Relief Is Met by a Rush, and Resentment

Los Angeles Times ^ | March 27, 2003 | Mark Magnier,

[sarcasm]

SAFWAN, Iraq -- As the first aid convoys rolled into southern Iraq on Wednesday, a cheer went up from several hundred Safwan villagers who grabbed hold of latches, jumped on running boards and banged the sides of 18-wheeler trucks.

But even before the drivers opened their doors, several dozen of the assembled turned the cheers into a song: "We give our blood and hearts to Saddam!" they chanted, dancing, the volume growing as defiance swept the crowd.

When the lumbering trucks swung around and their back doors opened, a near-riot erupted as villagers grabbed, scratched, ripped and tore one another's clothing to get at the prized white boxes filled with bread, cheese, juice packets and chicken. Banners taped to the boxes — announcing them as gifts from the Kuwait Red Crescent Society — followed the aid packages onto the muddy ground.

"They're purposely trying to humiliate us and make us look like animals," Nasser Shami, 27, a history student, said as he watched the scrum, refusing to participate. "They brought reporters here to humiliate us before the world and make us look like animals. At least we had our pride before."

[fightinJAG]

These reporters must get a clue. Perhaps they have heard of "rent-a-crowds." Well, in Iraq, as in some other brutal dictatorships, there are "force-a-protests."

People are forced to go around saying they support Saddam, etc.

I was stationed in Panama during Noriega's reign and many locals told me how they were forced to go out and march for him and protest the Americans. There, they're employers, etc., watched who went, who shouted, etc. and there were extreme penalties to pay for not doing the protests.

I gotta believe much of the "we love Saddam" phenomenon in these type of circumstances is simply insurance: don't shoot me for coming out here to get a bag of rice!

[DoughtyOne]

You have to understand that the Los Angeles Times couldn't stand to see the United States get credit for anything, so this fits right into their game plan. I'm sure they couldn't find anything positive to write about. And that's why they'll aways be a c- grade paper. The formatting is nice. The content is about as close to soviet propaganda as it gets.

[SWake]

Banners taped to the boxes — announcing them as gifts from the Kuwait Red Crescent Society ...

Someone please tell me that the goods shipped from the US and the UK will have AMERICAN and BRITISH flags printed all over them.

[goldstategop]

Like the bovine garbage we've been getting from the Aljazeera Broadcasting Companies and the Baghdad Broadcasting Corporation. Don't ask me why.

[DoughtyOne]

I don't even know why they quote "AliJeersAtYa" all the time. Do a study on it once in a while so we know what tripe they're promoting, then shut up about them for six weeks or so. As it is they are given all the creedence of a world class news organization. They are worthy of that.

[Sunnyvale CA Eng.]

"They're purposely trying to humiliate us and make us look like animals," Nasser Shami, 27, a history student, said as he watched the scrum, refusing to participate. "They brought reporters here to humiliate us before the world and make us look like animals. At least we had our pride before."

Which pride was that Nasser? The pride of living under a brutal dictatorship?

The pride of knowing your leaders main palace in Baghdad was 1.7 miles long (with several large "roof vents" recently added) while you aspire to one day have 2 sets of clothes.

The pride of knowing your own military is forcing others like you to fight at gunpoint and to act as bullet sponges on the battlefield.

Yea, now I see what you meant.

[KSCITYBOY]

The LA time must not have seen the pice on sixty minutes last night.

[KSCITYBOY]

pice=piece

[monocle]

What we may be seeing in many Iraqi cities is a massive expression of the Stockholm Syndrome. All the criteria for this syndrome to manifest itself were present in Iraq as a whole.

[ricpic]

Oh those wacky Iraqis.

[VoteHarryBrowne2000]

After watching 60 minutes, completely by accident, last night it is clear that there are still secret police in the general populace. They are no doubt influencing the actions of civilians by their presence. Who would want to stand up to a thug that would kill anyone anytime? This stuff is staged.

We should round up all the Iraqi men and sort them out one at a time. Big job but sooner or later someone will have to do it. How was this handled after WWII in Germany and Japan?

[Cincinatus]

"They're purposely trying to humiliate us and make us look like animals," Nasser Shami, 27, a history student, said as he watched the scrum, refusing to participate. "They brought reporters here to humiliate us before the world and make us look like animals. At least we had our pride before."

Then please be our guest -- keep your pride, walk off into the desert, and die.

[driftless]

I agree with your sentiments. Now I don't necessarily agree with everything conservatives posit as facts even though I now consider myself one. But as an ex-liberal, I came to the painful conclusion that anyone who identifies him or herself as a liberal simply cannot be believed pending verification. It's not that liberals can never be right about something... a stopped clock and all that. It's just that too many of them, to further their agendas, will either outright lie or tell a half-truth rather than describe what is obvious to the great majority .

[an amused spectator]

But as an ex-liberal, I came to the painful conclusion that anyone who identifies him or herself as a liberal simply cannot be believed pending verification. It's not that liberals can never be right about something... a stopped clock and all that. It's just that too many of them, to further their agendas, will either outright lie or tell a half-truth rather than describe what is obvious to the great majority.

QOTW candidate.

[RJayneJ]

Thanks for the nomination! };^D )