TOPDOG08.COM

« Late, great political cartoonist Mahmoud Kahil | Main | Stupid is as stupid does »

March 31, 2003

Basra shows promise, needs time

I think the bright side of the pause in the Allied forces advance on Baghdad is two fold. First, they can use air strikes to pick off the Republican Guard, with less risk of civilian casualties than if ground forces did the same task. (Think about it. The bombers use precision weapons and can take their time to get it right. Ground forces often have to shoot first, and ask questions later, or risk being hit by an anti-tank round themselves). Second, I believe in the next few weeks things will take a turn for the better in Basra. If the Allies get their act together and bring in the supplies of humanitarian aid, then flush out the last minders and spies for the Ba'ath party, the people will be much more appreciative of the Allied effort, and not afraid to show it. This positive press should help weaken the rabid anti-Americanism that is increasing every day around the mideast. It should also provide voices and representatives who can help us with the conflict by spreading the word that many Iraqi's do support the effort to overthrow Saddam. It will be much easier to take Baghdad with the Shi'ites from southern Iraq on our side. After all, the majority of the population in Baghdad is Shi'ite, as well.

Here is an excerpt from Arab News in Saudi Arabia:

The people I spoke with at Umm Qasr said they were happy about the removal of Saddam, as he had held them in terror for years. They took me to see the local Baath Party headquarters. They told me that many bad things happened there and that most of those picked up in the middle of the night and taken to that building were never seen again.

I entered the building and walked around. I couldn’t help noticing the excitement in the people’s voices as they pointed out the bullet holes and the charred remains of where the building burned.

That was when I first got the sense that these people were really eager to see Saddam and Baath gone.

I asked several what they thought of the US/UK plan to remove Saddam. They told me: “Now that they have started to remove him, they cannot stop. If they do, then we are all as good as dead. He still has informants in Umm Qasr and he knows who is against him and who isn’t.”

When asked about what they think of this war, most Iraqis said that they were against the loss of innocent life and the destruction of their cities, but they seemed adamant about the removal of Saddam. They were happy about the “liberation” of Umm Qasr but were disappointed in the US/UK for not keeping their promises to provide humanitarian aid.

Here is an excerpt from a story on Radio Free Europe:

One man, an agricultural specialist who asked to remain anonymous, said he does not feel personally engaged in the war and hopes only that it spares civilians. Asked to sit in his car and speak quietly into the microphone slightly apart from the listening crowd, he said he regards the fight for Basra as between the U.S. and Saddam's regime alone.

"Everybody is looking for a better future, of course, and they are saying let the Americans and the Iraqi forces fight between each other, we are not a part of that fight. So [people in Basra] have bunkers and everything and they don't intend to fight the Americans, or [Saddam's forces]. They say let both armies fight and we will stay away from this," he said.

He also said that the people of Basra "would love to meet the Americans with flowers." But he said they are afraid that the Americans will treat them the same way as they did in 1991.

In 1991, U.S. forces advanced beyond Kuwait and into southern Iraq to conclude the Gulf War. But they withdrew soon afterward amid a rebellion in Shia-populated southern Iraq against the regime of Saddam Hussein. In the wake of the U.S. withdrawal, Baghdad restored its control through a military crackdown that killed several thousand people.

Posted by Mike at March 31, 2003 06:25 PM

Trackback Pings

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.topdog08.com/cgi-bin/mt-trackback.cgi/12

Comments

Post a comment