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As coalition forces gain ground, Iraqi criticism of Saddam grows
Chicago Tribune/Army Times ^ | Mar 28,2003 | Laurie Goering

Posted on 03/27/2003 9:39:18 PM PST by Diddley

AZ ZUBAYR, Iraq — In the first days after coalition forces rolled through this dusty mud-walled town just south of Basra, Saddam Hussein had plenty of friends. Young men waved posters with his face for the cameras. Small boys yelled "Saddam! Saddam!" The few that criticized the regime did so in nervous whispers.

Less than a week later, after a coalition raid netted the top Baath Party official in town for questioning and tanks took out some of the young men firing rocket-propelled grenades from the roadside, Saddam's public popularity is nose-diving.

"All Iraqis want to be rid of this regime. We just can't say that," said Jasser, a stout and serious older man in a blue robe who showed up at a coalition medical center Thursday looking for antacid tablets for his wife. "Resistance is dangerous," he said. "When troops first came in they didn't demolish the party apparatus here, and that created problems. But now we feel more secure."
. . .
But military and humanitarian successes are slowly winning over southern Iraqis. Several key members of the ruling Baath Party have been found hanged in the region in recent days, Docherty said, and coalition forces hope successes in the south may fuel uprisings to the north. "If we can crack a few nuts in Basra and Al Nasiriya, I think Baghdad could fall overnight with the right moves," Docherty predicted. If Iraqis are convinced the coalition is winning, they will attack the ruling party and "do the cleanup we can't and find the people we can't find."
. . .
"We are afraid of Saddam's fighters. Things are better since you got here," Talia Sharfa, one black-robed woman in the crowd, told soldiers as she clutched her toddler daughter, Sara.

A few Iraqis, injured in the skirmishes of recent days, also limped into the base Thursday to visit an ambulance-sized coalition mobile hospital brought to the site for the day. Wounds were cleaned and antibiotics handed out; residents who arrived with chronic health problems also got treatment. "There's been years here of not having appropriate treatment," said Capt. Sue Everington of the British general support medical regiment as she cleaned the ulcerated wound of a man whose foot was mangled in a 1986 car accident.

Residents said the humanitarian assistance was much appreciated, but decisive military action_like that in Az-Zubayr_was even more urgently needed. U.S. forces "should bomb (the ruling party) wherever they are. Baghdad is the most important. When it's done everything will change," said Jasser, who agreed to an interview only out of the sight of others awaiting aid. He asked the question everyone in southern Iraq asks: "Will the Iraqi regime remain or not?"

"If this coalition does not remove the regime, half of us will die," he said. "We will be killed just for talking to you. Saddam's eyes are all over here."
. . .

(Excerpt) Read more at estripes.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: civilians; coalition; criticism; humanitarianrelief; iraqifreedom
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At first, Saddam had plenty of friends.
After the top Baath party official was captured, Saddam's popularity fell.
1 posted on 03/27/2003 9:39:18 PM PST by Diddley
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To: Diddley
Very glad to hear this. Its nice to have some good news tonight.
2 posted on 03/27/2003 9:40:27 PM PST by Arkinsaw
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To: Arkinsaw
Why we fight.
3 posted on 03/27/2003 9:43:01 PM PST by dfwgator
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To: Diddley
"Several key members of the ruling Baath Party have been found hanged in the region in recent days, "

keep up the good work....perhaps this eventually gets reported in the mainstream press...../sarcasm

4 posted on 03/27/2003 9:43:31 PM PST by spokeshave ( against dead wood (albore) Frogs & Rats)
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To: Diddley
U.S. forces "should bomb (the ruling party) wherever they are.

Smart fellow. That means destroying infrastructure and being somewhat politically incorrect.
5 posted on 03/27/2003 9:43:46 PM PST by Arkinsaw
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To: dfwgator
Perfect three words. Well done and FReegards.
6 posted on 03/27/2003 9:44:36 PM PST by JennysCool
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To: spokeshave
I won't hold my breath, waiting on the mainstream press.
7 posted on 03/27/2003 9:45:01 PM PST by Diddley (Liberals: If you have a good story, why lie?)
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To: Diddley
>As coalition forces gain ground, Iraqi criticism of Saddam grows

This is exactly why you have to deny Sadaam the mass media and replace it with our own special programming created by Iraqi expats. That we sit back and say Sadamms propaganda is providing us with intell is a rationalization. Its an info war. Unfortunately most of the info seems directed at the US homefront with all the talk of shock and awe.

