Baghdad, As
Usual
By Dahr Jamail
11 January, 2004
Dahrjamailiraq.com
The usual spiral descent in the airplane
landed me into a grey day in Baghdad
the weather the same as when
I left a few weeks ago. The usual hordes of Global mercenaries
crowded the airport
where a person isnt allowed to take their
carry-on into the bathroom with them-for fear of bombs. Keep in mind
that the airport is the largest US military base in Iraq.
Then there was the
usual joy of waiting at the front checkpoint to be picked up. As usual,
Abu Talat had arrived early
only to be gridlocked in the nerve-wracking
wait in the line of cars to have his car sniffed by dogs for explosives.
Standing inside the checkpoint in the small parking area is not my idea
of a good time-everyone eyeing one another, wondering if that person
is a kidnapper, or if that car in the distance is a bomb.
Of course it didnt
help that random gunfire was popping not too far off in the distance.
Abu Talat is finally
allowed through, and my friend Khalil and I are whisked off. The bright
spot of the day, aside from being reunited with my dear friend and interpreter
was the making of a new friend.
I tell them both
in the car, I know this sounds crazy since its such a horrible
situation here, as we drive past kilometers of cars lined up for
gasoline and people carrying jerry-cans in front of fuel stations, But
I missed Baghdad and Im very happy to be back.
Khalil laughs and
replies, Everybody says that about this place.
He took us to his
home for a great Iraqi lunch, with Iraqi chai, of course, and great
conversation. Aside from the electricity blinking off and on as most
of Baghdad is averaging 4 hours of electricity per day, its a
short stint of normalcy with friends in the most dangerous capital city
in the world.
But thats
where the normalcy ends.
A suicide car bomber
hit a police station in southern Baghdad today killing 8, three of which
were Iraqi Police. Ten people were also wounded in the blast.
The deputy police
chief of Baghdad, Brigadier Amer Ali Nayef and his son, Lt. Khalid Amer,
were assassinated in Baghdad's south Dora district today. Their car
was gunned down while driving to work this morning. This is the second
senior Iraqi official to be assassinated in less than a week. Just last
Tuesday, gunmen assassinated the governor of Baghdad, Ali al-Haidari,
along with six of his bodyguards.
But the details
on the killing of the governor from an eyewitness escaped the news.
The convoy was hit by a well coordinated attack. There were two groups
of fighters who manned cigarette stands which line the streets of Baghdad,
awaiting the governor. In addition, there were gunmen on the tops of
nearby shops
the convoy was attacked, and the governors car escaped
only
to be chased down by a car full of gunmen who finished the job. The
only civilians who were shot were hit by the random firing from the
governors guards.
The demolition of
Fallujah continues. Two of my sources inside the city, who live in different
neighborhoods, report that the military is now burning homes. Apparently,
they are finding booby traps, so they are piling furniture up in the
homes, dousing it with fuel, and burning it.
Nevertheless, another
Marine was killed there today.
Another Bradley
Fighting Vehicle was destroyed today in Baghdad
as the resistance
is using larger bombs for their attacks. Two soldiers died in the blast,
with four wounded.
Not long ago a Bradley
was bombed by one of these huge devices, killing 6 soldiers.
Sirens blare throughout
Baghdad, as usual. Random gunfire cracks across the city, as usual.
And the British are sending 400 more troops.
As far as the elections,
there are some nice signs around Baghdad now, encouraging folks to vote.
Several of my Iraqi
friends tell me they expect only about 20% of Iraqis to vote. Who could
blame them? With the resistance having announced they will be sniping
polling stations during the elections, as well as the high likelihood
of suicide car bombers driving into polling station, better security
prior to any type of election would probably bring Iraqis to the polls
more than nice billboards.
So, as usual, the
horrible catastrophe that is occupied Iraq is getting worse by the day.