Neo Conservatives: 07/01/2003

From http://www.whitehouse.gov

Liberation Update
“Mobile phones rang Tuesday morning, ushering in the
cellular era for Iraqis long deprived of the latest in
information technology during their isolation under the
fallen strongman Saddam Hussein.”
Agence France Presse, 7/22/03
“Thanks to them [the U.S. army] the security is good.
Without them, people would be killing each other.”
Abdul Wahed Mohsen, in Iraq, Los Angeles Times, 7/22/03
“Even the blind can see what Saddam Hussein did, taking
Iraq into so many wars and doing little even for this
town, no sports club, no decent hotels.”
Wail al-Ali, Tikrit’s new mayor, The Guardian, 7/22/03
“Also, some 85 percent of primary and secondary schools
and all but two of the nation's universities have
reopened with a full turnout of pupils and teachers. The
difference is that there no longer are any mukahebrat
(secret police) agents roaming the campuses and sitting
at the back of classrooms to make sure lecturers and
students do not discuss forbidden topics. Nor are the
students required to start every day with a solemn oath
of allegiance to the dictator.”
National Post (Canada), 7/22/03
“A stroll in the open-air book markets of the Rashid
Street reveals that thousands of books, blacklisted and
banned under Saddam Hussein, are now available for sale.
Among the banned authors were almost all of Iraq's best
writers and poets whom many young Iraqis are discovering
for the first time. Stalls, offering video and
audiotapes for sale, are appearing in Baghdad and other
major cities, again giving Iraqis access to a forbidden
cultural universe.”
National Post (Canada), 7/22/03
“We don’t know who are those people who say that. They
are outlaws. They just want to make problems.”
Abdul Wahed Mohsen, on anti-U.S. sloganeering in Iraq,
Los Angeles Times, 7/22/03
“The Americans are giving the Iraqis the space to get
our affairs in order.”
Sheikh Khalid Al-Nuami, a representative on the Najaf
ruling council, Agence France Presse 7/21/03
“We are flying with happiness since Saddam is gone.”
Zahar Hassan, in Iraq, Agence France Presse, 7/21/03
“There’s more opportunity, more chances to earn money.”
Um Khalid, on life in post-Saddam Baghdad, The Christian
Science Monitor, 7/21/03
“There is a lack of security, but psychologically,
things are better, because freedom is nice.”
Ali Shaban, in Iraq, The Christian Science Monitor,
7/21/03
“Let the Americans stay, they protect us. I don’t see
them hurting anyone.”
A mother living in Baghdad, The Christian Science
Monitor, 7/21/03
“Before it was all about Saddam and his followers. Now
there are different topics.”
Hassan Ali, on the Iraqi newspapers, The Christian
Science Monitor, 7/21/03
“He [Uday] was a sick man, and he kept lions and tigers
just to show his manhood, to show everyone that he cared
more about animals than people. But he amputated their
claws, and he took away their freedom, just like the
people.”
Alaa Karim, a Baghdad zoo employee, The Washington Post,
7/21/03
“[Uday] was a bad man, and he used to beat the soccer
players if they lost a game. I think he used to treat
the lions better than the people.”
Mussab Ismas, a 13-year old boy, viewing Uday’s lions at
the Baghdad zoo, The Washington Post, 7/21/03
“But the shock for a first time visitor to Iraq is that
the destruction committed by Saddam’s tyranny is so much
worse than advertised. … The most horrible damage on
Iraqis was inflicted by Saddam himself. The Americans
who are giving their lives to stop his Middle East
Stalinism will end up saving many more lives.”
Wall Street Journal, 7/21/03
“I can see that the American soldiers are free. In our
old army, we were always under pressure and strict
military orders. There was tough punishment.”
Raad Mamoud, a former Iraqi soldier, USA Today, 7/21/03
“Before, I would not even say hello to them [Iraqi army
officers]. We are all equal now. This is justice.”
Husham Berkal, an enlisted soldier in the former Iraqi
army, USA Today, 7/21/03
“When I heard on the radio that the Baathists had seized
power I was not surprised. I was hoping it would make
the situation better but, well, you can see. I have hope
that things will get better now, that the new government
can get rid of all the problems.”
Abdul Karim al-Qaissi, a pharmacist in Baghdad, on the
anniversary of the Baath Party’s seizing power, Agence
France Presse, 7/17/03
“But I blame the Baath [for problems with security and
infrastructure]. It’s not the Americans’ fault. I like
the Americans.”
Nuri Mansour, in Baghdad, Agence France Presse, 7/17/03
“Iraqis were living a good life. We had security, jobs,
people were getting paid. People used to get on and
would help each other…”
Nuri Mansour, reflecting life before the Baath Party
overthrew the Iraqi government in 1968, Agence France
Presse, 7/17/03
“During the Baath Party’s time we didn’t see 1,000th of
Iraq’s wealth come to us.”
Yasua, an Iraqi man in Baghdad, Agence France Presse,
7/17/03
“I hope Iraq comes back strong. I am in favor of the new
government.”
Uday Kadhu, a Baghdad car salesman on the Iraqi archery
team, Agence France Presse, 7/16/03
“The residents of glorious Fallujah suffered from the
confiscation of freedom and the absence of justice under
the dictatorial regime.”
A statement released by the “League of Fallujah
Residents,” Agence France Presse, 7/16/03
“The Governing Council is a step towards building a
free, democratic Iraq.”
Iraqi newspaper Al-Zawra, 7/15/03
“In our opinion, the most significant thing about the
formation of the transitional Governing Council is that
it includes important personalities that are known to
the masses and that represent the different political,
national, democratic and progressive forces, as well as
independent political organizations and religious
denominations.”
Iraqi newspaper Al-Manar, 7/15/03
“I felt that we had gone back to the year 1930. I feel
that Iraq has started back from zero. We have wasted 75
years waiting to taste freedom.”
Hadid al-Gailani, after the Governing Council announced
the abolition of Baathist holidays, The Boston Globe,
7/14/03
“I helped deliver thousands of Iraqi babies, and now I
am taking part in the birth of a new country and a new
rule based on women’s rights, humanity, unity and
freedom.”
Raja Habib al-Khaza’i, the director of an Iraqi
maternity hospital and a member of the Governing
Council, Associated Press, 7/13/03
“The formation of this council which represents all
sectors of Iraqi society is the birth of democracy in
the country. It is better than Saddam’s government of
destruction and dictatorship.”
Razzak Abdul-Zahra, a 35-year-old engineer in Baghad,
Associated Press, 7/13/03
“The establishment of this council represents the Iraqi
national will after the collapse of the dictatorial
regime.”
Muhammad Bahr al-Ulum, a Shiite cleric on the Governing
Council, Associated Press, 7/13/03
“This is a great day. It’s unbelievable.”
Yonadam Kanna, an Assyrian Christian on the Iraqi
Governing Council, Associated Press, 7/13/03
“It’s a hard situation. But now that Saddam has fallen,
it’s OK. We can wait for the future now.”
Muhammed Abdul al Sudani, the night watchman at a school
in Baghdad, Baltimore Sun, 7/13/03
“Iraqis are looking forward to this day. They have been
dreaming for so many years to have a government run by
not only one man.”
Sherwan Dizayee, a member of the Kurdistan Democratic
Party, Los Angeles Times, 7/13/03
“The building of a new Iraq shall remain among the first
priorities of the good Iraqi people. It will require the
participation of all Iraqis from all political and
social strands who are willing to help accomplish this
historic task.”
Mohammed Barhul Uloom, an 80-year-old Shiite who has
returned to Iraq to serve on the new Governing Council,
AFX News, 7/13/03
“Saddam is gone, he’s history, he’s never coming back.”
Mohammed Barhul Uloom, at the first meeting of the new
Iraqi Governing Council, Agence France Presse, 7/13/03
“In our view, political life must not be based on
ethnic, religious or sectarian considerations.” Adnan
Pachachi, former Iraqi foreign minister and current
member of the Governing Council, Agence France Presse,
7/13/03
“Farther down the block [in Baghdad], a new Internet
cafe just opened three weeks ago—$3 an hour buys you a
satellite link on a computer that runs Windows, and a
shortcut to Yahoo! E-mail is already on the desktop.”
Winston-Salem Journal, 7/12/03
“He [Saddam] occupied Iraq for 25 years. It’s not
important that the Americans are here. What is important
is that they got rid of Saddam Hussein. Now I feel
free.”
Fadil Emara, a shopkeeper in Baghdad, Agence France
Presse, 7/12/03
“My optimism grows ten-fold every day. We’ve got a
wonderful and brilliant future in front of us.”
Fadil Emara, a shopkeeper in Baghdad, Agence France
Presse, 7/12/03
“In Saddam’s time, the mere act of pointing at
something—a building, a person—risked attracting the
attention of a secret policeman. Now people freely jab
their index fingers on the streets. To a visitor
returning, it’s something of a shock.”
Associated Press, 7/12/03
“It’s a dream for me to participate.”
Afrah Abas, an Iraqi archer competing in the 42nd World
Archery Championships, Associated Press, 7/12/03
“We have been celebrating the Iraqi revolution and the
fall of the kingdom every year. Today we combined the
celebration with the fall of the second monarchy—the
dictatorship of Saddam Hussein.”
Aladdin Sabih, an Iraqi living in the Czech Republic,
Czech News Agency, 7/12/03
“Cutting through all the barriers of religion, culture,
war and economics are stores filled with hundreds of
pairs of high-heel pumps, clunky platforms and spiked
heels in scores of styles. Other stores with similar
numbers—but fewer styles—of men's and children's shoes
are open for business.”
Winston-Salem Journal, 7/12/03
“I want to help my country to make a new life, to get
human rights, and also to get modern life, especially
because we are a rich country.”
An Iraqi translator for the Allied forces, The New York
Times, 7/08/03
“In Baghdad, Shiite Muslim tribes from central and
southern Iraq met for the first time to discuss how
they, as the country's religious majority, could help
create a united Iraqi nation.”
The New York Times, 7/08/03
“We will be happy to get rid of Saddam’s face and this
useless money.”
Hillal Sultan, an Iraqi moneychanger, Agence France
Presse, 7/08/03
“We can’t train staff fast enough. People are desperate
here for a neutral free press after 30 years of a
totalitarian state.”
Saad al-Bazzaz, editor of the Azzaman Daily in Baghdad,
The Independent (London), 7/08/03
“This guy [Uday] had nothing to do with journalism but
he saw it as a powerful way of trying to control the
minds of the Iraqi people. He knew very well that most
journalists were not supportive of his father. By day
they did their jobs quietly. … By night many worked
against the regime.”
Saad al-Bazzaz, former head of Iraqi state television
and current editor of the Azzaman Daily, The Independent
(London), 7/08/03
“The Americans did a very good thing when they crushed
Saddam for the Iraqis.”
Khither Jaafar, a member of a Shiite party outlawed by
Saddam, Los Angeles Times, 7/08/03
“We as a council were chosen by the people. God willing
we will work to achieve the hopes and wishes of the
people.”
Mohammed al-Assadi, a representative on the new Najaf
City Council, Associated Press, 7/07/03
“During the days of the old regime, only members of the
Baath used to benefit and got what they wanted. This
council has nothing to do with any regime because all of
them are intellectuals and chosen by the people.”
Angham Fakher, a hospital employee in Najaf, speaking
about the new City Council Associated Press, 7/07/03
“We were like a tightly covered pot which no one knew
what it contained. Now that the cover has been removed,
you can’t imagine what you will discover.”
Majed al-Ghazali, who now dreams of setting up a
children’s music school in Iraq, Associated Press,
7/07/03
“U.S.-U.K., Liberators of Iraq from Saddam’s Terror.”
A banner hanging outside the entrance to central
Suleimaniyah in Iraq, Chicago Tribune, 7/05/03
“We feel liberated. We’re very very happy.”
Dana Mohammed, manager of a fast food restaurant in
Suleimaniyah, Chicago Tribune, 7/05/03
“I’ve been like a blind man during Saddam’s time. Look
at my hair. It’s already turning gray, and I don’t even
know how to get on a plane at the airport yet. I haven’t
done anything. Now the future is very different. I’m
free. I can travel, and no one will follow or arrest
me.”
Dana Mohammed, a 19-year-old Iraqi, Chicago Tribune,
7/05/03
“I can feel it inside. All Iraqis are feeling freedom.
This is a good start of a new Iraq.”
Saniya al-Raheem, a 56-year-old housewife in Baghdad,
Agence France Presse, 7/03/03
“It was a cruel system. We were living under terror and
we all suffered from it. It was for our own survival not
to talk about politics. We could not even discuss our
personal problems openly.”
Balkis Al-Shamary, a clerk in an Iraqi shop, Agence
France Presse, 7/03/03
“I like free discussions. I talk about these issues with
my families and friends. This could never happen during
the Saddam years.”
Maha Abrahim, owner of a wedding dress shop in Baghdad,
Agence France Presse, 7/03/03
“During the Saddam years, we did not even have hopes. We
were living only to survive. Now I have lots of dreams
and hopes.”
Hansam Hassan, a pediatrician at Baghdad’s Al-Alwiya
Children’s Hospital, Agence France Presse, 7/03/03
“When I see my female students, I see hopes in them.
They will have more opportunities to travel and learn
and have more control of their lives.”
Bushra Jani, a professor at Baghdad’s Al-Mustansiriya
University, Agence France Presse, 7/03/03
“The pictures of Saddam Hussein have been stripped from
the yellowing walls of Baghdad’s cafes where men still
getting used to the idea of life without his regime sit
and discuss the ‘New Iraq.’”
Agence France Presse, 6/27/03
“A thousand thanks to Bush!”
Abdel Karim Hassan, in Basra, The New York Times,
6/27/03
“Iraqis are enthusiastically embracing the possibilities
of a free media after years of heavy censorship.
Alongside these do-it-yourself radio and TV stations,
dozens of newspapers representing every kind of
political viewpoint are suddenly available.”
BBC, 6/27/03
“[Sami] Qaftan said he is preparing an Iraqi version of
the 1960 drama ‘The Confused Sultan,’ by Egyptian author
Toufic al-Hakim. The story revolves around a leader who
is given a choice between using the rule of law or the
sword to prevent his people from criticizing him. Qaftan
said the play’s obvious parallels to Saddam Hussein’s
regime made it impossible to stage until now.”
Associated Press, 6/25/03
“It gives me an immense sense of hope. Being here and
seeing so many other people here signifies that, despite
everything, life goes on.”
Shafeeq al-Mahdi, an Iraqi playwright at a performance
at the al-Rashid Theater in Baghdad, Associated Press,
6/25/03
“Liberated from 35 years of stilted official TV
glorifying Saddam Hussein, Iraqis are snatching up
satellite dishes by the thousands. Cartoons, fitness
programs, movies and commercials are flooding into Iraqi
living rooms. These days, in fact, when a favorite show
comes on, Iraqis on rooftops yell to neighbors to alert
them.”
Associated Press, 6/25/03
“We’re like the blind who have been offered the gift of
sight.”
Mahabat Ahmad, an Iraqi who recently acquired satellite
television, Associated Press, 6/25/03
“They’re buying them [satellites] like they buy bread.
They say they’re buying freedom.”
Mohammed al-Mulla, a worker at an Iraqi electronics
store, Associated Press, 6/25/03
“They [the news staff] never had a chance to do their
own stories. There was no room for creativity.” Ahmad
al-Rikaby of the Iraqi Media Network, Associated Press,
6/25/03
“Iraqis are emerging from decades in which all
information was used as a mechanism of control. With
official news sources tightly managed by Hussein's son,
the Mukhabarat, or secret police, monitored and
disseminated jokes and rumors using agents from its
legendary Fifth Squad.”
The Boston Globe, 6/25/03
“I couldn’t show it to people in the past because of the
regime. Now I hang it up to show respect.”
Abbas Fadel, who displays a picture of his brother,
tortured and murdered by Saddam, Knight Ridder, 6/24/03
“Please, find out all of Saddam’s crimes and let the
whole world know about the reality of Saddam. He is the
evilest man that I ever saw.”
Basima Hamid, whose husband was hanged by Saddam for
studying to be a sheik, Knight Ridder, 6/24/03
“The Americans liberated the Iraqi people from a
despotic regime from which they suffered a lot. The
Iraqi people could not change that regime with their own
hands or overthrow it with their available means. The
Americans came and solved this problem quickly and
easily and in a way that gladdened the Iraqis.”
Baghdad Al-Balat, an Iraqi newspaper, 6/18/03
“This is a new sense of freedom for us. We are not in a
very secure society yet, but at least we can say
whatever we like.”
Firas Behnam, in Baghdad, Knight Ridder, 6/23/03
“Saddam Hussein’s regime had banned free e-mail and live
chat. Free e-mail would have dissuaded people from
signing up for subscriptions to Iraqi Internet service
providers. Now Iraqis are free to use the Internet as
they like.”
Knight Ridder, 6/23/03
“As all industries are frozen, the Iraqis are now
importing all kinds of things to make money. We are also
no longer afraid that some official will force us to
become partners and take part of our revenue.”
Muhsin Saadoun, operator of a taxi company and importer
of cars in Baghdad, Agence France Presse, 6/22/03
“It was very expensive for Iraqis to buy cars and so the
country was full of very old cars. The Iraqis now want
to enjoy new cars.”
A salesman in Iraq, Agence France Presse, 6/22/03
“I will run for mayor. Because we have freedom.”
Dhirgham Najem, a 23-year-old busboy in Najaf, The New
York Times, 6/22/03
“Interviews with dozens of Iraqis suggest that there is
one force that unites them: an almost messianic belief
in ‘demokratiya.’”
The New York Times, 6/22/03
“Look at Saddam here, they have painted his eyes. Now he
cannot see anymore. We also tore all his pictures from
our textbooks. I only left one portrait on my math
textbook as a souvenir, but I put mascara on his eyes
and colored his lips in red.”
Salam, a 10-year-old boy pointing to an old mural of
Saddam in Baghdad, Agence France Presse, 6/21/03
“This is the first time we as Shiites can represent
ourselves and talk with a loud voice. They never let us
express our feelings.”
Akil Dair, a part-time student at Baghdad University,
The New York Times, 6/21/03
“Owning or selling such songs was punishable by a
one-and-a-half year prison sentence under Saddam. After
being oppressed for 35 years, we are now scrambling to
grab these songs, to which we listen with impunity.”
Ahmad, whose shop in Baghdad is selling large amounts of
previously banned Shiite music, Agence France Presse,
6/18/03
“This is the freedom exhibition. I’m flying now.”
Mohammed Rasim, a 29-year-old Iraqi artist who was
finally able to show his paintings in an exhibit once
Saddam fell, Associated Press, 6/18/03
“Dr. Mowafak Gorea, director of the newly named Thawra
Hospital in Baghdad (it used to be Saddam Hospital),
believes the radical Shiites may get the attention, but
everyone from Communists to Christians to unemployed
engineers is doing the same thing: venting after decades
of tyranny so suffocating that parents couldn’t speak
freely at home for fear their children might repeat
something damning at school.”
Associated Press, 6/18/03
“We are so glad to be rid of Saddam Hussein.”
Habid Khanger, who waited to marry until Saddam fell and
his policies ended, USA Today, 6/17/03
“Why call us occupied? We are liberated.”
Mohammed Hanash Abbas, co-owner of Iqra’a bookstore in
Baghdad, Associated Press, 6/17/03
“America has shown us compassion we never had from
Saddam or fellow Arabs.”
Attallah Zeidan, co-owner of a small bookstore in
Baghdad, Associated Press, 6/17/03
“Saddam would not allow us here; he would slay whoever
came here. It’s freedom now!”
Salah Maadi Khafaji, an Iraqi swimming in a part of the
Tigris that had been off limits to ordinary Iraqis, Los
Angeles Times, 6/17/03
“I should have freedom to wear or not to wear the veil.
I don’t want to let these people dictate my thoughts. I
am an educated woman. I am a religious woman. I know my
duties to God.”
Kawkab Jalil, a woman in Baghdad who decided to take off
her veil, The Washington Post, 6/17/03
“When I leave my job at night, I am very happy, very
proud about myself. We must help the Americans, and show
them our traditions.”
Suhair Karmasha, the first Iraqi woman to work with the
Americans at Baghdad’s city hall, The Washington Post,
6/17/03
“In a nation where the secret police often used threats
against family members to blackmail citizens, many
people didn’t want to extend their families and give
Saddam’s agents even more leverage over their lives. But
now on Thursday evenings, hotels across Baghdad are
pulsing with the beat of traditional drums and the
shouts and songs of relatives welcoming honeymooning
couples.”
USA Today, 6/17/03
“We are happy about the American occupation because it
got rid of Saddam Hussein. But after all these years,
Iraqi people need to understand democracy, and that it
must come in stages.”
Noor Hadi, and engineering instructor at Baghdad
University, Chicago Tribune, 6/15/03
“It was only an Arabic ten-pin bowling competition, but
last week's tournament in the Gulf emirate of Qatar
marked Iraq's first foray back into the international
sporting arena since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein two
months ago. Mahmood Abbas, the country's leading
taekwondo coach, cannot wait to follow suit. Now, for
the first time for nearly two decades, Iraqi players and
trainers have no need to fear beatings or imprisonment
if they fail to secure a high finish in an international
competition or if one of their team-mates defects on an
overseas trip.”
London Daily Telegraph, 6/15/03
“At least we are free. Iraq is dark, but free. Soon we
will have both freedom and lights. This will be a very
happy day.”
Firas Sulieman, an Iraqi taxi driver, World Magazine,
6/14/03
"We are like newborn children. We are very, very happy."