8 posted on 03/27/2003 9:45:03 PM PST by Dialup Llama
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To: Diddley
"All Iraqis want to be rid of this regime. We just can't say that," said Jasser, a stout and serious older man in a blue robe who showed up at a coalition medical center Thursday looking for antacid tablets for his wife. "Resistance is dangerous," he said. "When troops first came in they didn't demolish the party apparatus here, and that created problems. But now we feel more secure."

The brutal reality here is that we must delete Ba'ath Party leaders, Saddam Fedayeen, and Republican Guard officers as soon as they are encounted.

9 posted on 03/27/2003 9:45:34 PM PST by FreedomPoster
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To: Diddley
" Several key members of the ruling Baath Party have been found hanged in the region in recent days, Docherty said"

Term limits, Romanian style. I love it.

L

10 posted on 03/27/2003 9:46:05 PM PST by Lurker ("One man of reason and goodwill is worth more, actually and potentially, than a million fools" AR)
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To: spokeshave
What do you call, "Several key members of the ruling Baath Party have been found hanged in the region in recent days,"?

A good start.

11 posted on 03/27/2003 9:46:33 PM PST by Diddley (Liberals: If you have a good story, why lie?)
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/encounted/encountered?
but you knew what I meant. ;-)
12 posted on 03/27/2003 9:46:39 PM PST by FreedomPoster
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To: Diddley
Great post. Thanks, Diddly.
13 posted on 03/27/2003 9:49:24 PM PST by AHerald
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To: Diddley
I won't hold my breath, waiting on the mainstream press.

Last time I checked the Chicago Tribune wasn't a mimeographed newsletter done in some guy's basement.

14 posted on 03/27/2003 9:49:50 PM PST by John H K
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To: Diddley
Unfortunately, first you have to conquer each successive city before the week passes after which they may feel secure enough to critique the Saddam regime. Keep in mind also, two things:

1) Zubayr is in that part of Iraq where one would expect support for the Ba'athist regime to skirt rock-bottom, anyhow.

2) All the guys who would support the regime are obviously over in Basra or Al Qurnah or wherever, fighting us for it.

Face it. They hate us, and will continue to hate us. If our mission there is to make them love us, we will fail. Hell, even the Kuwaitis don't love us...

15 posted on 03/27/2003 9:49:50 PM PST by AntiGuv (™)
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To: John H K
Last time I checked the Chicago Tribune wasn't a mimeographed newsletter done in some guy's basement.

One can get myopic at times.

16 posted on 03/27/2003 10:05:55 PM PST by Diddley (Liberals: If you have a good story, why lie?)
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To: AntiGuv
1) Zubayr is in that part of Iraq where one would expect support for the Ba'athist regime to skirt rock-bottom, anyhow.

I think that the Ba'athist party is a small minority in almost all parts of Iraq, including Baghdad. No, I think that the whole country is ready to rise up against Saddam. They just have to get past the fear that we will let them down like we did 12 years ago, when our exit left all those who had risen againt Saddam out on a very precarious limb (in fact they were all tortured and murdered). When they see that we are in it for the long haul, I have faith that they will crush their tyrants.
17 posted on 03/27/2003 10:17:09 PM PST by AaronInCarolina
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To: Diddley
Excellent news. We need more of this. Despite my fears, I know good will triumph. We have done what is right--come what may!

Pray for the good guys. May God look after our brave troops.
18 posted on 03/27/2003 10:22:41 PM PST by faithincowboys (God Bless Our Troops!)
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To: Diddley
Well, here it is, the cold hard facts--If anybody wanted to see Iraqis yelling and cheering for us, you'd better be willing to wait until at least a year after the war. After decades under Saddam's rule it's natural they'd fear reprisal -- especially considering the West's history of weak responses to Arab despots and our failure to support previous their previous rebellion.

There are still old people in Russia and China who speak about Stalin and Mao only in whispers, fearing that somehow the wrong person might hear them and make them pay. It may not be rational but completely understandable, and I expect Iraqis will also remain traumatized for a generation or so...

19 posted on 03/27/2003 10:35:15 PM PST by American Soldier
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To: faithincowboys
I am concerned that they used people's names. I should think that could be dangerous for them.
20 posted on 03/27/2003 10:36:24 PM PST by arjay
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