were poor people. Did they deserve this? For sure there will be revenge," said Aiid Himai, a cousin of the two men who were killed. "More Iraqis will join the resistance against the Americans." sg.news.yahoo.com