Ali Hashem Jasim, in Iraq, Chicago Tribune, 6/13/03
"Bands of impoverished villagers upstream had cut the
levees that Hussein built expressly to destroy Iraq's
sprawling wetlands. Unshackled for the first time in
years, the Tigris and Euphrates rivers were now
refilling thousands of acres of dry marsh."
Chicago Tribune, 6/13/03
"We broke the dams when the Iraqi army left. We want to
teach our children how to fish, how to move on the water
again."
Qasim Shalgan Lafta, a Marsh Arab and former fisherman
who helped restore the water to the Iraqi wetlands that
Saddam had destroyed, Chicago Tribune, 6/13/03
"Before, we saw Saddam on one channel, then we saw
Saddam on another channel. When the signal went off,
we'd hear Saddam. Even in our dreams, we heard his
voice. It’s better than before."
Tahir Sadeq, an Iraqi hotel manager, The Washington
Post, 6/13/03
"Before, we couldn't speak. Before, we couldn't live.
But life has changed from bad to best in Sulaymaniyah. I
hope everyone in Iraq can live like us soon."
Abdul Karim, a 70-year-old Iraqi, The Atlanta
Journal-Constitution, 6/12/03
"The name of Saddam had a value among us, but now, I do
not love Saddam. I feel I have been deceived. I am
shocked to hear about his crimes against our people."
Yaaser Akram, an 11th-grade student in Baghdad,
Associated Press, 6/12/03
"In a country where the slightest criticism of Saddam's
personality cult was treated as treason, and public
adoration led to promotions and other rewards, almost no
one dared to speak the truth him for more than 33 years.
It took the sight of American tanks rolling through
their cities to get many Iraqis talking freely about
Saddam's reign."
Associated Press, 6/12/03
"We're trying to show the world that Iraqis have a great
culture."
Hisham Sharaf, directing the Baghdad Symphony Orchestra
in its first performance since the war, Agence France
Presse, 6/12/03
"People want to see the truth about Saddam. Saddam
always talked about his faith and what he was doing for
the country, but the reality was different."
Ali Zowrayi, former torture victim who now sells copies
of Saddam's home movies, Associated Press, 6/12/03
"I want to know the secrets of Saddam. Before, we
couldn't even say his name, and now we can know the
truth."
Abdul, who bought a copy of one of Saddam's home movies,
Associated Press, 6/12/03
"I am Ahmed Hassan. Five members of my family were
executed. I came here in order to help this
neighborhood."
Ahmed Hassan, giving his candidacy speech for the
district-wide council in Iraq, Los Angeles Times,
6/12/03
"Ibrahim Kadhim. I could not be appointed a teacher
because I was not a member of the Baath Party so I
worked as a merchant. I'd like to work on this committee
to help set aside the past."
Ibrahim Kadhim, giving his candidacy speech for the
district-wide council in Iraq, Los Angeles Times,
6/12/03
"The last few years have been a struggle for Iraq's
leading boy band, the not unmemorably named Unknown To
No One. Forced to rehearse in their car and record
birthday greetings for Saddam Hussein rather than the
love ballads they favor, the band members had difficulty
finding their voice. But after the U.S.-led war that
ousted Saddam, things are looking up."
Associated Press, 6/12/03
“I have no more fear now. From the moment Iraq was
liberated I felt as though my two sons had been brought
back to me.”
A woman whose 17-year-old son, Sardar Osman Faraj, was
executed in Iraq in 1985 and another was killed by
unknown assassins in 1992. Los Angeles Times, 6/8/03
“Every day I buy a different paper. I like them all.”
Ali Jabar, 28, picking up a Kurdish daily newly
available in Iraq, Washington Post, 6/8/03
“It's a big change. We used to get central instructions
from the Ministry of Information. Now we no longer do.
Azzaman is independent. It lets the readers learn and
decide the political currents.”
Abdel-Majid, of the Azzaman newspaper in Iraq,
Washington Post, 6/8/03
“Newspapers are not the only forum being used to express
political views in postwar Iraq. The walls of the
capital – once decorated with portraits of Saddam
Hussein – have become a battleground for competing
ideas. They even show a sense of humor. In Baghdad this
week, the following was neatly written in marker on the
back of a double-decker bus: ‘Very urgent, wanted: New
president for Iraq.’”
Washington Post, 6/8/03
“Things have changed. There’s not the same fear. I
didn’t see my future here before. Now, maybe I do.”
Ardelan Karim, who unsuccessfully attempted to flee Iraq
four times after escaping Saddam’s executioners, The New
York Times, 06/05/03
“This is like a dream for us. The Americans liberated us
and gave us our freedom. We hope they stay to protect
the minorities like us.”
Emir Farooq Saeed Ali Beg, a member of the formerly
persecuted Yazidi tribe, The Times (London), 06/05/03
“We are all very happy and comfortable. This is the
freedom we want.”
Yizmak Askander Abu, a teacher in Rassalin, The Times
(London), 06/05/03
"It is a good beginning. The people will feel better
when their bellies are filled. They will calm down. They
will see what is possible. Thank you, George Bush. Thank
you, America.”
Kissan Bahjet, distributing a new shipment of rations to
his fellow Iraqis, The Washington Post, 06/02/03
“I never allowed myself to live all these years. Every
day I thought, now they’re going to come and take me. I
was always waiting.”
Nasir al-Husseini, 22, who survived a mass execution at
age 10, The New York Times, 06/01/03
“For the first time in Iraq, democratic processes are
put in place to elect government officials. Democratic
elections are a new phenomenon in today’s Iraq. True
democracy appears with the absence of dictatorships and
tyranny.”
The Iraqi newspaper Al Naba, 06/01/03
“…[T]he Iraqi people are too happy that Saddam is gone.
Too happy.”
Salim, a citizen of Baghdad, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel,
06/01/03
“God willing, the guilty will be punished.”
An elderly Iraqi man at the site of a mass grave, The
Daily Telegraph (London), 06/01/03
"We are so happy, not just for the contract, but to work
again in our country with our people and our equipment
to help rebuild our country."
Loay Ibrahim Al-Saied, an Iraqi engineer whose company
received a contract to construct a highway bypass, PR
Newswire European, 5/30/03
“I want to watch all of the world, all channels in the
world. I want to watch freedom.”
Mohammed al-Khayat, an Iraqi who just purchased his
first satellite dish, The Baltimore Sun, 04/26/03
“Freedom means that Saddam is no longer around.”
Firas al-Dujaili, an Iraqi doctor, Associated Press,
5/29/03
“Freedom means to travel, to get the job I want, to
study in the college I want.”
Ahmed al-Samarai, a citizen of Iraq, Associated Press,
5/29/03
“No one knows what freedom means. When [we] were born,
we opened our eyes to Saddam and everything was
forbidden. Our life was all about fear.”
Salima al-Majali, a citizen of Iraq, Associated Press,
5/29/03
“All we have known is war, war and war. Everything was
forbidden.”
Suad al-Saham, a Shiite Muslim in Iraq, Associated
Press, 5/29/03
“I couldn’t teach the students the truth. I was unable
to tell them that we were ruled by a dictator. If I did,
my neck would be on the line.”
Wijda Khalidi, an Iraqi schoolteacher, Associated Press,
5/29/03
“I cannot describe how I am glad. After so many years of
dictatorship, we have chosen our own leader.”
Kemal Kerkuki, after participating in the election of
Kirkuk’s new mayor, The New York Times, 5/29/03
“What Naheda Muhammad Nage did to the textbook she uses
to teach social studies here was just as dramatic as the
toppling of Saddam Hussein statues or the looting of
Saddam Hussein palaces that took place after the
American-led invasion of Iraq. Ms. Nage used a pen to
cross out passages that focused on Mr. Hussein, the
Baath Party he represented and his many supposed
achievements. It was an act that could have led to her
death just a few months ago.”
The New York Times, 05/28/03
“Now that Iraq is free, we are demanding freedom and
equal rights that Iraqi women have always been deprived
of.”
Eman Ahmed, member of the Rising Iraqi Women’s
Organization, Associated Press, 5/21/03
“I can tell you all these things now because we are
free. Before, we lived like exiles in our own country.”
Suhaib Abbas Majeed, an Iraqi medical student, The
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 5/21/03
“Chosen by representatives of the various ethnic groups
in town, the council meets twice a week to discuss
everything from what to do with unexploded ordnance
lying around town to what to do with the remaining
Baathist functionaries. Trade with Syria has been
reopened, schools are functioning, and police are
patrolling together with the Americans.”
Description of the city of Mosul, Christian Science
Monitor, 5/21/03
“This is the first time in our lives we have experienced
democracy. It is a beautiful thing. Everyone is excited.
Everyone is here. …Not complaining. Coming to vote.”
Rabaab Mahmoud Kassar, a female attorney in Najaf who
participated in the election of the town’s new judges,
The Washington Post, 5/21/03
“The Iraqi people tried but failed to remove Saddam
Hussein for 35 years. It was a difficult task, and we
thank the Americans.”
Sayyed Bashir al-Musawi, an Iraqi cleric in northern
Baghdad, The Dallas Morning News, 5/20/03
“Every day in Iraq a few more newspapers start
publishing, taking advantage of the first freedom of
speech most Iraqis have ever known.”
The Times (London), 5/20/03
“Now, for the first time, we can say what we want. We
keep writing about the ex regime.”
Fuaad Ghazy, editor of the new Iraqi newspaper The News,
The Times (London), 5/20/03
“We’ve been living in jail for three decades. Now, we
are free. Help is coming. Day by day, life is for the
better.”
Saddam Agil, grandfather of five and resident of Basra,
USA Today, 5/20/03
"Before we used to commemorate the day hidden at home,
we were afraid of Saddam's agents who were everywhere
and spied on us. Today I feel happy."
Faithela Asam, an Iraqi Shiite, on publicly celebrating
the birthday of Mohamed for the first time in decades,
Agence France Presse, 5/19/03
"There is more freedom and more openness. ...we can
express ourselves freely and without threats."
Ali al-Fatlawi, a former Iraqi government reporter who
now writes for the independent Iraqi newspaper Assaah,
Associated Press, 5/19/03
"We are a free voice that does not belong to any party.
We wanted this channel to be free and speak in the name
of all Iraqi people."
Khalil al-Tayar, director of the new Karbala Television
station, Associated Press, 5/19/03
"Most Iraqis did not know what freedom was, but have
shown they prefer it after finding it now. Most Iraqis
do not know what democracy is, but they will certainly
love it once they taste it."
Amir Taheri, Al-Sharq al-Awsat, 5/19/03
"Good, good, good."
Iraqi children called as they ran up to U.S. troops,
Christian Science Monitor, 5/19/03
"We love you."
An Iraqi citizen in Mosul, speaking to L. Paul Bremer
III, the new U.S. civilian administrator for Iraq, Los
Angeles Times, 5/19/03
"As change settles over Iraqi society, one of the
quieter shifts in the nuts and bolts of life is
happening in school. Across the country, teachers are
discarding portions of history books, abandoning
‘patriotic education’ classes, and in some cases taking
down flags."
The New York Times, 5/19/03
"We can say anything we want in public. Now we’re free."

