Inflation Bites: Kalashnikovs Up From $20 To $500

London Times | London Times | Janine di Giovanni

[Stavka2]

Inflation Bites: Kalashnikovs Up From $20 To $500

By Janine di Giovanni, Baghdad

IN A matter of hours yesterday, the cost of hiring a car to escape from Baghdad to Jordan leapt from $350 to $500 — the equivalent of six months’ salary for most.

The price of a Kalashnikov has risen from around $20 to $500 in the past week as people rushed to arm themselves. Ammunition has sold out.

For months, the citizens of Baghdad have known that this moment would arrive; now it is upon them. Diplomacy died yesterday. President Bush delivered his final ultimatum. Baghdad is now the bulls-eye for some of the deadliest weapons mankind has created.

Elsewhere in Iraq the fighting may be over within days, but in the capital it is likely to last to the bitter end. Saddam Hussein’s second son Qusay, is in charge of defending the city and he has filled it with his father’s Republican Guard.

Convoys of diplomats, inspectors, aid workers and journalists pulled out of Baghdad. But among ordinary Iraqis, panic reigned as most people realised that it was probably too late to leave, even if they had the money to do so.

Petrol queues snaked around blocks. Rumours spread that there was no fuel between Baghdad and Jordan. People hung out of their cars, cursing the traffic jams leading out of town. “The only thing to do is to find a relative who has a house in a safe district and stay there,” said a woman who was busy moving her beloved books from her flat — near a communications aerial which she believes will be hit — to her brother’s.

The price of food, while still plentiful, skyrocketed overnight. Generators, rechargeable lamps, duct tape and other war provisions were being sought like chunks of gold.

“This is my last day selling tea,” said Ahmed, the tea vendor in Karrada Maryam Street. “There’s no point in selling tea on an empty street, and that’s what this will be in the next few days.” Fellow street vendors hauled their goods to their houses for safe-keeping. They also rushed to arm themselves, saying the only way to protect themselves after the war will be with guns. They fear looting more than bombs.

Fatalism has been replaced by open fear. Suad sobbed at her small hairdresser’s shop in the Mansour district, an area that will certainly be targeted, as she wished her clients farewell. “Will I ever see you again?” she asked one. “Will any of us survive?” And yet Baghdad still had a surreal air. Even as people worked the phones non-stop on Sunday night, warning friends and relatives that the bombing could begin within 24 hours, a semblance of normality persisted. The horse races outside Baghdad resumed; friends met in cafés; restaurants were still full.

And outside the Palestine Hotel on the banks of the Tigris, Don Quixote, a long-haired Turkish human shield wearing tie-dyed clothes, mounted an ageing brown mare, placed a silver pith helmet on his head and wielded a varnished silver shield.

“This is a statement of peace,” he mumbled, handing out leaflets as a small group of Iraqis watched in amazement.

[wretchard]

This article is remarkable for conveying the Baghdadi atmosphere. Together with other stories filed from the Iraqi capital, it paints the picture of a Saddam readying his own pyre. The telling point is that Joe Iraqi isn't buying. The substrata of the the Iraqi elite, the professionals who make it work, are leaving Dodge. Moreover, the man in the street -- the Arab Street, to our liberal readers -- know that the collapse of public order, and hence, rioting, is just days away.

In the Shiite quarters of town, knives are being sharpened to repay old debts. As Baghdad descends into chaos, the one sure thing is that murders will not be investigated. Payback is a bitch.

US forces are engaged in a race against time unequalled since Hitler threatened to level Paris in 1944 and the Russians prepared to loot and rape Berlin.

[nygoose]

Do you happen to know the waiting period for purchasing a firearm in Baghdad? Does Saddam have the licensing and government approval process adequately computerized?

[GladesGuru]

Gosh! You mean those AK 47's aren't being purchased to shoot down attacking planes?

Surely you didn't mean to imply they are planning to take the law into their own hands?

These people have no idea of the dangers unregistered 'assult weapons' pose. Send Boxer, Brady, Conyers, Daschle, Kennedy, ad nauseam to Baghdad at once!

[P8riot]

Wait a few days and they be lying around all over the place. Free for the taking.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Gotta like that.

[Britton J Wingfield]

Stamped or milled?

[B4Ranch]

Lil Fella, I'm giving you fair warning. We are going to level this place, so find yourself a darn good hiding place before the shit hits the fan.

[P8riot]

These are probably stamped. Wish I'd waited a couple years before I bought that SAR-3.