Basra: Why they are not cheering

BBC ^ | 3/25/2003 | Paul Reynolds

[a_Turk]

They were supposed to be cheering in the streets as the American and British tanks rolled in, just as they did in France in 1944.

On 18 March, the New York Times reported: "Military and allied officials familiar with the planning of the upcoming campaign say they hope that a successful and 'benign' occupation of Basra that results in flag-waving crowds hugging British and American soldiers will create an immediate and positive image worldwide while also undermining Iraqi resistance elsewhere."

The fact is that Basra is not undergoing a benign occupation. It has just been declared a military target by British forces which have come under attack from inside.

This was a city which the British spokesman Colonel Chris Vernon said early on was not of military importance.

In the scheme of things, it still isn't. But it has become a problem.

'Under threat'

What has happened?

The explanation, according to British and American officials, is that Saddam Hussein's forces are still oppressing the people who cannot therefore show their true emotions.

Dr John Reid, the British Labour Party chairman compared the irregular Saddam forces dressed in black - known as Saddam's Fedayeen - to the SS in Nazi Germany.

The US Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, one of those who wants Iraq to be a the start of a democratization process across the Arab world, told the BBC: "I think that when the people of Basra no longer feel the threat of that regime, you are going to see an explosion of joy and relief, but right now they're still under threat.

"Saddam is still maybe alive and his goons and his assassination squads are still there."

Bad memories

The people remember, it is said, what happened in 1991 when on 15 February, President George Bush senior urged "the Iraqi military and the Iraqi people to take matters in their own hands and force Saddam Hussein the dictator to step aside".

The people did try, both in the Kurdish areas of the north and the mainly Shia areas of the south, including Basra.

They were cut down. The Kurds fled into the mountains of southern Turkey, but the Shias (and others like the communists) in the south had nowhere to go.

The London-based organisation Indict, which seeks to put Iraqi leaders on trial for war crimes, has accounts of mass executions in Basra and other southern cities as the Ba'ath party and the Republican Guard re-imposed their control.

Not cheering

However, it might not be as simple as that.

Consider what happened in Basra last Saturday when there were air raids. The Qatari television channel al-Jazeera had a team in the city and it sent back graphic pictures of dead and wounded civilians which were widely shown in the Arab world.

But these images have been all but ignored in the West, which seems more interested in pictures of the American prisoners of war.

People do not take kindly to being bombed, even by "friendly forces".

British forces, if they enter Basra to counter resistance there, will have to follow the advice of Colonel Tim Collins of the Royal Irish Regiment who told his men before the war started: "Tread carefully".

There is an interesting article in the Guardian of 25 March from its correspondent, James Meek, who has been with the US Marines in Nasiriya. He shows how hostility to Saddam Hussein is not necessarily converted into support for the invasion.

He managed to talk not just to marines but to locals, one of whom Mustafa Mohammed Ali was a surgical assistant at the Saddam hospital in the city.

He said that in fighting on Sunday bombs were dropped on civilian areas, killing 10 people.

That day, two dead marines were brought to the hospital and he made this admission: "When I saw the dead Americans I cheered in my heart."

And yet he did not support Saddam Hussein: "We don't want Saddam, but we don't want them [the Americans] to stay afterwards."

Meek quoted another man, a farmer named Said Yahir, as saying that the marines had come to his house and had taken his son, his rifle and 3m dinars (£500; $800).

"This is your freedom that you're talking about? This is my life savings," he said.

Said Yahir himself had taken part in the uprising of 1991. He is not cheering in 2003.

Effect of sanctions

There are two other points: the effect of years of sanctions and the effect of nationalism.

Although the sanctions regime allows for the provision of food and medicine, this is not always delivered to the poor.

Saddam Hussein is not blamed but the United Nations and the United States are.

The sufferers from sanctions may take time to be convinced that the invaders are bringing them relief.

Iraqi nationalism is another powerful influence.

Those who know the country say that it can hold people together, whether they are Kurds, Sunnis or Shias.

It appears to be a factor in the current phenomenon.

A coming together often happens to a people under siege, and a siege is what the Iraqis are now experiencing.

[FreeCanuckistan]

Nope....you're not alone by any stretch.

Too many people have forgotten the meaning of 'war', except our enemies.

[Saundra Duffy]

Give 'em a little more time. For victory & freedom!!!

[a_Turk]

>> accidental and intentional.....you see no difference?