Safaz al Hellou, an Iraqi teenager, The Philadelphia
Inquirer, 5/19/03
"Some people say we issued declarations against the
Americans. But they are lying. We want to thank the
coalition troops. We want them to demonstrate the
rebuilding. We will give them a chance to do that."
Ali Rubaii, a representative for one of the four most
powerful clerics in Iraq, Washington Post, 5/15/03
"This is the first attempt for us to run our town by
ourselves. We are ready to rebuild our town, and we are
ready to rebuild our country."
Najim Abed Mahdi, a chairman of the Umm Qasr interim
town council, The Guardian (London), 5/15/03
"The Iraqi teams used to produce the champions of Asia
in many sports. They have declined since the arrival of
Uday. Now we want to rebuild them with the help of the
international community."
Sharar Haydar, president of the newly formed Free Iraq
Olympic Group and one of Uday Hussein's former torture
victims, The Guardian (London), 5/15/03
"For the residents of Baghdad, choosing what to read,
watch or listen to is no longer such a simple affair.
Following the collapse of the old regime, and a
temporary media void, there are now dozens of newspapers
on offer around the capital and in other major cities
across the country." BBC, 5/14/03
"It was not the usual start to a new school term. ‘Open
your books and turn to page four,’ the teacher
instructed the pupils sitting in the gloom of an unlit
classroom. Obediently they flicked through the pages
until they reached the familiar photograph of a smiling
Saddam Hussein standing in front of an Iraqi flag. ‘Now
rip it out,’ the teacher said, to the astonishment of
her pupils."
The Times (London), 5/14/03
"They couldn't leave one job for another without having
both a letter from their old employer releasing them
from their job and another letter from their new
employer accepting them. It blows their minds when we
tell them they should just do what they want, they don't
need our permission or anybody else's to change jobs."
Sgt. Mark Hadsell, describing some Iraqis’ difficulties
with freedom after living in a under Saddam Hussein,
Scripps Howard News Service, 5/14/03
"Trained under the old government that put Uday Hussein,
one of Saddam’s sons, in charge of the Union of
Journalists, the reporters and editors of Al Azzaman are
used to being forbidden to use certain words, like
‘democracy,’ or to examine certain issues, like the oil
industry. Almost every day, someone asks Mr. (Saad)
Bazzaz if it is all right to criticize some public
figure or another."
New York Times, 5/13/03
"The Americans did not come just to help the Kurds.
(Still) it's great to be free."
Ryzgar Azhi , in an Erbil tea house, New York Times,
5/13/03
"This is the happiest moment we all felt. It’s a
primordial feeling -- this tyrant coming down."
Yussra Hussen, San Francisco Chronicle, 5/12/03
"I am happy that Saddam is gone. The teachers told me to
love Saddam. My parents told me he was a bad man."
Dina, 7, U.S. News & World Report, 5/12/03
"We are not fighting anybody. We will not raise our
weapons because freedom is within our sight. We want an
Iraqi government that represents all Iraqis. Sunni and
Shia Muslims, Kurds, Turcomans and religious minorities
-- they will have their rights in this land."
Returned Iraqi exile Ayatollah Hakim, speech to Iraqis
in Najaf, London Daily Telegraph, 5/12/03
"It is best the USA removed this criminal man (Saddam)."

