Friday, Dec 19, 2003
Spurt in anti-U.S. sentiments
By Atul Aneja
BAGHDAD Dec. 18. The capture of the former the Iraqi President, Saddam Hussein, without any resistance has shocked Iraqis and has led to a spate of conspiracy theories about the circumstances of his detention. It has also led to visible spurt in anti-American sentiments.
The majority of the Iraqis spoken to by The Hindu in public places in Baghdad were of the view that Mr. Hussein was either gassed or drugged before he was captured. "(Mr.) Saddam Hussein is man we know is proud and defiant. The only reason that he gave in so easily to the Americans was because he was either drugged or gassed prior to his capture", says Abdul Najim, a shop owner.
The theory that he was gassed and stunned before his capture has been well publicised by Mr. Hussein's daughter Ragadh who stays in Jordan. Her remarks have found the front pages in a number of Iraqi Arab dailies. The Iraqi Arabic daily Azzaman quoted her as saying that, "I am sure he was gassed and he pictures (shown on television) showed that he was still gassed."
Across the Arab world, there is a deep sense of humiliation about Mr. Hussein's capture, and the circumstances in which it took place has touched a raw nerve, especially among Palestinians, for whom, the former Iraqi President was a symbol of defiance towards the Americans and the Israelis. In the Palestinian territories, Mr. Hussein has been well remembered for his decision to launch missile attacks against Israel during the 1990 Gulf war.
Among intellectual circles in Baghdad, there is view that the Americans deliberately wished to humiliate Mr. Hussein in order to announce that the era of pan-Arab leaders, with a regional appeal had ended. "I think the images shown over television illustrated a strategic decision by the U.S. occupation to covey that Mr. Hussein, because he supported the Palestinian cause, was the last of the larger than life Arab leaders", Rommel Moushi of the Assyrian democratic movement told The Hindu. The seeming victory of the U.S. demonstration over an Arab leader, has, however hardened anti-American sentiment in the region sharply and has been reflected in the Arab media. In Baghdad a fierce defiance of the Americans is visible both among ordinary Sunni and Shias. In the working class Shia district of Sadr city, earlier known as Saddam city, the atmosphere is politically charged and graffiti on the walls speaks the language of unity and struggle. "Sunnis and Shias are like the Tigris and the Euphrates", the two rivers that meet in southern Iraq, said a banner, drenched in the overnight rain, that was pinned on the walls of a former, but now bombed out, food godown.
Several banners urged Iraqis to fight for the Palestinian cause and some were attributed to the Hizbollah, the militant Shia group, based in Lebanon. One of them said: "Everyone wants go and fight for the Palestinians."
Copyright © 2003, The Hindu.