'Hope' on horizon in Iraq

The Washington Times ^ | 3/21/05 | Borzou Daragahi

[MJY1288]

'Hope' on horizon in Iraq

By Borzou Daragahi
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Published March 20, 2005

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BAGHDAD - The torrential rains have stopped, and the gold-domed shrine at the center of Kadhemiya, a middle-class Shi'ite section of northern Baghdad, sparkles under clear blue skies and the late-morning sun.

    The crowded alleyways surrounding the shrine teem with Kadhemiya's unique blend of commerce, faith and politics.

     "It's hard to even think about what it used to be like before," said Abdul-Karim Mahdi, a 45-year-old employee of the Ministry of Public Works.

    "We used to live in fear. We used to unplug the phones whenever we talked with each other inside the house. With Saddam gone, at least there's hope."

    Two years after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq on March 19, 2003, toppled dictator Saddam Hussein, his entrenched government and social order, the outlines of the country's future are beginning to emerge.

    With a newly elected parliament in a position to maneuver a radically transformed nation, Iraqis enter their third year of a new era hardened by two years of violence.

    Iraq's Shi'ites have waited 1,000 years for power, first under the Ottoman caliphate, next under the Sunni-led monarchy established by the British and finally under the brutal dictatorship of Saddam.

    Two years ago, the Shi'ites stood by patiently as U.S. troops entered their country. Some followers of radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr since then have fought violently against the occupation. But they represent a tiny sliver of the country's Shi'ite majority, which mostly has begun looking forward to asserting their numbers and assuming political control.

[texasflower]

The tone sure changed in this article halfway through.

[heylady]

The tone changes but it appears to be directd toward the insurgents, excuse me, terrorists and not at the US soldiers and President Bush.

[texasflower]

Thanks. Maybe I'll read through it again. I read through the last part fairly quickly.

I'll try it again tomorrow. Your read makes more sense given the optimistic tone it started out with.