Sheik Al-Bo Aiesa Muzahin Ali Kareem, a clan leader who
turned over weapons in a gesture of good will,
Associated Press, 5/12/03
"(April 9th was) a good day for all Iraqis. The people
of Iraq want democracy. They lived without it for 35
years. It was like Russians under Stalin."
Ministry Engineer Ghassan Yassin, 53, Victoria
Times-Colonist (Canada), 5/11/03
"Beautiful, beautiful. Not Iraqi TV. Not Saddam Hussein
TV. Beautiful."
Akhbal Ibrahim Rashid watching her satellite
dish-equipped television, Los Angeles Times, 5/9/03
"We want to know everything, not just about Iraq but
about the whole world. Sales are very good. What was
prohibited is wanted."
Amir abu Abdullah, an overnight dish salesman whose shop
is his battered 1982 Chevrolet Celebrity, Los Angeles
Times, 5/9/03
"The first time in my whole life I've seen such things.
I feel free."
Yasir Abdul Razaq, 20, said while watching British news,
Israeli news and a program from Abu Dhabi about lions,
Los Angeles Times, 5/9/03
"In Iraq’s heady new atmosphere of freedom, political
parties have launched newspapers, radio stations and
small private armies. They are scrambling to woo voters
with promises of democracy, prosperity and free phone
calls to relatives abroad. After three decades of
official repression, a cacophonous jumble of
long-dormant ideologies has come tumbling out into the
daylight of the country’s unshackled political
marketplace."
Chicago Tribune, 5/9/03
"All my life I have been escaping. So I have dreamed of
freedom, of traveling abroad, of feeling life the way
all young people do. Maybe now I will."
Mohammed Khadum, 28, in Baghdad, Washington Post, 5/8/03

"Ihssan Wafiq Samarrai's greatest hopes now, he said,
are to publish and to travel. Iraq's downtrodden writers
and poets, who have endured a quarter-century of
censorship and surveillance, could board ‘a big ship,
like Noah's Ark,’ he suggested, for a six-month trip
around the globe. Even another desert, he said, would be
a welcome change."
Washington Post, 5/8/03
"I have to be back in the country. It is an exciting
time."
Widely read Iraqi poet Saadi Youssef, who has been
exiled in London, USA Today, 5/8/03
"We cover local religious activities in the city and
nearby provinces as far as we can. But we hope to
improve and widen our coverage to include all such
activities across Iraq. We need such productions. The
Iraqis have been deprived over 35 years from watching
religious programs."
Hassan Aday, Karbala TV channel’s religious program
producer, Abu Dhabi TV, 5/7/03
"Watching the armed men stride past her bread stall,
60-year-old Lulwa Alwan gave a toothless smile. ‘They
are welcome,’ she said as she flattened balls of dough
with both palms. A 30-year resident of the area, Alwan
said during Saddam's regime, police would stay on the
periphery of the (Hayyaniyah) housing area and avoid
walking through a crime-ridden neighborhood altogether.
‘They were afraid,’ she said, sniffing dismissively. ‘We
hope these soldiers will stay here for a long time.’"
Associated Press, 5/7/03
"It wasn’t the fall of Baghdad. It was the rise of
Baghdad."
Hasem Ali, 52, an Iraqi in London, Los Angeles Times,
5/7/03
"The exiles remember their tears and laughter, the
festive phone calls and frantic channel-surfing to
confirm their dream come true. And many recall the
thought that raced through their minds with the strange
speed of that statue tumbling down: Time to go home."
Los Angeles Times, 5/7/03
"[Schools] will have to change all the subjects. They
were about only Saddam."
Abdul Kareem, a professor in Iraq, Chicago Tribune,
5/6/03
"We are happy, so happy. For us, this is the real
meaning of freedom."
Basim Hajar, coauthor and director of a play criticizing
Saddam Hussein’s regime performed in a building where --
before the war -- only works sanctioned by the
government were allowed. Los Angeles Times, 5/5/03
"You cannot imagine what it means for us to be here on
this national stage, where everything we stand for was
forbidden. Now it is ours."
Oday Rashid, an Iraqi musician and documentary
filmmaker, Los Angeles Times, 5/5/03
"Officials with the Iraqi National Team said they hoped
to begin training soon for the Olympic qualification
games to be held next month in Damascus, Syria. About
200 athletes and other sports officials planned a
demonstration (May 5) in Baghdad to drum up support for
an Iraqi sports federation to replace the one headed by
Saddam Hussein's son, Uday. Uday is said to have
tortured and killed athletes who failed to win or
performed worse than expected."
New York Times, 5/5/03
"This is the first step on the road to democracy. I
promise I will be a faithful soldier."
Ghanam al-Basso, newly elected as Mosul’s mayor in
Iraq’s first vote since Saddam Hussein was ousted, New
York Times, 5/5/03
"This is something I just can’t forego. I’ve been
waiting for this moment for at least 30 years."
Fawaz Saraf, an Iraqi in Virginia who is headed to his
homeland to help rebuild, Washington Post, 5/4/03
"I think they suffered a lot, and they lost a lot when
Saddam came to power. They lost their country. They lost
their comforts. They felt so powerless, and they saw
such intense suffering by the people who couldn’t leave
the country. It’s so important for him to rebuild it."
Magda Cabrero, Saraf’s wife, 5/4/03
"I saw the world for the first time. I saw where we
were. I saw presidents and cities and people from
everywhere! The whole world!"
School Principal Bushra Cesar, after buying a satellite
TV dish, New York Times, 5/4/03
"Before, so many books were forbidden -- anything that
didn’t agree with the regime. Which means practically
everything that was ever printed!"
Imad Saad, a teacher selling books at a Baghdad street
market, Los Angeles Times, 5/3/03
"Now, everyone is talking and talking and talking,
without worrying, and without stopping. About absolutely
everything."
Mohammed Hishali, Café proprietor in Baghdad, Los
Angeles Times, 5/3/03
"We will keep on somehow. Now we have the most important
thing that we need. There is no one to stop us from
saying anything we want onstage."
Basim Hajar, coauthor and director of a play criticizing
Saddam Hussein’s regime performed in a building where --
before the war -- only works sanctioned by the
government were allowed. Los Angeles Times, 5/5/03
"Before, if I had sold this, they would have cut my head
from my body."
Imad Saad, selling a copy of an opposition-run paper,
Los Angeles, 5/3/03
"You tell Mr. Bush I think he must be a Muslim for what
he did for us.... This is God's land. Everyone deserves
it. Every Christian, every Jew and every Muslim needs to
live in peace -- and eat from God's gifts -- not from
Saddam Hussein's hands." Abdul Razak al Naami, a
sergeant in the Iraqi army until the Americans arrived,
Knight Ridder, 4-29-03 "Saddam and his birthday were a
black cloud over Iraq. We all want peace and freedom. He
deprived us of these things."
Moayed al-Duleimi, Associated Press, 4-29-03
"Today is a day of happiness for me, because we got rid
of him. He destroyed us. We ask God that he never
returns, because we are happy and -- God willing --
things will be better."
Munhal Taleb, Associated Press, 4-29-03
"After the war, we will see our country change for the
better, with freedom."
Jamila Jorj, a teacher in Baghdad,Washington Post,
4-29-03
"The resumption of school in Baghdad is the clearest
sign of hope for the future that many Iraqis have had in
years."
Washington Post, 4-29-03
"We had an open process of discussion among Iraqis that
has made me really optimistic about the future. We heard
a wide spectrum of views. This (political meeting) is
something Iraqis have not been able to do in 45 years."
Feisal Istrabadi, Washington Post, 4-29-03
"Until this year, the birthday of Saddam required
joyous, staged public festivals for the leader of the
35-year, iron-fisted regime. We would pretend we were
happy, but on the inside we were sad."
Abdul Razak al Naami, Knight Ridder, 4-29-03
"Iraqi people have a double personality. One is me when
I am in front of people related to the Baath Party, the
secret services, the family of Saddam; I support them.
Otherwise they would definitely put me in the jail or
execute me. Among friends, people I know I can trust, I
tell them what I really feel. Most Iraqis have that
double personality."
Shafiq Qadoura, Newsday, 4-29-03
"The soldiers of the 4th Infantry Division received a
much-needed and entirely unexpected treat when, after
months of waiting, their convoy finally reached Baghdad:
the sight of a Toyota filled with eight gleeful Iraqis,
all waving and cheering. Then came thousands of other
Iraqis, in cars and alongside the road, who hailed the
U.S. Army troops as the Humvees passed through the city.
The soldiers had missed most of the war after Turkey
denied their division passage into northern Iraq from
Turkish soil."
Los Angeles Times, 4-29-03
"America is like a new friend. I just met him. I must
give him a chance."
Haidar Ali al-Assadi, New York Times, 4-28-03
"Freedom has been inside us all along. But until now we
haven't practiced it."
Hamed Hussein, Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale), 4-28-03
"We are here hopefully to put down the structure or
agree on the skeleton of a government. We are here to
represent Iraqi women, who have in the past played very
little role in Iraqi politics."
Delegate Zainab al-Suwaij at a political meeting in
Baghdad, 4-28-03
"The people today after they were liberated from Saddam
want security and stability. People want real
participation. I am participating in this conference
because those who are concerned with Iraqi issues must
hear the voice of the people."
Delegate Hussein Sadr at a political meeting in Baghdad,
4-28-03
"Coming home after years abroad, Iraqis hugged and
kissed as the gathering began. ‘In Baghdad?’ one
delegate asked another in disbelief. ‘Yes, in Baghdad,’
the other replied."
Associated Press, report of political meeting in
Baghdad, 4-28-03
"Whenever we had those elections for president, everyone
voted for him 100 percent. And today nothing will
happen, and this will prove that none of us liked him,
not a one."
Hussein al-Khafaji, an Iraqi air force colonel,
Associated Press, 4-28-03
"Saddam was a criminal, a dictator, and fascist. I thank
the Americans a lot -- we praise them for ending Saddam,
with God’s help."
Khalid Rahim Hussein, Christian Science Monitor, 4-28-03