Sure I do.. But maybe some day soon you'll have a very large and hostile audience to explain that to. I find myself in that situation more often than not..

[hattend]

Thanks....It always bugs me when I see these pics of Arabs giving us the thumbs up and we take it to mean, "Good Job!"

For the time I was over there (6 months) I found them to be the most disingenuous people I have ever met.

[SouthernFreebird]

I know...I'm always on the lookout for the Japanese.

[seahawk]

My husband grew up over there in the 60's and 70's in Libya, Iran and then worked in Saudi Arabia - also the rest of the family were in Pakistan, Egypt and other places too. For the most part they enjoyed their time there and really loved Iran in 1967-1975. Never had any problems.

[hattend]

Must be the difference in growing up there and visiting in a uniform. It was just a thing I noticed and that was my experience and lasting impression. < shrug>

[taxed2death]

No high horse here buddy, just stating a fact.

[seahawk]

I am sure the uniform was part of it and also the time frame that I listed was 30 years ago!! Things have changed alot in that time frame. Some for the good but a lot for the worse.:)

[taxed2death]

I am totally together.....no kleenex needed. As a soldier, one agrees to take on all the responsibilities as well as suffer the consequences of your actions, for "freedom", ..."liberation of the Iraquies"...."for oil", or whatever reason that is implied. If getting your crank cut off is the result.....it was meant to be. Do I feel empathy for the soldiers? Of course, any sane human being has to.

We have a beautiful example of the futility of this crap, happily supplied by the exploding people (Arabs), as well as the bulldozer people (Jews). these two groups of people love nothing more than to wake up each morning and pummel each other to bits. I see no reason why America should waste one penny or one life fighting this proxy war.


As one who has watched in horror as my cousin was immolated in tower #2, I still cannot justify blowing the legs off of a little girl. If you can, you're a better man than me (not). I have gone past the period of time when I wanted blood spilled in the name of my cousin. I've learned that maiming little kids won't bring her back. If you're sappy enough to believe this war is about "freeing the Iraqi people", you need to get a grip on reality, and stop watching Dan Blather and network news. The "president" of Afganistan is a board member of Unical (hint, hint). Seen any "democracy" in Afganistan lately? I thought not. There's a big vacuum there slowly being refilled by warlords / Taliban / Al-Queda, etc. But rest assured, the untapped oil fields are secure.



Sleep well.

[SuziQ]

Any reticence on the part of Kurds or Shiites to rise up against Saddam a second time may be laid at the feet of Bush I and that diplmatic blunderer, Colin Powell, who engineered their destruction under Saddam after the first Gulf War,

Remember, we were there under the aegis of the UN in 1991, so we stopped when the Security council decided we'd gone far enough.

That's why it is so important that we are there today without the shackles of that debating society! The Iraqi people are naturally skeptical, and won't rally until they can truly believe that we are there to STAY until Sadaam and his ruling regime are completely GONE!

The news out of Basra and Najaf gives me hope that word is beginning to spread!

[ZULU]

"..we stopped when the Security council decided we'd gone far enough."

'nuff said. That explains a lot of our problems doesn't it? And why did we have to follow the dictates of these self-serving obstructionists anymore in 1991, than we have in 2003?

Had we exercized some "civil disobedience" we wouldn't have this problem right now. Neither the U.S., nor any other power, is obligated to follow the demands of any third party when its own enlightened self interests are involved, especially when they mesh with common sense. There were any number of advisors George I had who felt we should have pushed on. U.N. loving Powell, who would have gotten us into a second stall on this if it wasn't for more aggressive voices in Bush's inner circle, advised we let a wounded tiger live, rather than kill it when the opportunity was greatest.

See the recent posting about Powell urging the French to assist with the rebuilding of Iraq. This man is a walking catastrophe. He underestimated the adversity of the French and Germans and Russians to us in the Security Council, he was laughed at in a recent visit to South East Asia to garner support for the U.S., he is demonstrably incapable of accurately interpreting the intentions, sentiments, or thought processes of foreign diplomats or foreign sentiment in general.

[capitan_refugio]

I know its from BBC. You have posted a great deal of good articles over the past several weeks. Keep up the good work. Usually, if the post is made without comment, I assume the poster is in agreement it. Sorry about any misunderstanding. Thanks again.

[hattend]

Just announced on WGST-AM 640 (Atlanta) radio news. Rebellion against Saddam in Basra now happening. Started when Saddam's troops fired on protesters.

WooHoo!!