The real lessons of Fallujah

And I think the personal testimony of some who have been in Iraq and seen first hand what is going on there have at least as much credibility as those who scour the internet looking for anything derogatory they can find and post here.

those who scour the internet looking for anything derogatory they can find and post here.

Quote:

And I think the personal testimony of some who have been in Iraq and seen first hand what is going on there have at least as much credibility as those who scour the internet looking for anything derogatory they can find and post here.

Well, the fact remains that the US military are there as occupiers, and therefore are not likely to be privy to the innermost thoughts and desires of the Iraqi people. Would you believe the Nazis who occupied Poland if they said the Polish people were happy? (Before you blow a gasket, I am not calling the US military Nazis, I am just using an example of another occupation that faced hostility.)

As for this comment:

Quote:

those who scour the internet looking for anything derogatory they can find and post here.

I am quite disapointed in you, and am rapidly losing the large amount of respect I held for your opinions.

hobitbob wrote:

Quote:

And I think the personal testimony of some who have been in Iraq and seen first hand what is going on there have at least as much credibility as those who scour the internet looking for anything derogatory they can find and post here.

Well, the fact remains that the US military are there as occupiers, and therefore are not likely to be privy to the innermost thoughts and desires of the Iraqi people. Would you believe the Nazis who occupied Poland if they said the Polish people were happy? (Before you blow a gasket, I am not calling the US military Nazis, I am just using an example of another occupation that faced hostility.)

As for this comment:

Quote:

those who scour the internet looking for anything derogatory they can find and post here.

I am quite disapointed in you, and am rapidly losing the large amount of respect I held for your opinions.

What is going on with you? It sounds like you have just made up your mind of how things are in the Middle East, and no first hand facts or descriptions can possibly change your mind,

no matter how realistic or true they are. Why are you even 'discussing' this subject on here?

L.R.R.Hood
You will find that Hobitbob defends all others against the US. In his words we are a pip-squeak nation.

Crime and disorder thriving in Baghdad
By Roshan Muhammed Salih in Baghdad

Sunday 04 April 2004, 12:14 Makka Time, 9:14 GMT

Poverty and poor security fuel the capital's black markets
Related:
Drugs trade thriving in Iraq



US-occupied Baghdad has become a paradise for criminals, gun-runners and drug addicts.

Anything from an AK-47 to hard drugs is available in broad daylight for knockdown prices.
Since the US-led invasion last year, the occupation authorities have overseen a burgeoning black market in the capital and a creeping criminalisation of Iraqi society.
Gangs now terrorise the city's residents in a spree of robberies and kidnappings.
And it seems the Iraqi police and their US bosses are either unwilling or unable to do much about it.
Ra'id, from north Baghdad, told Aljazeera.net the black market in illegal weapons and drugs was blatant.
"You can easily buy whatever weapons you want," he said.
"It's also possible to buy most drugs - especially hashish and medicinal drugs you would normally need a doctor's prescription for."

Guns and drugs

Ra'id said Mraidi market in the predominantly Shia Muslim district of al-Sadr City is renowned for selling weapons and drugs, as well as fake IDs and driving licences.
Al-Ummah park in central Baghdad, and the Shulah and Abu Ghraib districts are other notorious haunts where black marketeers ply their trade.
Al-Ummah park is a notorious
haunt for black marketeers
Go-betweens - often children - approach would-be customers at these rendezvous points and then a deal is done in a nearby hotel or house.
But the customer had better be serious about buying otherwise he runs the risk of being attacked or even killed.
According to Raid, the black market in weapons and drugs existed during the Saddam Hussein years, but it was negligible because of the difficulty in getting hold of weapons and selling them.
There were also very stiff penalties for black market activities - including death.
Yet, after the US-led invasion last April, countless weapons were looted from army stores under the eyes of the occupation forces.
It is suspected that many arms fell into the hands of the tens of thousands of hardened criminals Saddam Hussein released from prison on the eve of the war.

Crime epidemic

Meanwhile, experts say the influx of hard and soft drugs has flooded in through the porous border with Iran. But Iraq's influential religious establishment has tried to stem the use of hard drugs by condemning them.
"The people selling are normally Iraqis from poor regions," said Ra'id. "Most don't have jobs and are illiterate. They don't have anything to do with their time so they turn to this business."
Many Iraqis say they carry arms
for personal protection
However, the wide availability of weapons is sparking a crime epidemic across Iraq.
Many Iraqis continue to flout new laws banning them from carrying automatic weapons and handguns.
There is a gun-toting wild west atmosphere in the country and ordinary people say these weapons are for their personal protection.
However, it is clear that others use them for highway robbery or attacks on occupation personnel.
Iraqi newspapers are also full of stories about children being abducted at gunpoint outside schools. Kidnappers then trade the children for money or property.

Rampant unemployment

Dr Abd Al-Sattar Jawad from Baghdad University said rampant unemployment and inflation made participation in the underground economy attractive for many Iraqis.
"It's now common to see drugs sold in the streets and drug addicts walking around," he said.
Millions of Iraqis are struggling in
desperate circumstances
"When the US came they simply let the criminals and the thieves get their hands on all this stuff. But this is backfiring on them now in a big way. They aren't doing enough - there aren't enough policemen on the streets."
He added: "The Americans said they would build a stable and democratic Iraq but if they let this situation continue, everyone will know these were hollow words."
Aljazeera.net contacted the Iraqi police and the occupation authorities to comment on Baghdad's black market, but both were unavailable.
However, both say they are cracking down on high-profile crime operations such as big open-air illegal weapons bazaars.