"On one patrol this week, a boy tending his father's
small grocery grabbed Air Force Technical Sgt. Keith
Westheimer's notebook and wrote a message in broken
English, hoping someone with clout would see it: ‘People
Iraqi in Mosul need king leader of Mosul. People Iraqi
very happy because Americans are here. Thank you. Karim
Salah, 17 years old.’"
Newsday, 4-27-03
"It is a happy day for us because we can pray freely. It
has been a long time."
Mohamed Ghalib, Associated Press, 4/25/03
"A 30-year-old secretary in Baghdad named Lina Daoud
ponders what lies ahead. Her words come out as pastel
bubbles: ‘We want a happy future, we want technology, we
want freedom, we want everything.'"
Washington Post, 4/25/03
"It’s a sight one old leatherneck said he ‘will never,
ever, ever forget’: a man bent and wizened by age,
pushing a wheelchair through the streets of a small town
in Iraq. In the wheelchair was ‘an extremely bent, aged
old woman,’ barely able to keep her balance in the
rickety contraption. As Marine Lt. Gen. Earl B.
Hailston, commander of U.S. Marine Corps Forces for U.
S. Central Command, passed by in his Humvee, the Iraqi
couple caught his eye. ‘Both gave a thumbs up, and the
old woman started blowing kisses. It’s something that
will never leave my mind.'"
Stars and Stripes, 4/25/03
“We are free to do things that were forbidden before.”
Ahmed Rubai, who sells previously banned satellite
dishes, Wall Street Journal, 4-24-03
“The long-oppressed Saudi Shiites would have been
heartened by their Iraqi counterparts' new-found freedom
to practice their religious rituals. This will encourage
them to press for their own rights.”
Saudi Arabian human rights activist Abdul Aziz
al-Khamis, Agence France Presse, 4-24-03
“It was like a dream. We heard the bombs falling and I
thought: 'We will die here.' But God gave me a new
life.”
Annis Mohammed Saboowalla, Associated Press, 4-24-03
“’We couldn't talk about all this under Saddam, we
couldn't look for our relatives who had disappeared or
we would disappear too,’ says one man, sliding his thumb
across his throat. “Being a relative of a prisoner meant
your women could be raped, your houses destroyed and all
your belongings confiscated, so most people kept
quiet.’”
An Iraqi man, Financial Times (London), 4-24-03
“With the end of Saddam Hussein's rule, hundreds of
thousands of Shi'ites from across Iraq were free to take
part in this year's pilgrimage unhindered by the
security forces who once outnumbered and arrested them.
As they entered the shrine to pray, women kissed its
marble walls and great wooden doors. As they exited, men
bowed deeply towards the shrine before turning their
backs. Shi'ites estimate that hundreds of thousands,
some say several million, have reached Karbala.”
The Australian, 4-24-03
“We used to be executed or thrown in jail forever for
doing this when Saddam Hussein was in power.”
Alaa al-Sarraf, in a procession, Reuters, 4-23-03
“This week marked the first time in nearly 30 years that
Iraq's majority Shi'a Muslims could pray without fear of
reprisal or execution by the government, and more than 1
million people flooded the holy city of Karbala to pay
homage at the shrines of Hussein and Abbas, two of the
most holy places for Shi'ites.”
The Boston Globe, 4-23-03
“This is the first time here for me. It is as if I am
waking from a nightmare.”
Mohammed Jabal, in a procession, Reuters, 4-23-03
“We're still awaiting our freedom, but this is the first
taste of it.”
Adnan Abdel-Mohsin, Washington Post, 4-23-03
“…crowds seemed to explode with fervor over their
newfound freedoms. Long processions from Baghdad and
cities in southern Iraq – Samawah, Nasiriyah, Najaf and
Basra – paraded through the streets, waving green, black
and red banners. Many stopped every few minutes to break
into chants, beating their chests or foreheads in a
ritual known as lutm.”
Washington Post, 4-23-03
“As in many lower-class parts of Iraq, some residents
said U.S. President George W. Bush had the right idea in
wanting to rid Iraq of Saddam. For two decades, the
lower classes have been impoverished to the point where
they felt they had nothing to lose.”
Victoria Times-Colonist (Canada), 4-23-03
“Bush gives us freedom. He is giving us a future.”
Abbas Ibrahim, Victoria Times-Colonist (Canada), 4-23-03

“For decades, we were used to watching ourselves. Now
you can think with words. But to talk loudly and to
think loudly takes time. Freedom needs practice, and it
takes practice to be free.”
Poet Mohammed Thamer, Washington Post, 4-22-03
“For two-and-a-half decades, the religious spectacle
unfolding in Iraq was unknown. The country's Shiite
majority, brutally repressed by Saddam's Sunni-dominated
cabal, was nominally permitted to make the pilgrimage,
but given little freedom to do so in practice…. If
pilgrims managed to make the journey at all, they did so
under a cloud of secrecy and fear. And yet, this amazing
story of religious freedom reborn has largely been
ignored. Instead, the front pages of newspapers have
been dominated by transient stories of looting and
unrest.”
The National Post (Canada), 4/22/03
“I cannot believe I am here today openly celebrating.
The government used to shoot us when we tried in the
past.”
Hamid Muhammad, New York Times, 4/22/03
“I walked all the way from Al Hendia to Karbala. I am so
excited I am able to visit Hussein (revered son-in-law
of Muhammad) now without fear.”
Mona Ibrahim, New York Times, 4/22/03
“We were prohibited from visiting these shrines for a
long time by the Baath Party and their agents. This year
we thank God for ridding us of the dictator Saddam
Hussein and for letting us visit these shrines.”
Abed Ali Ghilan, Associated Press Television News,
4/22/03
“To the south of Baghdad, thousands of Shiite Muslims
converged on two of Iraq's holy cities, exercising
religious freedom long denied them under Saddam.”
Associated Press, 4/22/03
“We are happy because we can follow our religion and
Saddam Hussein is gone.”
Ziat Haddi, The Gazette (Montreal, Quebec), 4/22/03
“Chanting and singing, hundreds of thousands of Shiite
Muslims from across Iraq walked toward the holy city of
Karbala on Monday, freely making a pilgrimage that had
been banned by Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.”
Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service, 4/22/03
“I say thank you (U.S. President George W.) Bush and
thank you (British Prime Minister Tony) Blair. Whatever
the reason, if it wasn’t for them, Saddam and his sons
would be still around for another hundred years.”
Mohsen Abdul Ali Zubei, Agence France Presse, 4/22/03
“More than 1 million Shiites have been marching to
Karbala, eager to reach the shrine in time for today's
mass rites. They have marched, as tradition prescribes,
because their annual season of mourning has come to an
end. And this year, they have marched because they
could. This is the first time in decades that Iraq's
Shiites have been free to commemorate the death of Imam
Hussein, grandson of the prophet Muhammad.”
Orlando Sentinel 4/22/03
"We need a natural life, a democratic life, like in any
other country…when I came into Baghdad, I saw the ruins,
but I also saw something else: freedom. We can be free."

Asad Quasi, a militia member, Washington Post, 17 April
2003
"Iraq has just emerged from a nightmare that lasted 35
years. The problems that Iraq has suffered under the
rule of Saddam's regime cannot be eliminated in one or
two days. Iraqis must hold several meetings until they
agree on what they deem appropriate for the
establishment of an interim government representing all
Iraqi factions and capable of preparing a permanent
constitution top be submitted to the people through a
public referendum before the nature of [the next]
government could be agreed. This requires a long time."
Muhammad Bahr-al-Ulum, Egyptian Radio, 16 April 2003
"I am ready to help. Thank you for liberating Iraq and
making it stable, I hope we have a very good friendship
with the United States."
Iraqi General Mohammed Jarawi to US Colonel Curtis Potts
after signing the surrender in western Iraq, Gold Coast
Bulletin (Australia), 16 April 2003
"A good leader can bring many things to Iraq. I can see
democracy happening in Iraq because they are good
people. They may take some time getting used to it, but
I can see it happening."
Tahani Hanna, 18 year old Iraqi expatirate, The Standard
(St. Catharines) 16 April 2003
"The people of Iraq do not want Islamic rule. For 35
years we have lived with no freedom, and these religious
leaders are not offering us freedom."
Taleb, Theater Director in Nasiriyah, London Daily
Telegraph, 4-16-03
“It was a great day…I never thought I would have this
freedom.”
Lt Sadeq Abdul Mohsen, deserted from Iraqi 63rd Infantry
Brigade, Newsweek, 4-21-03
“I can't express my feelings. All I feel is joy. This is
the first time I've seen this (Shiite celebrations) for
30 years. Saddam forbade everything. He forced us
underground.”
Sami Abbas, a Shia at the holy shrine of Kadhimiy,
Washington Post, 4-16-03
"I was afraid when I saw my city again, I would die of
happiness…this is the first day of my life."
Ahmed Yassin Hamakarim upon return to Kirkuk, which his
family had fled 15-years ago, U.S. News and World
Report, 4-21-03
"'Under Saddam, we were not allowed to have beards,' as
he fondly rubs a week's growth of stubble on his chin.
'This was just one more rule against the Shiite.'"
Feraz Hasan, Iraqi merchant, Toronto Star, 4-16-03
“As I drove into Basra, an ebullient crowd on a truck
was dragging a statue of Saddam Hussein through the
streets. When people saw me pull out my camera, they
began cheering and whacking Saddam's face. ‘Thank you,
Mr. Bush,’ one called out in English, and it was
delicious to watch this celebration of newfound
freedom."
The Gazette (Montreal, Canada), 4-14-03
“Storming the Al-Salam Presidential Palace, the looters
marveled bitterly at Saddam's life of luxury as they
passed shards of crystal from chandeliers and shattered
mirrors. ‘That's how our pharaoh lived,’ said one man,
who would not give his name. ‘Look how he lived when we
couldn't even get bread,’ said another."
Washington Post, 4-14-03
“British soldiers relaxed with citizens at a nearby
Iraqi home. Sitting Indian-style on Oriental rugs, they
ate with local men and women and passed around
wallet-sized photos of their English children.”
Scripps Howard News Service, 4-14-03
“Now people throw flowers at the few Warrior armored
vehicles still patrolling the streets and men, women and
children gathered along roadsides make peace signs and
thumbs-up signals at passing soldiers, shouting ‘Hello’
and ‘Thank you’ in English."
Birmingham Post, 4-14-03
“It's all very interesting. The images of the statue are
amazing. It's a new era in the Arab world, and we're
happy to see that. We hope there will be new democracy
in the Arab world… yes, the war was worth it.”
Ahmad, 40, watching events unfold in Kuwait, Agence
France Presse, 4-14-03
“(Selma Dakhel) wants her 10-year-old girl, Nadine, to
learn something other than to chant ‘I love Saddam’ at
school, she said. We ‘want freedom and a government
chosen by the people. We will have democracy in our new
time.’”
Chicago Tribune, 4-14-03
“A lot of people from here have been taken away and
tortured. We are very happy that Saddam is gone. We will
cooperate with the British and the Americans.”
Najim Abdullah Ahmed, near Tikrit, The Guardian, 4-14-03

“Oh my God, I feel free to live. I have hoped for this
day for so long.”
Hussain Thain, in Canada for two years, The Guardian
(Charlottetown), 4-14-03
“I'm happy, Iraq is free and Saddam is gone.”
Ali Al-Hajavi, 17, The Canadian Press, 4-13-03
“Smiling citizens crowded every street around the
American positions. There was a constant stream of
people willing to give information and loudly condemn
Saddam. American soldiers who a day before had been in
close combat were now basking in the cheers and
applause, their arms tired from returning friendly
waves.”
Time, 4-14-03
“There were women and children in the crowds, but only
the men did any talking. They would say the word Saddam
and spit. Or run up to U.S. soldiers and shout 'George
Bush good.'”
Time, 4-14-03
“The American people, particularly the movie stars
against us being here, need to see this. These people
need us. Look how happy they are.”
Sergeant Reuben Rivera in Iraq, Time, 4-14-03
“The downfall of Saddam Hussein's regime, metaphorically
incarnate in the toppling of his statue in Firdos Square
in Baghdad, filled me with hope. If the regime were
still in power, I would not have had the courage to
contribute even these few lines under my name to The New
York Times. Although I am a self-exiled Iraqi who has
lived in Beirut for the past two decades, I have family
and friends in Iraq – and I had every Iraqi's dread that
Saddam Hussein's security apparatus could sweep down on
them at any moment.”
Hussain Abdul-Hussain, New York Times, 4-11-03
“I now feel very free; I know that I'll be able to sleep
now. Saddam Hussein assassinated my brother in 1977 – he
was hanged in prison for insulting the president. It was
August 5, 1977, and since then my family has been
punished by the security services. Saddam's Iraq was a
dictatorship of torture, war and terror. So today is the
first day I can speak.”
Salim Jaffar, Sydney Morning Herald, 4-11-03
"Over the years, the Baath Party has urged family
members to write pro-Saddam slogans such as ‘Yes, Yes,
to the leader Saddam Hussein!’ on the walls of their
house. The family balked, prompting the local Baath
Party officials to paint the slogans themselves. This
week, one of the first steps the family took was to
scrape the slogans off.”
Los Angeles Times, 4-11-03
“There was no justice under Saddam. He could do with us
what he liked. The regime robbed the people."
Akkbal Abdulwahab, a teacher, Financial Times, 4-11-03
“We are still scared but we are happy. Thank God this
has happened and the Americans have come. Saddam gave us
nothing.
Maysoun Raheem, The Advertiser, 4-11-03
“As long as (Saddam) is gone, who cares if he is dead or
in Paris?”
An elderly man in Iraq, The Advertiser, 4-11-03
“Iraqis watched with an amazement they dared not express
before Wednesday's tumultuous collapse, as the
dictator's aura of power faded to something akin to that
of a petty thief on the run. It was as though they had
awakened from a long, troubling sleep.”
The Age (Melbourne), 4-11-03
“We don't consider the presence of American soldiers as
an occupation. They came to free us from injustice,
tyranny and slavery. Under Saddam Hussein, our lives had
no value, no sense.”
Diya Abdul Hussein, Agence France Presse, 4-11-03
“If the Americans are restoring our liberty they are
welcome, and if they respect our dignity they can stay
as long as they choose.”
Agence France Presse, 4-11-03
“We are one again. Finally, we are one. I am 50 years
old, but my life just started today.”
Kareem Mohammad Kareem, Associated Press, 4-11-03
“We've been up all night watching TV, but we're not
tired. We're too excited to sleep. I wanted them (his
daughters) to see this historic day. This is the day of
our freedom.”
Ali Il-Sayad of Dearborn, Mich., The Australian, 4-11-03

