Buffy The Vampire Slayer

People are starting to call him ’Elvis’. We need Buffy, she knows how to deal with evil

Baghdad Blogger Wednesday November 5, 2003 The Guardian

In my naivety, I did actually hope for a peaceful Ramadan. It is supposed to be a month for fasting and prayer, it is the month Mohammed was shown his first glimpse of the divine and was told that the command to download the Koran through the heavenly broadband connection had been initiated, so you would really think Muslims would give it a rest. But, boy, was I wrong, the Iranian news channel started calling it "The Bloody Ramadan" on the second day of the month. I winced when I heard that, but the truth is that the month has started very badly. The attack on al-Rasheed hotel was a surprise to everybody; it was supposed to be within the green zone, ie safe and under control. And I wonder if the attackers knew that Wolfowitz was in the hotel, or was that just an accident? Whatever the answer is, I kind of hope he does not make a visit to my neighbourhood. Even more surreal was the press conference held by a coalition spokesman. At one point he was telling us not to worry and that we should remember that this was only an isolated incident and that they have a lot of intelligence. Not even 24 hours had passed after his statements about the coalition’s detailed knowledge of terrorist activities in Iraq, when there were five huge explosions. It was as if they had done it just to spite him.

The bombing of the Red Cross was one of those things that make your world stop. You kind of try to find the reasoning and try to understand why anyone would do that, but I guess the nature of these attacks is that they do not follow any logic sane people can understand. Just like the UN bombing this is beyond any explanation.

Iraqis know they are getting their medicine in public clinics for free because of the efforts of organisations like the Red Crescent/Red Cross, just as they knew the only reason why they are still getting their rations is because the people working for the UN here in Iraq were able to get the rations programme on its feet really fast after the war. The attack on the Red Cross was followed by a series of attacks on police stations. These stations used to be guarded by US troops, but they left more than two weeks ago. The only people in those buildings are Iraqis and it is mostly Iraqis who those attackers killed. I really can’t understand any more how they can call themselves "resistance" when all they do is kill Iraqis.

One of those police stations is near where I live. When I went there to talk to the policemen, I found the Americans back, they were on the roof and did not let me talk to the Iraqi police. One of them shouted at me from the roof, telling me that he "can’t let you do that", another came down and started giving orders to the Iraqi policemen. A shopkeeper whose shop was destroyed in the blast told me they were "the Americans’ policemen". If you wanted to be really cynical you would say that the Americans are using the Iraqi police as a buffer. But the upside of that is we don’t see too many people in combat fatigues with big guns. Whatever the situation is, it is always easier to reason with an Iraqi than try to talk to an American soldier who doesn’t trust you at all.

What should not surprise anyone is the amount of ammunition and weapons this so-called resistance has - this is partly the coalition’s fault. The main street where I live was filled with trenches where the Baathis and the old Iraqi army stored rocket-propelled grenades and other weapons which were abandoned when the coalition moved in.

At that time, if you went to the Americans and told them about a weapons depot hidden in a civilian area they would tell you they could do nothing about it, or they would detonate it right there, creating a disaster. Some people tried to move them away themselves and in other areas, such as Falluja, they were very quickly covered up by people who had other plans. Clearing up the abandoned weapons: another item on the Americans’ things-we-should-have done-list.

I keep pumping up the optimism and remind everyone I meet that every time I go to the south, I see how the situation is much different there, but the truth is that Baghdad is important - it is the capital and where our government, once we have one, will be. The Shadow of Saddam is still there; there are foreigners who are starting to jokingly call him Elvis. I think he is an evil shape-shifter; maybe the coalition should ask Buffy for advice, she always seems to know how to deal with evil.

Oh, and in the meantime, Iraqi students are demonstrating on the streets of Baghdad, demanding they should be paid salaries. There are rumours that the governing council is considering a $20 monthly payment. Welcome to the New Iraq.