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Sunni Triangle Doubts Saddamâs Capture
EFL:In this restive city and across Iraqâs Sunni heartland, many Saddam loyalists refuse to believe that a disheveled and bearded man in U.S. captivity is their ousted leader, whose 23-year rule boosted their position as the countryâs political elite. "It is someone wearing a Saddam mask," volunteered Waleed Ibrahim, a 25-year-old tire repairman in Fallujah. "It is a trick to help President Bush get re-elected." Is he running for the Demmocrap nomination as well? Minutes before he spoke, U.S. tanks, Bradley fighting vehicles and Humvees carrying dozens of troops roared into the city in a show of force after a night of clashes with Saddam loyalists. Jet-fighters screamed overhead and two helicopters dived and swerved at low altitude. "The coalition forces have arrested Saddam Hussein. Reports that it is a Saddam double are false," declared a voice on a loudspeaker fixed on one U.S. Humvee in Fallujah on Tuesday. "The old regime will never come back. This is the end of the Baath party," said the voice, speaking in Arabic. "Whoever carries a weapon will be killed," the voice said. "Do you feel lucky, punk? Well, do you?" "This is terrorism," said Hamed Ali, a shopkeeper, who recounted how jets buzzed the city for most of Monday night. "Even children were cursing the Americans." Hamed, we donât care. Iraqâs Sunnis greeted news of the July killings of Saddamâs sons Odai and Qusai with similar disbelief. They often dismiss evidence of crimes against humanity committed by Saddamâs 1979-2003 regime as fabrications of the United States, Iran and their Iraqi allies. The defiance is partly a reaction to the loss of prestige and privileges in a new political order that restored the rights of the countryâs Shiite majority and large Kurdish minority - groups long victimized by the Sunni Arab minority. Between them, they account for about 80 percent of Iraqâs 25 million people. Lost their sweet deal so they bitch. In Tikrit, Saddam loyalists tried to stage a demonstration in support of the former dictator Tuesday, but neither the cityâs U.S.-backed governor nor the U.S. military were prepared to stand by and watch. "Any demonstration against the government or the coalition forces will be fired upon," the governor, Hussein al-Jaburi, said on a loudspeaker mounted on a U.S. military vehicle.
Bwahahahaha! The Army of Stevel strikes again! Iâll bet thereâs a little something from Rummy in Lt. Col Steveâs Christmas stocking this year. Posted by: Steve 2003-12-17 |
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