Commentary
In
Iraq, Real Fighting has Just Begun
The
“coalition forces” that attacked Iraq on March 20, led by the U.S., have
from all indications achieved a military victory and seem to have attained the
objective of toppling the government of Saddam Hussein. But the warm welcomes
they seem to have received in Baghdad and Basra notwithstanding, the war is far
from over. More and more Iraqis are showing that they do not want to have to
choose between two masters, that they want to be their own masters.
By
Alexander Martin Remollino
Bulatlat.com
In
the first two weeks of this month, the world was bombarded with images of Iraqis
welcoming American troops in Iraq. International television flashed images of
frenzied jubilation on the streets of Baghdad and Basra, with placards shouting,
“Thank you, U.S.A.!” and arms pulling down statues of erstwhile Iraqi
president Saddam Hussein.
Proponents
of the U.S.-led war on Iraq, most notably Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo,
interpreted these images as proof that the so-called “coalition forces” were
right after all in bringing this war upon Iraq. Macapagal-Arroyo has even gone
so far as to compare the celebrations on the streets of Baghdad and Basra with
those that took place on Edsa after the ouster of Ferdinand Marcos and Joseph
Ejercito Estrada by popular uprisings.
But
as the days passed, more and more Iraqis belied these images. Today, a growing
number of Iraqis have been showing that they want freedom from both Saddam
Hussein’s tyranny and U.S. occupation.
Simultaneous
Protests
Simultaneous
anti-U.S. protests reverberated through the streets of Baghdad, Nasiriyah, Mosul,
and Kut last April 15.
That
day about 200-300 Iraqis massed up outside the Palestine Hotel to protest the
U.S. occupation of Iraq. That was the third straight day of anti-U.S. protests
in Baghdad. The protesters in Baghdad that day easily outnumbered the 150 or so
Iraqis shown on international television days before to be celebrating the entry
of the “coalition forces” into the city.
The
protesters would later move to the square where a statue of Saddam Hussein had
been toppled days earlier. As three armored vehicles of the U.S. Marines passed
by them, the Iraqis chanted, “No, no, USA!”
U.S.
troops tried to prevent the media from covering this protest.
Meanwhile,
about 20,000 people marched to the center of Nasiriyah and protested a
U.S.-sponsored meeting of Iraqi opposition leaders, in which plans for a
post-Saddam Iraq were being discussed. “Yes to Islam, yes to freedom! No to
America, no to Saddam!” the protesters yelled.
Nasiriyah
is a stronghold of Shiite Muslims, who have long been bitter opponents of Saddam
Hussein.
In
Mosul, a riot broke out as the city’s newly appointed governor, Mashaan al-Jubiri,
was speaking to a crowd estimated at 100-150. The crowd caught the pro-U.S.
undertones in the Mosul governor’s speech and began to throw stones. U.S.
troops stationed in the area fired at the protesters, killing at least 10 and
wounding scores of others.
In
Kut, an anti-U.S. cleric took over the city hall. Hundreds of his followers
prevented a group of U.S. Marines from entering the city. The Marines were
forced to leave.
“No to
America, No to Saddam!”
On
April 16 there was a rally in Ur, where opposition leaders were meeting to
discuss plans for a post-war government. Thousands staged a protest near the
meeting, shouting, “No to America and no to Saddam!”
Three
days later, there would be another protest in Baghdad, much larger than the
previous ones.
After
prayers, tens of thousands of Baghdad residents gathered in front of the Abu
Hanifa Al-Numan mosque to demand the pullout of U.S. troops from the city. They
waved banners in English and Arabic saying, “Leave our country, we want
peace.”
The
protesters were from both the Shia and the Sunni. In a show of unity, they
chanted, “No to America, no to Saddam!” and “This homeland is for the Shia
and the Sunni!”
The
25-million strong Iraqi population is 60 percent Shia. The Shia bore the brunt
of the rule of the authoritarian and elitist Hussein regime, which was mostly
Sunni.
War Not Over
The
“coalition forces” that attacked Iraq on March 20, led by the U.S., have
from all indications achieved a military victory and seem to have attained the
objective of toppling the government of Saddam Hussein.
But
the warm welcomes they seem to have received in Baghdad and Basra
notwithstanding, the war is far from over. More and more Iraqis are showing that
they do not want to have to choose between two masters, that they want to be
their own masters. They do not find in the ouster of the Hussein regime any
reason for rejoicing over a U.S. occupation of their homeland.
The
Iraqi people have not thrown in the towel with the fall of Saddam Hussein. On
the contrary, it looks like the real fighting has just begun. Bulatlat.com
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