Kindgo
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Baghdad a Ghost City as Clock Ticks Toward War
Wed March 19, 2003 12:39 PM ET
By Samia Nakhoul
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Swirling dust, gray clouds and an ominous mood hung over Baghdad on Wednesday as the clock ticked toward a deadline for a U.S. invasion.
The capital of 6 million, buzzing with life until Monday, looked like a ghost town. It was a city waiting for the Americans to invade.
The streets were eerily empty, shops, businesses and schools were shut. Most people stayed indoors counting the hours until the U.S. onslaught. Even pharmacies had shut their doors.
With a 4 a.m. deadline for war just hours away, the moment of truth had arrived for Iraqis, who had hoped until recently that diplomacy would save them from their third war in 20 years.
"I feel sorrow. It's like waiting for somebody to come and slaughter you. We have paid dearly for something we haven't done," said Jihad Hashem, 50, an engineer, one of a few people whose family had left for Syria. "I don't understand why do we have to go through this again."
President Bush, who gave President Saddam Hussein and his sons 48 hours to leave Iraq on Monday night, is expected to unleash a blitz of 3,000 bombs and missiles in an opening salvo of war if Saddam stays put.
For Iraqis, even the weather piled on the misery. A fierce sandstorm arrived in Baghdad like a biblical plague, compounding the mood of depression. Even those who wanted to venture out could not do so because of the poor visibility.
"We've started counting hours since George Bush gave the ultimatum. We still have a few hours left," said Jaber Abboud, 30, who was among a handful of shopkeepers still selling food.
"I am hoping to sell most of my goods today so tomorrow I won't have to open. I will take the rest of them home and we will eat them during the war," he added.
TWO WORLDS
Clutching at straws, the confused and drained Iraqis hoped the fierce sandstorm might delay the U.S assault.
Most Iraqis say they have not yet recovered from the traumatizing effects of the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war and the 1991 Gulf War. In all, hundreds of thousands died in those two conflicts.
"Our fear of danger increases with every passing hour. All this powerful buildup of troops in such massive numbers on a country like ours is terrifying. They talk about new weapons, about a 9-ton bomb, about new missiles ... All this news is frightening," said Nasman Bahjat, 43, a shopkeeper.
He said he had prepared his own shelter by fortifying one room with sandbags. "I even shielded my shelter windows with special tape to protect it from a chemical attack," Bahjat said.
Baghdad looks more and more like two worlds -- one of a government that continues to defy U.S. threats and another of a people subdued and exhausted by wars.
The only sign of normal life -- a somewhat surreal one -- could be seen at the information ministry, where workers were putting the final touches to a newly built annex to be finished by next week.
Iraqi Information Minister Mohammad Saeed al-Sahaf promised people on Wednesday that activity in Iraq would be normal.
"There won't be a curfew. People can move freely. All the rumors you hear about curfews are baseless," he told reporters.
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God bless,
Kindgo
Inside the will of God there is no failure. Outside the will of God there is no success.
Posts: 4320 | From: Sunny Florida | Registered: Jun 2002
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