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The moves on Fallujah, which Marines besieged two
weeks ago, and especially on Najaf, where anti-American Shiite Muslim
cleric Muqtada Sadr has taken refuge, are pushing many Iraqis to choose
sides between the occupation force and other Iraqis. Enduring religious
animosities have been put aside as the more radical Sunnis and Shiites
join to fight a new common enemy: the United States.
"If we force them to choose, they will choose their
own," said a senior official in the U.S.-led coalition.
Although the military situation calmed last week,
the reality on the ground was, if anything, more disturbing than the
week before.
For foreigners -- troops, diplomats, contractors
rebuilding the country, and journalists -- kidnappings became a daily
occurrence. Shootings of people who look non-Arab -- regardless of
whether they were Western, Asian or African -- became routine.
...
In some measure, the violence against Westerners is viewed as retribution
for the violence in Fallujah. Whether that is true or not, belief that
Americans behaved as barbarians and that thousands of Iraqi civilians
are dead is widespread. According to Arab custom and especially tribal
tradition, they should be avenged.
...
"Now all the people, even the most ignorant, believe the only solution
is resistance. The Americans are killing children, destroying homes,
killing women," said Sheik Bilal Habashi, who runs a mosque in a Sunni-dominated
neighborhood of Baghdad, near the road to Fallujah.
"The Americans want to enter Fallujah as invaders.
When an invader wants to enter a city, the people start defending their
city, even the women," he said.
...
There is less violence in Fallujah now as well, but the city remains
tense. No one believes the trouble is over. The U.S. is determined
to root out the fighters, and it is clear that hundreds -- if not a
couple of thousand -- are still there.
...
Bessam Jarrah is a slight, soft-spoken man who is willing to criticize
violence by Iraqis. A general surgeon, he has spent much of the last
two weeks coordinating efforts of the Islamic League of Medical Professionals,
which has been sending volunteer physicians to treat the wounded in
Fallouja. He had high hopes for the U.S. role in Iraq, but they have
drained away.
"In the first months of the occupation, we, the
educated people, thought America would show us a humanitarian way,
a political way, to solve problems," Jarrah said. "But this use of
force means the efforts to find a political solution for Iraq has failed,
and now America is using Saddam's approach to problems: brute force.
"America won the war on April 9 last year; they
lost the war on April 9 this year. That is what Iraqis feel."
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