“This is a moment I was looking for all these years;
it's like a dream coming true.”
Ridha Jawad Taki, Orlando Sentinel, 4-10-03
“I'm from Halabja," said Kafya Aziz, watching as a crowd
swelled in Governor's Square. “I escaped the chemicals,
but my son and husband did not. I'd like to cut Saddam
to pieces for all he's taken. I'm happy today. I'm too
old, or I'd be dancing.”
Los Angeles Times, 4-10-03
“Firecrackers popped. Women wearing bright dresses and
new lipstick walked arm in arm on the sidewalks as
children, some sitting in the laps of their
cigar-smoking fathers, smiled amid a joy they were too
young to comprehend.”
Los Angeles Times, 4-10-03
“I'm so glad for victory. We've suffered much. As you
see, I am not normal. I was in Saddam's prison, and then
they forced me to fight on the front lines of the
Iran-Iraq war. I was shot in the spine and cannot walk.
This is the first day of my happiness.”
Taha Hamma Mamrashid, Los Angeles Times, 4-10-03
“We have just been saved. You know what this day means
to me? It means never having to be afraid of another
chemical attack. It means never having to fear my
children's future.”
Halala Osman, Wall Street Journal, 4-10-03
“Now my son can have a chance in life.”
Bushra Abed, Washington Times, 4-10-03
“I saw it with my own eyes. People in Baghdad were
dancing in the streets and burning Saddam's pictures and
no one was firing at them. That was proof to me that
Saddam is over.”
Taher Hassan, Sulaimaniyeh shopkeeper, Wall Street
Journal, 4-10-03
“Today is a clear lesson for dictatorships in the Arab
world. I think they should start looking for ways to
change their people's lives.”
Mohammed al-Jassim, editor of Kuwaiti newspaper
al-Watan, Washington Times, 4-10-03
“We discovered that all what the information minister
was saying was all lies. Now no one believes Al Jazeera
anymore.
Ali Hassan, Associated Press, 4-10-03
“Today, though, Adnan was a happy man, so happy that he
could barely restrain his excitement. He was finally
freed from a prison in downtown Basra, after British
troops entered the city and drove the remaining
defenders away. And as he took a small group of American
journalists on a tour of the hospital, he
enthusiastically led a crowd of fellow ex-prisoners,
their families, friends and passersby in the first
rendition of a pro-American chant that any of us have so
far heard: ‘Nam nam Bush , Sad-Dam No’ (‘Yes, yes, Bush,
Saddam No’). They chanted and danced, filling one of
their former cells in a spontaneous celebration.”
Newsweek, 4-10-03
“It's like a birthday. We're ready to make a new Iraq.”
Ibrahim Al-Mansori, a 31-year-old butcher from Basra,
New York Times, 4-10-03
“We have waited many years for this. Saddam is evil and
he has gone. He killed Muslims, his own people and stole
our money to buy palaces and cars and guns. He must pay
the full price.”
Abal Malam Al Fussah, a student in Basra, The Sun,
4-10-03
“Man, I am very excited, every Iraqi person is very
happy. We feel like we are reborn again. No more Saddam
regime, no more of the Ba'ath Party. We are very happy,
now we have got earth to go back to. We love America and
we love Iraq too. This is like heaven for me right now.”

An Iraqi American, Channel NewsAsia, 4-10-03
“People, if you only knew what this man did to Iraq. He
killed our youth. He killed millions.”
An elderly man in Baghdad beating Saddam’s portrait with
his shoe, Los Angeles Times, 4-10-03
“As night fell, residents throughout Baghdad exuberantly
embraced a new sense of freedom after decades lived in
fear of an oppressive regime. While U.S. troops and
tanks moved throughout the city, the citizens of Baghdad
danced in the streets, waving rifles, palm fronds and
flags. Shouts of traitor, torturer and dictator rang out
in reference to the Iraqi president.”
USA Today, 4-10-03
“It was dangerous, it was impossible, to say, ‘Down with
Saddam.’ But we have lived 35 years with the Baath
Party. Today I am very free and I can talk. And I say,
Thank you, Mr. Bush.”
Los Angeles Times, April 10, 2003
“I haven't seen such exhilarating scenes since the
implosion of the Soviet empire in the late 1980s. What
we have witnessed is something that the Iraqi people
wanted the world to know, and that is they are glad to
be rid of the loathsome dictator, Saddam Hussein.”
Australian Prime Minister John Howard, Agence France
Presse, 4-10-03
"Now my son can have a chance in life."
Bushra Abed, Washington Times, 4-10-03
"I saw it with my own eyes. People in Baghdad were
dancing in the streets and burning Saddam's pictures and
no one was firing at them. That was proof to me that
Saddam is over."
Taher Hassan, Sulaimaniyeh shopkeeper, Wall Street
Journal, 4-10-03
"In the most visible sign of Saddam's evaporating power,
the 40-foot statue of the Iraqi president was brought
down in the middle of Firdos Square. Cheering Iraqis,
some waving the national flag, scaled the statue and
danced upon the downed icon, now lying face down. As it
fell, some threw shoes and slippers at the
statue....'I'm 49, but I never lived a single day,' said
Yusuf Abed Kazim, a Baghdad imam who pounded the
statue's pedestal with a sledgehammer. 'Only now will I
start living. That Saddam Hussein is a murderer and a
criminal.'"
Washington Post online, 4-9-03
“It confirms why we're here. This regime, all it does is
honor itself. They build these huge lavish living
quarters for the select few, but the rest of the country
lives dirt-poor.”
Lt. Col. Rock Marcone, USA Today, 4-8-03
“The unit's interpreter, Khuder al-Emiri, is a local
hero, a guerrilla leader who was forced to flee… in
April 1991 after leading a failed uprising against
Saddam Hussein. Word of Mr. Emiri's arrival spread
through town by way of children's feet. Their hero was
with the Americans and the crowd believed the marines'
intentions were good. They began to chant in English.
'Stay! Stay! U.S.A.!'”
New York Times, 4-8-03
“The euphoria nearly spilled over into a riot. Children
pulled at the marines, jumped on their trucks, wanting
to shake their hands, touch their cheeks. A single
chicken hung in the butcher's window and still the
residents wanted to give the Americans something,
anything. Cigarette? Money?”
New York Times, 4-8-03
“You are owed a favor from the Iraqis. We dedicate our
loyalty to the Americans and the British. We are
friends."
Iraqi Ibrahim Shouqyk to Marines, New York Times, 4-8-03

“For years we have lived oppressed lives here. Sunday
was a day we had prayed for and now we are free of
Saddam’s rule.”
Qusay Rawah, a student in Basra, Daily Mirror, 4-8-03
“The whole Iraq will be happy if the news about Saddam’s
death is confirmed.”
Hussein Al-Rekabi, Iraqi exile of 30 years now in
Kuwait, Arab News, 4-8-03
“For some, it was a day to hand flowers to British
soldiers stationed in armored vehicles at a traffic
circle or to gawk at British troops patrolling the city
on foot beside their armored vehicles. For others, it
was a day to vent rage at icons of the former
authority.”
Washington Post, 4-8-03
"The reception that we received by the Iraqis have been
mainly positive. Many children have come up to me
wanting to hold my hand. Many of the British troops have
been kissed by the children as they’ve gone by. Now, a
few people have motioned to go back or to leave but
they’re certainly in the minority."
Travis Fox, washingtonpost.com, 4-7-03
“The Marines here are still concerned some Iraqi
fighters remain. ‘Keep away from the area,’ scream the
loud speakers in Arabic. ‘It is for your security. The
coalition forces will not hesitate to shoot you.’ But
hundreds ignored that, surging forward to greet the
Marines with an emotional celebration in this
predominantly Shia Muslim town.”
CNN Correspondent Bob Franken, 4-7-03
"The closer the marines got to Baghdad, the warmer their
reception. Troops soon encountered cheering crowds, with
some people giving the thumbs-up sign. ‘You go to
Baghdad, and then I am free,’ an Iraqi man told one
soldier."
U.S. News and World Report, 4-14-03
"We shall never forget what the coalition has done for
our people. A free Iraq shall be a living monument to
our people's friendship with its liberators."
Hojat al-Islam Abdel Majid al-Khoi, Wall Street Journal,
4-7-03
"’Ameericaah?’ a little girl asked a Marine who had
entered her village and taken a defensive position as
others began to search homes. The streets were deserted.
People peered around their gates. The Marine smiled,
wiggled his fingers in the girl's direction and her fear
– and that of the rest of the townspeople – melted.
Within minutes people had left their houses and began to
shake hands with the Marines. Liberation from the
strictures of the regime of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein
had come for a nameless village just a few miles from
downtown Baghdad.”
United Press International, 4-7-03
“When some (Iraqi paramilitaries) fled, civilians from
the nearby Shia Flats slum poured onto the streets in
support of the British attack. Some shouted and cheered,
greeting the British soldiers with waves, thumbs up and
smiles. Other surrounded and attacked the fleeing
Fedayeen Saddam forces.”
Washington Times, 4-7-03
“Believers (should) not to hinder the forces of
liberation, and help bring this war against the tyrant
to a successful end for the Iraqi people…. Our people
need freedom more than air (to breathe). Iraq has
suffered, and it deserves better government."
Ayatollah Ali Mohammed Sistani, Wall Street Journal,
4-7-03
“The cool, cement walls were welcome relief from the
blistering afternoon heat. The colonel walked across a
worn rug and sat at the far end of the room, next to the
community patriarch, an old man who stayed mostly
silent. The patriarch's eldest son, 63-year-old Said
Brahim, served as ambassador. ‘We are so happy to see
the Americans forces,’ Mr. Brahim told a Marine
translator.”
Detroit News, 4-7-03
“Hundreds of people poured out to welcome and shake
hands with the soldiers. Women in chadors hovered in the
background, as soldiers talked and joked with civilians
and let some boys look through their gunsights. A
jubilant crowd of about 100 Iraqis surrounded two
British tanks near a Saddam mural and cheered the
soldiers inside, giving one soldier a small bunch of
yellow flowers.”
Associated Press, 4-7-03
"Ayatollah Ali Mohammed Sistani is...the undisputed
A'alam al-ulema (the most learned of the learned) of the
mullahs who minister to the religious needs of Shiites,
60 percent of Iraq's population. This week he will
resume lectures, banned by the Saddam regime for seven
years, at the oldest Shiite seminary.
"....[T]he ayatollah said he had advised 'believers not
to hinder the forces of liberation, and help bring this
war against the tyrant to a successful end for the Iraqi
people....Our people need freedom more than air [to
breath]. Iraq has suffered, and it deserves better
government.'"
Op-Ed by Amir Taheri, Wall Street Journal, 4-7-03
"As dusk fell yesterday evening, only a small girl
dressed in rags could be seen on the streets of Jazirah
al-Hari. She approached a [British] tank standing guard
at one end of the village, and said: 'My parents will
not come, but we need water.' The tank driver leant down
and gave her a bottle of water. 'This is why we've come,
isn't it?' he said."
The Daily Telegraph (UK), 4-1-03
"U.S. troops [are] getting a very warm welcome from the
local Shia population. Now naturally, the Shiites...have
no love lost for the Iraqi leader President Saddam
Hussein. They have been very repressed by him in the
past. And obviously...what they believe to be a
continuous presence that they can count on, interest
from the U.S. troops is something that they are quite
happy to see."
Ryan Chilcote, CNN correspondent, 4-2-03
"Hundreds of Iraqis shouting 'Welcome to Iraq' greeted
U.S. Marines who entered the town of Shatra....'There's
no problem here. We are happy to see Americans,' one
young man shouted. The welcome was a tonic for soldiers
who have not always received a warm reception despite
the confidence of U.S. and British leaders that the
Iraqi people were waiting to be freed from Saddam
Hussein's repression. 'It's not every day you get to
liberate people,' said one delighted Marine."
The Independent (UK), 4-1-03
"'Saddam has given us nothing, only suffering,' said
Khalid Juwad, with his cousin, Raad, nodding in assent.
Mr. Juwad said he had four uncles who were in Hussein's
jails, and he said he had deserted from the Iraqi Army
three times in recent years. 'If the Americans want to
get rid of Saddam, that's O.K. with me,' he said. 'The
only thing that would bother me is if they don't finish
the job. Then Saddam will come back, like he did in
1991.'"
New York Times, 3-31-03
"We've been waiting for you for 10 years. What took you
so long?’ said an Iraqi man who, along with more than
500 others, surrendered near the Rumaila oil fields.
Many had written such phrases as ‘U.S.A. O.K.’ on their
arms or hands. Some even tried to kiss the hands of the
nervous young Marines guarding them.”
Newsday, 3-24-03
“Ajami Saadoun Khlis, whose son and brother were
executed under the Saddam regime, sobbed like a child on
the shoulder of the Guardian’s Egyptian translator. He
mopped the tears but they kept coming. ‘You just
arrived,’ he said. ‘You're late. What took you so long?
God help you become victorious. I want to say hello to
Bush, to shake his hand. We came out of the grave.’”
The Guardian, 3-22-03
“As Iraqi Americans reach out to their relatives in
Baghdad and Basra, in Kirkuk and Irbil, some are hearing
words they never thought possible: Iraqis are speaking
ill of Saddam Hussein. They're criticizing him out loud,
on the telephone, seemingly undeterred by fear of the
Iraqi intelligence service and its tactics of torture
for those disloyal to the Baath Party regime. ‘I was
shocked,’ said Zainab Al-Suwaij, executive director of
the American Islamic Congress, a nonprofit group in
Cambridge, Mass., that promotes interfaith and
interethnic understanding. ‘It's very dangerous. All the
phones are tapped. But they are so excited.’”
Los Angeles Times, 3-24-03
“’Me and my husband, an old man, have to stay at home
because we are afraid. We want the American government
to remove Saddam Hussein from power and kick these
soldiers out of these hills.’”
Fatma Omar, San Francisco Chronicle, 3-24-03
“‘We're very happy. Saddam Hussein is no good. Saddam
Hussein a butcher.’”
Abdullah (only identification available), as he welcomed
U.S. troops in Iraq
Associated Press, 3-21-03
“I have been waiting for this for 13 years. I hate him
more than American government because I told you the
Iraq government killed many people from Iraq. They just
put (my brother) in jail for a year. After this, they
killed him because he don't want to go to the army
because his brother is American citizen, and his brother
lives in United State.”
Ayid Alsultani, WFIE-14 television station in
Evansville, Indiana, 3-24-03
“‘(The trip) had shocked me back to reality.’ (Some
Iraqis) told me they would commit suicide if American
bombing didn't start. They were willing to see their
homes demolished to gain their freedom from Saddam's
bloody tyranny. They convinced me that Saddam was a
monster the likes of which the world had not seen since
Stalin and Hitler. He and his sons are sick sadists.
Their tales of slow torture and killing made me ill,
such as people put in a huge shredder for plastic
products, feet first so they could hear their screams as
bodies got chewed up from foot to head.”
Kenneth Joseph, anti-war demonstrator who traveled to
Iraq with Japanese human shield volunteers, UPI, 3-21-03

