Life In Iraq.

Open forum for first person articles or interviews with Iraqi citizens, and comments, opinions, discussion. Hoping to limit American political discussion, as there are lots of threads for that.

An excerpt from MSNBC. Link at end of excerpt.
Jan. 17 ?- I don't think a day went by during my recent assignment in Baghdad when I wasn't asked by the news anchor back in the United States, "Jim, tell me, what's the buzz in the street over there?" And I would think, "God, here we go again. How much can I really say?"


FOR THREE WEEKS I fielded these questions as best I could, touching on Iraqis' apparent defiance ?- and growing worry ?- over a war with America.
But I never once spoke without the sense that Iraqi authorities ?- in this case the Ministry of Information officials who essentially managed our lives ?- were hanging on every word, ready to pounce and revoke my visa ?- or worse ?- if I stepped out of line.
In reality, these men were probably too busy, or disorganized, to really pay so much attention to these live reports ?- among hundreds from dozens of foreign journalists broadcasting from our "fly-aways" on the ministry building rooftop.
But fear of the consequences was real ?- and it did lead to plenty of caution and careful calculation. In the end, I opted to be candid, which could account for Iraq's refusal to renew my visa.
When you multiply that fear by a thousand, you begin to get a sense of why Iraqis say the things they say, and why for them, the truth is often better left unsaid.

FEAR FACTOR
The ongoing dispute over interviewing Iraqi scientists is case in point.
It's a significant issue. The Bush administration firmly believes that the best intelligence on Iraq's possession of weapons of mass destruction ultimately will come from defecting Iraqi experts who speak outside of the country.
The unprecedented inspection of the homes of two Iraqi scientists on Thursday suggested the experts are becoming more aggressive, and could produce a breakthrough.
But so far, U.N. inspectors have interviewed just a few scientists, and none has accepted the invitation to leave the country ?- effectively, to defect ?- at least not publicly. Indeed, no Iraqi scientist has even agreed to be interviewed in Iraq without the presence of an Iraqi official.
Two scientists who have been questioned in the presence of Iraqi functionaries later told the international press that they didn't want to run the risk of their answers' being "misinterpreted" by forces (read: America) that might skew the truth.
But sources say these Iraqis are motivated by fear ?- for their lives and the lives of their families, to even be seen to be engaging, privately, with the enemy.
The suspicion of treason runs so deep, it would appear, that the token Iraqi official present at any interview with U.N. inspectors may be, in effect, the interviewee's lifeline.

When pressed on why he didn't want to be interviewed abroad, Iraq's chief liaison with U.N. inspectors, Gen. Hussam Mohammed Amin, replied at a recent press conference: "I don't see any reason for it. I'd rather speak here in my own country. But each individual should decide for himself."
Knowing what has happened, in the past, to other Iraqi scientists-cum-defectors who have dared to speak the truth, it's a small wonder that none has come forward and that the so-called "modalities" of these critical interviews remain in limbo.


The MSNBC article.