Hard-pressed police

And Ra'id believes they are having some degree of success.
"After the invasion, weapons were sold on every street in Iraq and they were very cheap. You could get an AK-47 for only $15 and a grenade for 25 cents.
Security personnel fear entering
lawless areas of al-Sadr City
"Now, it is more difficult - you can only buy through friends and contacts. But you can still get an AK-47 for around $70 and a grenade for $2 and drugs for as little as 33 cents. White powder (cocaine) is available but only in very small quantities."
But critics say the authorities have only tackled the tip of the iceberg.
West Baghdad resident, Athir, who has also bought illegal goods on the black market, said it was common knowledge the police lack manpower.
"They are afraid of going to places like al-Sadr City because they know that they will get killed," he said.
"Since the Americans came, there is no law anymore in Iraq. Our religious obligations towards each other and our sense of national identity is the only thing that is holding this nation together and preventing us from killing each other."

Mosul unsafe for foreigners
By Scott Taylor in Mosul

Friday 02 April 2004, 21:41 Makka Time, 18:41 GMT

Frequent bombings and clashes have left the northern city tense

We arrived on the scene less than 48 hours after Andy Bradsell, a Canadian citizen working as a private bodyguard in Iraq, had been gunned down in a violent ambush in the northern city of Mosul.

Finding the actual location proved to be much easier than I had anticipated as there was no shortage of eager "eyewitnesses" to the event, all of them willing to serve as guides.

The fact that Yashir, a 28-year-old Kurdish schoolteacher, happened to be in the middle of a haircut did not deter him from volunteering.

As the only one in the crowd who spoke passable English, Yashir led us on foot to the ambush site - still wearing the barber's apron.

The roadway in front of the Mosul power plant was empty except for several dark stains on the asphalt and shards of broken glass. The shattered 4x4 vehicle in which Bradsell and his British partner were killed on 28 March had since been removed.

Thankfully, it was just about dark and the dim light made it impossible to distinguish between motor oil and bloodstains.

"Arab fidayin are responsible for this attack - they are very bad people," said Yashir.

Although US authorities suspect that Arab fighters from outside Iraq are responsible for this attack, I asked Yashir why he and so many of his fellow Kurdish residents had been televised dancing on the vehicle and around the corpses.

"You are Canadian, so for that we are sorry that your countryman has died," he replied, "But these people [like Andy Bradsell] are here to steal our jobs and to steal our money - that is why we rejoice in their death."

Little insight

The ambush took place only a few hundred metres from the imposing barricades and metal gates of the Mosul power plant and in full view of the Iraqi security forces inside.

Like the local citizens, the Iraqi policemen were also eager to discuss the incident, but could offer little insight into Bradsell or his fellow bodyguards.

A British guard lies dead after
the attack in Mosul on 28 March

"They do not work here at the plant with our security force. Their only job is to protect the foreign executives," said Muhammad, a 27-year-old engineer.

After telephoning his superior, Muhammad advised me that no one was authorised to provide an official statement other than to confirm that the bodies of Bradsell and his colleague had been repatriated to Britain after a small ceremony inside the American base.

As confirmation that Iraqi and private security units were not co-operating closely, the officials at the power plant were unable to provide me with any contact numbers.

Nor could they confirm the location of the bodyguards' accommodation, but suggested I try some of the local hotels.

Nowhere safe

Prior to the war, the UN inspection teams had stayed at the Ninevah Palace, and following Saddam's ousting, this Western-standard hotel had been home to many foreign aid agencies and private security companies. However, the security situation has changed in recent months.

Local police have struggled to
impose law and order

"We have no foreign nationals staying with us now," said Ahmad, the 57-year-old night clerk. "In fact, there is nowhere that is safe for them to stay - except inside the American camp."

It was readily apparent that the US military has greatly reduced its presence on the otherwise bustling streets of Mosul.

One reason for this is that, as a result of the recent troop rotation, the 22,000 soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division based in the Mosul area have been replaced by just 6000 troops of the Stryker Brigade.

As part of the US' Iraqisation policy, routine patrols once conducted by the Americans are now performed by the newly constituted Iraqi police and civil defences forces.

The remaining US forces have consolidated their positions in heavily defended compounds at Mosul airport and at Saddam's former palace.

Cool welcome

It was within the latter that we were told we might possibly locate foreign contractors such as Olive Security, the firm that employed Bradsell. However, our reception at the floodlit, heavily barricaded gates was somewhat less than cordial.

Obviously alert to the dangers of human bombings, our vehicle was stopped by half a dozen soldiers well ahead of the concrete barricades. Although he was sympathetic to my request regarding information on Bradsell, Specialist Williams ordered us to leave immediately.

"Unless you've got an appointment - and you don't - you ain't getting inside," he said. "Perhaps you could try to stop them [Olive Security officials] when they drive out of here tomorrow morning."

But, I quickly dismissed this as an option. Given what had recently transpired, I figured the notion of waving down a bodyguard unit in the Mosul traffic might just prove deadly.

Hobitbob
And what are you proud to be? It is certainly not your adopted country.

Is it Iran, Morocco, Iraq? It is one thing to hate the present regime and another to hate the US.

Hobitbob, your hostility really turns me off. You may want to look at this http://www.able2know.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=20224&highlight=

I have been discussing the situation in Iraq with people who are from Iraq and recently left there, and who have close relatives and friends who live there now. When were you there? How do you know those languages?