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Iraq
Situation Still Tense After Saddam's Capture |
Posted:
01.14.04
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Although the U.S.-led coalition forces in Iraq were bolstered
by the capture of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein last month,
violence continues as U.S. administrators and local leaders debate
the best way to form a new government.
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Iraq's U.S. administrator Paul Bremer said Tuesday that attacks
against American targets had fallen significantly in the wake
of Hussein's capture.
 "In
the last three or four weeks we've seen a rather dramatic reduction
in the number of attacks on the coalition. They are down by about
50 percent." Bremer said.
"I think we have found since the arrest of Saddam a better
way to go after the insurgency, more intelligence about who they
are and, even more important, we are finding a lot of people …
coming over and providing us information," he added.
But some recent attacks have been rather devastating, including
the downing of three aircraft this month west of Baghdad. The
most recent was Tuesday in which hostile fire brought down an
Army Apache attack helicopter. According to military spokesman
Col. William Darley, the two crew members escaped injury. However
all nine U.S. soldiers in a helicopter that was shot down on Jan.
6 were killed.
 Since
American-led forces invaded Iraq last March, 496 American soldiers
have died, 343 of those from hostile incidents, according to Department
of Defense statistics. Since President Bush declared that major
combat operations ended May 1, 358 U.S. soldiers have died.
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Anti-U.S.
insurgents |
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According to U.S. and Iraqi officials, many anti-U.S. fighters
come from central Iraq, an area known as the Sunni Triangle because
it is home to many Sunni Muslims. Although Arabs who follow the
Sunni strain of Islam make up only about 20 percent of the population
here, these tribes and clans were closest to Hussein and reaped
power and privileges from his government.
Many of the men of the area were once part of Hussein's army,
police and intelligence agencies. Because of this they have the
most to lose in the new Iraq. Many have been banned from the new
governing system under construction.
The effects of such bans are far reaching in many areas.
"Just about every family had someone working in security
or the army or some government job," Maj Hussein Mahdi Obeidy,
a member of the U.S.-appointed police force told The Washington
Post. "It was normal to join the Baath Party. It was like
a rule." Although a former Baathist, Obeidy was sufficiently
low-ranking to qualify for the new force.
Some frustrated former Baathists have chosen targets meant to
discourage Iraqis from cooperating with occupation forces, such
as Iraqi police and government institutions.
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Moving toward
self-rule |
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Occupation authorities also face anti-American sentiments in
other parts of the country, including southern Shiite towns. Shiite
Muslims are a majority in Iraq but were long oppressed by the
Hussein regime. Many of the complaints stem from the hardships
of the past nine months, since the collapse of Hussein's regime.
"I have three children to support, we are living in one
rented room and I have to hold up a bucket to the ceiling when
it rains," Ali Aziz, 35, a stocky, out-of-work laborer told
The Washington Post. "I helped protect the city offices during
the war, but now the old thieves are back inside, and they only
give jobs to their friends."
 Leading
the criticism is the Shiite spiritual leader Grand Ayatollah Ali
al-Sistani who has said the U.S. formula for transferring power
to the Iraqis is inadequate. Al-Sistani wants the provisional
national assembly to be elected directly, not selected from regional
caucuses as determined by a Nov. 15 accord.
U.S. officials responded to the cleric's objections with a new
plan that would open the caucuses to more people and make the
transitional authority's workings more transparent.
Crucial to any agreement is how long the more than 100,000 American
troops would remain in the country after power is handed over
to the Iraqis this summer as planned.
--
Annie Schleicher, Online NewsHour
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