“I was shocked when I first met a pro-war Iraqi in
Baghdad - a taxi driver taking me back to my hotel late
at night. ‘Don't you listen to Powell on Voice of
America radio?’ he said. ‘Of course the Americans don't
want to bomb civilians. They want to bomb government and
Saddam's palaces. We want America to bomb Saddam.’ … The
driver's most emphatic statement was: ‘All Iraqi people
want this war.’… Perhaps the most crushing thing we
learned was that most ordinary Iraqis thought Saddam
Hussein had paid us to come to protest in Iraq. Although
we explained that this was categorically not the case, I
don't think he believed us. Later he asked me: ‘Really,
how much did Saddam pay you to come?’” Daniel Pepper in
an article “I was a naive fool to be a human shield for
Saddam,”
Sunday Telegraph, 3-23-2003
“As US forces push deep into Iraq, farmers and remote
villagers are greeting them with white flags and waves.
But the ground forces, backed by massive artillery and
air support, are encountering pockets of resistance from
Iraq's military. One man, about 30, yesterday ran from a
field towards a US convoy shouting insults about Iraqi
leader Saddam Hussein. Other men and boys stood in
fields waving white flags. In keeping with the local
Muslim custom, no girls or women appeared from their
houses.”
Lindsay Murdoch in southern Iraq, The Sun-Herald,
3-23-2003
“….The return of the Americans to Safwan was also an
occasion for hope, even if mixed with wariness. ‘Saddam
finished!’ shouted another young [Iraqi] man, who gave
his name as Fares. ‘Americans are here now.’ His friend,
Shebah, added, in broken English, ‘Saddam killed
people.’”
Washington Post, 3-23-03
“Coming into Basra as part of a massive military convoy,
I encountered a stream of young men, dressed in what
appeared to be Iraqi army uniforms, applauding the US
marines as they swept past in tanks.”
BBC reporter, 3-22-03
"Ajami Saadoun Khlis, whose son and brother were
executed under the Saddam regime, sobbed like a child on
the shoulder of the Guardian's Egyptian translator. He
mopped the tears but they kept coming. 'You just
arrived,' he said. 'You're late. What took you so long?
God help you become victorious. I want to say hello to
Bush, to shake his hand. We came out of the grave.'"
The Guadian, 3-22-03
“As hundreds of coalition troops swept in just after
dawn, the heartache of a town that felt the hardest
edges of Saddam Hussein's rule seemed to burst forth,
with villagers running into the streets to celebrate in
a kind of grim ecstasy, laughing and weeping in long
guttural cries.
“‘Oooooo, peace be upon you, peace be upon you, peace
you, oooooo,’ Zahra Khafi, a 68-year-old mother of five,
cried to a group of American and British visitors who
came to the town shortly after Mr. Hussein's army
appeared to melt away. ‘I'm not afraid of Saddam
anymore.’”
New York Times, 3-22-03
"We've been driving since dawn today in southern Iraq,
and so far we've come across scores of Bedouin herdsmen.
We've been greeted by friendly greetings of ‘inshallah’
and ‘salaam aleikum’…we've seen both women and men
waving greetings and shouting greeting to the U.S.
troops.”
Radio Free Europe correspondent Ron Synovitz, 3-21-03
"They told me that Saddam Hussein is not allowing anyone
to leave Baghdad. I don't fear the Americans. I was in
Baghdad in the war in 1991 and I saw how surgical an
operation it was. Saddam Hussein has persecuted everyone
except his own family. Kurds, Arab Shiites, Turkoman -
everybody has suffered. But our country was a rich
country and we can be rich again.'”
Financial Times Information, 3-21-03
"These are US Marines being greeted if not with
garlands, with hand shakes by residents of the town in
the deep-south corner of Iraq.”
CBS News, 3-21-03
"One little boy, who had chocolate melted all over his
face after a soldier gave him some treats from his
ration kit, kept pointing at the sky, saying 'Ameriki,
Ameriki.'"
Associated Press, 3-21-03
"Milling crowds of men and boys watched as the Marines
attached ropes on the front of their Jeeps to one
portrait and then backed up, peeling the Iraqi leader's
black-and-white metal image off a frame. Some locals
briefly joined Maj. David 'Bull' Gurfein in a new cheer.
'Iraqis! Iraqis! Iraqis!' Gurfein yelled, pumping his
fist in the air...
"....A few men and boys ventured out, putting makeshift
white flags on their pickup trucks or waving white
T-shirts out truck windows....'Americans very good,' Ali
Khemy said. 'Iraq wants to be free. Some chanted,
'Ameriki! Ameriki!'
"Gurfein playfully traded pats with a disabled man and
turned down a dinner invitation from townspeople.
'Friend, friend,' he told them in Arabic learned in the
first Gulf War.
"'No Saddam Hussein!' one young man in headscarf told
Gurfein. 'Bush!'"
Associated Press, 3-21-03
"Iraqi citizens were shown 'tearing down a poster of
Saddam Hussein' and Dexter Filkins of The New York Times
was interviewed, saying that Iraqis he had seen were
'hugging and kissing every American they could find.'"
NBC Nightly News, 3-21-03
"Here was a chance to stop and I clambered down, eager
to get a first word from an Iraqi of what he thought of
this whole affair. 'As salaam alekum,' I said in the
traditional greeting, then ran out of Arabic and quickly
added, 'Do you speak English?' No go. But with a fumbled
exchange of gestures we slowly managed to communicate.
Thumbs up for the American tanks, thumbs down for Saddam
Hussein. Then he pointed north into the distance and
said 'Baghdad.'"
Reuters, 3-21-03
"A line of dancing Kurdish men, staring directly into
the mouth of the Iraqi guns less than a mile away,
defiantly burned tires, sang traditional new years songs
and chanted, 'Topple Saddam.'
"March 21 is the Kurdish New Year....And bonfires have
long been a symbol of liberation in this part of the
world. 'We're celebrating [Nawroz] a national holiday,'
said Samad Abdulla Rahim, 22. 'But today we also
celebrate the attack on Saddam.'
"Many expressed hope that deadly fire would light the
night sky over Baghdad in the days ahead, bringing an
end to the Kurd's epic 30-year struggle against Hussein
and his Baath Party. 'I can't wait for the U.S. planes
to come and liberate Kirkuk,' said Shahab Ahmed Sherif,
a 33-year-old Kurd who had fled the oil-rich city four
days earlier."
Copley News Service, 3-21-03
Unidentified Iraqi man: "Help us live better than this
life. Let us have freedom."
ABC World News Tonight, 3-21-03

God Bless America, Mr. George
Georgemvw69@hotmail.com
http://groups.msn.com/NeoCons
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/neocons/
http://www.blogger.com/blog.pyra?blogid=5364250

