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| Iraq |
| Guardian Predicts Shia Riviera in Basra |
| 2004-01-05 |
| EFL - All other portions of the article summarized by the statement: "US bad; UK much smarter, nicer, and better." It is Basra’s latest tourist attraction: Saddam Hussein’s luxury yacht, still lying half-submerged in the city’s shabby harbour. The yacht was one of first targets in the coalition’s campaign nine months ago to get rid of Saddam. But the missile failed to sink Al-Mansour (The Victory) - which now lies half across the Shatt al-Arab waterway, together with the rusting hulks of Iraqi gunboats sunk in the war with Iran. Derelict military equipment could make interesting decorations for a future theme park with a Mad Max taste to it. It is a sign of how far southern Iraq has come that while Tony Blair was addressing the troops yesterday Iraqi tourists were taking a pleasure cruise past Saddam’s ruined yacht. "I left Iraq 22 years ago because of Saddam," said Mohammad Ali, a chemistry teacher on a cruise with his Iranian wife and family. "I’m so happy to be back. The British did us a favour. They got rid of the biggest dictator in the Middle East." I find it mildly surprising that the Iranians would let a chemistry teacher leave the country for a destination other than Lebanon. In contrast to the daily mayhem in the rest of Iraq, the British-occupied south of the country is - comparatively - a tranquil place. Locals hope it could eventually regain its reputation as Iraq’s riviera. Benidorm look out - sunbathing in a burka. Recently, senior Bush administration officials have admitted it will be virtually impossible to disband Iraq’s militias before sovereignty is handed over to a provisional Iraqi government in July - a decision that will leave the Badr brigade in control of Basra. "The British are not doing enough. There is a lot of killing," Mr Basri complained. The Badr Brigade is set to be the Bay Watch of the Iraqi Riviera. Other Basra residents expressed disgruntlement at the British military’s failure to build a bridge over the river and its new tough policy on oil smuggling. "The British captured my tanker. It was loaded with diesel for my boat. They thought I was a smuggler," said Hamid Hussein, a 29-year-old boatman offering harbour cruises from Basra’s shabby corniche. Did he really need a tanker full of oil for his harbor cruise venture? Hamid may have to settle for the pedal boat concession. Here, posters of martyred Shia clerics have replaced ones of Saddam. Since Saddam’s fall sales of satellite dishes and mobile phones - which use the Kuwait network - have boomed. What does the Badr Brigade have planned for dish owners? Pessimists be warned; good economic news follows. Thousands of cars arrive every day by ferry from Dubai, Qatar and Oman, along with second-hand fridges, washing machines and furniture. Basra’s electricity supply, meanwhile, is better than Baghdad’s, where pylons were looted or destroyed. The city’s population of 1.2 million has 290 megawatts of the 330 it needs. The water supply is poor but improving; work has begun on a new sewage system. "Basra is economically more important than Baghdad," said Hamid Alrobai, receptionist at the Sultan Palace Hotel, one of the many new businesses that have sprung up. Given the chance, Basra would be beautiful again, Mr Alrobai added. "The problem is that Saddam stole many of the date palms and put them in his palaces. It’s going to take time." New crime for Sadaam’s ever growing rap sheet - date palm theft. |
| Posted by:Super Hose |
| #1 sunbathing in a burka. You mean broiling? |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-1-5 5:02:48 PM |