Our war: After the storm

• Published in: The Guardian (London)
• Main Author: Libby Brooks, Patrick Graham, Audrey Gillan, Conal Urquhart, Duncan Campbell, Terry Macalister, Colin Freeman, Michael Howard, Ewen MacAskill, Sam Wollaston
• Format: Newspaper Article
• Language: English
• Published: London (UK) Guardian News & Media Limited 05.05.2003
• Subjects: Iraq War-2003; Public opinion; Social conditions & trends
• ISSN: 0261-3077

I can't think of the future right now. There is too much tragedy around. People are still crying about those who died and the Americans are everywhere. There are no jobs and no money from the government. I find it difficult to know what I feel. What happened in Baghdad was a big surprise. We expected the Iraqis to do something, to fight. We believed the minister of information, Al- Sahaf. And we still don't know what happened - where did our leaders go? Why did the army disappear? We were so disappointed. We hoped we would win this war. Even without the leaders, we put our hope in the people. We thought they would fight; instead, they looted. Or maybe the looters came from outside the country. As an Iraqi, it will be very hard to work with an American government. But if they put in an Iraqi government, it will be much better. I come from a village near Kirkuk and I have relatives in the city whom I haven't been allowed to see for years. So we were all anxious to enter Kirkuk as soon as possible. It means so much to the Kurds. We and the Turkomens and the Christians were cleansed from the city by the Ba'athists. Now everywhere is safe and there is freedom of movement in the country for the first time in years. I even visited Baghdad for the first time. It is a beautiful city and many Kurds who have been there were elated they could do so. However, the situation is very difficult. The people are relieved [Saddam Hussein] has gone but they long for calm and stability. Nobody is ruling Baghdad right now. There seems to be no law. Everybody is doing whatever he likes. The day after Baghdad was occupied, the suspicions of many people about US motives in the region were reinforced when the most senior US officials began making menacing threats against Syria and Iran. After being told during the war that US forces would not stay in Iraq "a day longer than necessary", we are now hearing serious talk about the need to establish permanent US military bases in Iraq. This, coupled with the appointment of the well-known Zionist retired general, [Jay Garner], as a kind of imperialist viceroy in Iraq, and heavy-handed US behaviour towards the Iraqi people, are developments that are quite telling in themselves.