From http://www.whitehouse.gov

Liberation Update
“Mobile phones rang Tuesday morning, ushering in the
cellular era for Iraqis long deprived of the latest in
information technology during their isolation under the
fallen strongman Saddam Hussein.”
Agence France Presse, 7/22/03
“Thanks to them [the U.S. army] the security is good.
Without them, people would be killing each other.”
Abdul Wahed Mohsen, in Iraq, Los Angeles Times, 7/22/03
“Even the blind can see what Saddam Hussein did, taking
Iraq into so many wars and doing little even for this
town, no sports club, no decent hotels.”
Wail al-Ali, Tikrit’s new mayor, The Guardian, 7/22/03
“Also, some 85 percent of primary and secondary schools
and all but two of the nation's universities have
reopened with a full turnout of pupils and teachers. The
difference is that there no longer are any mukahebrat
(secret police) agents roaming the campuses and sitting
at the back of classrooms to make sure lecturers and
students do not discuss forbidden topics. Nor are the
students required to start every day with a solemn oath
of allegiance to the dictator.”
National Post (Canada), 7/22/03
“A stroll in the open-air book markets of the Rashid
Street reveals that thousands of books, blacklisted and
banned under Saddam Hussein, are now available for sale.
Among the banned authors were almost all of Iraq's best
writers and poets whom many young Iraqis are discovering
for the first time. Stalls, offering video and
audiotapes for sale, are appearing in Baghdad and other
major cities, again giving Iraqis access to a forbidden
cultural universe.”
National Post (Canada), 7/22/03
“We don’t know who are those people who say that. They
are outlaws. They just want to make problems.”
Abdul Wahed Mohsen, on anti-U.S. sloganeering in Iraq,
Los Angeles Times, 7/22/03
“The Americans are giving the Iraqis the space to get
our affairs in order.”
Sheikh Khalid Al-Nuami, a representative on the Najaf
ruling council, Agence France Presse 7/21/03
“We are flying with happiness since Saddam is gone.”
Zahar Hassan, in Iraq, Agence France Presse, 7/21/03
“There’s more opportunity, more chances to earn money.”
Um Khalid, on life in post-Saddam Baghdad, The Christian
Science Monitor, 7/21/03
“There is a lack of security, but psychologically,
things are better, because freedom is nice.”
Ali Shaban, in Iraq, The Christian Science Monitor,
7/21/03
“Let the Americans stay, they protect us. I don’t see
them hurting anyone.”
A mother living in Baghdad, The Christian Science
Monitor, 7/21/03
“Before it was all about Saddam and his followers. Now
there are different topics.”
Hassan Ali, on the Iraqi newspapers, The Christian
Science Monitor, 7/21/03
“He [Uday] was a sick man, and he kept lions and tigers
just to show his manhood, to show everyone that he cared
more about animals than people. But he amputated their
claws, and he took away their freedom, just like the
people.”
Alaa Karim, a Baghdad zoo employee, The Washington Post,
7/21/03
“[Uday] was a bad man, and he used to beat the soccer
players if they lost a game. I think he used to treat
the lions better than the people.”
Mussab Ismas, a 13-year old boy, viewing Uday’s lions at
the Baghdad zoo, The Washington Post, 7/21/03
“But the shock for a first time visitor to Iraq is that
the destruction committed by Saddam’s tyranny is so much
worse than advertised. … The most horrible damage on
Iraqis was inflicted by Saddam himself. The Americans
who are giving their lives to stop his Middle East
Stalinism will end up saving many more lives.”
Wall Street Journal, 7/21/03
“I can see that the American soldiers are free. In our
old army, we were always under pressure and strict
military orders. There was tough punishment.”
Raad Mamoud, a former Iraqi soldier, USA Today, 7/21/03
“Before, I would not even say hello to them [Iraqi army
officers]. We are all equal now. This is justice.”
Husham Berkal, an enlisted soldier in the former Iraqi
army, USA Today, 7/21/03
“When I heard on the radio that the Baathists had seized
power I was not surprised. I was hoping it would make
the situation better but, well, you can see. I have hope
that things will get better now, that the new government
can get rid of all the problems.”
Abdul Karim al-Qaissi, a pharmacist in Baghdad, on the
anniversary of the Baath Party’s seizing power, Agence
France Presse, 7/17/03
“But I blame the Baath [for problems with security and
infrastructure]. It’s not the Americans’ fault. I like
the Americans.”
Nuri Mansour, in Baghdad, Agence France Presse, 7/17/03
“Iraqis were living a good life. We had security, jobs,
people were getting paid. People used to get on and
would help each other…”
Nuri Mansour, reflecting life before the Baath Party
overthrew the Iraqi government in 1968, Agence France
Presse, 7/17/03
“During the Baath Party’s time we didn’t see 1,000th of
Iraq’s wealth come to us.”
Yasua, an Iraqi man in Baghdad, Agence France Presse,
7/17/03
“I hope Iraq comes back strong. I am in favor of the new
government.”
Uday Kadhu, a Baghdad car salesman on the Iraqi archery
team, Agence France Presse, 7/16/03
“The residents of glorious Fallujah suffered from the
confiscation of freedom and the absence of justice under
the dictatorial regime.”
A statement released by the “League of Fallujah
Residents,” Agence France Presse, 7/16/03
“The Governing Council is a step towards building a
free, democratic Iraq.”
Iraqi newspaper Al-Zawra, 7/15/03
“In our opinion, the most significant thing about the
formation of the transitional Governing Council is that
it includes important personalities that are known to
the masses and that represent the different political,
national, democratic and progressive forces, as well as
independent political organizations and religious
denominations.”
Iraqi newspaper Al-Manar, 7/15/03
“I felt that we had gone back to the year 1930. I feel
that Iraq has started back from zero. We have wasted 75
years waiting to taste freedom.”
Hadid al-Gailani, after the Governing Council announced
the abolition of Baathist holidays, The Boston Globe,
7/14/03
“I helped deliver thousands of Iraqi babies, and now I
am taking part in the birth of a new country and a new
rule based on women’s rights, humanity, unity and
freedom.”
Raja Habib al-Khaza’i, the director of an Iraqi
maternity hospital and a member of the Governing
Council, Associated Press, 7/13/03
“The formation of this council which represents all
sectors of Iraqi society is the birth of democracy in
the country. It is better than Saddam’s government of
destruction and dictatorship.”
Razzak Abdul-Zahra, a 35-year-old engineer in Baghad,
Associated Press, 7/13/03
“The establishment of this council represents the Iraqi
national will after the collapse of the dictatorial
regime.”
Muhammad Bahr al-Ulum, a Shiite cleric on the Governing
Council, Associated Press, 7/13/03
“This is a great day. It’s unbelievable.”
Yonadam Kanna, an Assyrian Christian on the Iraqi
Governing Council, Associated Press, 7/13/03
“It’s a hard situation. But now that Saddam has fallen,
it’s OK. We can wait for the future now.”
Muhammed Abdul al Sudani, the night watchman at a school
in Baghdad, Baltimore Sun, 7/13/03
“Iraqis are looking forward to this day. They have been
dreaming for so many years to have a government run by
not only one man.”
Sherwan Dizayee, a member of the Kurdistan Democratic
Party, Los Angeles Times, 7/13/03
“The building of a new Iraq shall remain among the first
priorities of the good Iraqi people. It will require the
participation of all Iraqis from all political and
social strands who are willing to help accomplish this
historic task.”
Mohammed Barhul Uloom, an 80-year-old Shiite who has
returned to Iraq to serve on the new Governing Council,
AFX News, 7/13/03
“Saddam is gone, he’s history, he’s never coming back.”
Mohammed Barhul Uloom, at the first meeting of the new
Iraqi Governing Council, Agence France Presse, 7/13/03
“In our view, political life must not be based on
ethnic, religious or sectarian considerations.” Adnan
Pachachi, former Iraqi foreign minister and current
member of the Governing Council, Agence France Presse,
7/13/03
“Farther down the block [in Baghdad], a new Internet
cafe just opened three weeks ago—$3 an hour buys you a
satellite link on a computer that runs Windows, and a
shortcut to Yahoo! E-mail is already on the desktop.”
Winston-Salem Journal, 7/12/03
“He [Saddam] occupied Iraq for 25 years. It’s not
important that the Americans are here. What is important
is that they got rid of Saddam Hussein. Now I feel
free.”
Fadil Emara, a shopkeeper in Baghdad, Agence France
Presse, 7/12/03
“My optimism grows ten-fold every day. We’ve got a
wonderful and brilliant future in front of us.”
Fadil Emara, a shopkeeper in Baghdad, Agence France
Presse, 7/12/03
“In Saddam’s time, the mere act of pointing at
something—a building, a person—risked attracting the
attention of a secret policeman. Now people freely jab
their index fingers on the streets. To a visitor
returning, it’s something of a shock.”
Associated Press, 7/12/03
“It’s a dream for me to participate.”
Afrah Abas, an Iraqi archer competing in the 42nd World
Archery Championships, Associated Press, 7/12/03
“We have been celebrating the Iraqi revolution and the
fall of the kingdom every year. Today we combined the
celebration with the fall of the second monarchy—the
dictatorship of Saddam Hussein.”
Aladdin Sabih, an Iraqi living in the Czech Republic,
Czech News Agency, 7/12/03
“Cutting through all the barriers of religion, culture,
war and economics are stores filled with hundreds of
pairs of high-heel pumps, clunky platforms and spiked
heels in scores of styles. Other stores with similar
numbers—but fewer styles—of men's and children's shoes
are open for business.”
Winston-Salem Journal, 7/12/03
“I want to help my country to make a new life, to get
human rights, and also to get modern life, especially
because we are a rich country.”
An Iraqi translator for the Allied forces, The New York
Times, 7/08/03
“In Baghdad, Shiite Muslim tribes from central and
southern Iraq met for the first time to discuss how
they, as the country's religious majority, could help
create a united Iraqi nation.”
The New York Times, 7/08/03
“We will be happy to get rid of Saddam’s face and this
useless money.”
Hillal Sultan, an Iraqi moneychanger, Agence France
Presse, 7/08/03
“We can’t train staff fast enough. People are desperate
here for a neutral free press after 30 years of a
totalitarian state.”
Saad al-Bazzaz, editor of the Azzaman Daily in Baghdad,
The Independent (London), 7/08/03
“This guy [Uday] had nothing to do with journalism but
he saw it as a powerful way of trying to control the
minds of the Iraqi people. He knew very well that most
journalists were not supportive of his father. By day
they did their jobs quietly. … By night many worked
against the regime.”
Saad al-Bazzaz, former head of Iraqi state television
and current editor of the Azzaman Daily, The Independent
(London), 7/08/03
“The Americans did a very good thing when they crushed
Saddam for the Iraqis.”
Khither Jaafar, a member of a Shiite party outlawed by
Saddam, Los Angeles Times, 7/08/03
“We as a council were chosen by the people. God willing
we will work to achieve the hopes and wishes of the
people.”
Mohammed al-Assadi, a representative on the new Najaf
City Council, Associated Press, 7/07/03
“During the days of the old regime, only members of the
Baath used to benefit and got what they wanted. This
council has nothing to do with any regime because all of
them are intellectuals and chosen by the people.”
Angham Fakher, a hospital employee in Najaf, speaking
about the new City Council Associated Press, 7/07/03
“We were like a tightly covered pot which no one knew
what it contained. Now that the cover has been removed,
you can’t imagine what you will discover.”
Majed al-Ghazali, who now dreams of setting up a
children’s music school in Iraq, Associated Press,
7/07/03
“U.S.-U.K., Liberators of Iraq from Saddam’s Terror.”
A banner hanging outside the entrance to central
Suleimaniyah in Iraq, Chicago Tribune, 7/05/03
“We feel liberated. We’re very very happy.”
Dana Mohammed, manager of a fast food restaurant in
Suleimaniyah, Chicago Tribune, 7/05/03
“I’ve been like a blind man during Saddam’s time. Look
at my hair. It’s already turning gray, and I don’t even
know how to get on a plane at the airport yet. I haven’t
done anything. Now the future is very different. I’m
free. I can travel, and no one will follow or arrest
me.”
Dana Mohammed, a 19-year-old Iraqi, Chicago Tribune,
7/05/03
“I can feel it inside. All Iraqis are feeling freedom.
This is a good start of a new Iraq.”
Saniya al-Raheem, a 56-year-old housewife in Baghdad,
Agence France Presse, 7/03/03
“It was a cruel system. We were living under terror and
we all suffered from it. It was for our own survival not
to talk about politics. We could not even discuss our
personal problems openly.”
Balkis Al-Shamary, a clerk in an Iraqi shop, Agence
France Presse, 7/03/03
“I like free discussions. I talk about these issues with
my families and friends. This could never happen during
the Saddam years.”
Maha Abrahim, owner of a wedding dress shop in Baghdad,
Agence France Presse, 7/03/03
“During the Saddam years, we did not even have hopes. We
were living only to survive. Now I have lots of dreams
and hopes.”
Hansam Hassan, a pediatrician at Baghdad’s Al-Alwiya
Children’s Hospital, Agence France Presse, 7/03/03
“When I see my female students, I see hopes in them.
They will have more opportunities to travel and learn
and have more control of their lives.”
Bushra Jani, a professor at Baghdad’s Al-Mustansiriya
University, Agence France Presse, 7/03/03
“The pictures of Saddam Hussein have been stripped from
the yellowing walls of Baghdad’s cafes where men still
getting used to the idea of life without his regime sit
and discuss the ‘New Iraq.’”
Agence France Presse, 6/27/03
“A thousand thanks to Bush!”
Abdel Karim Hassan, in Basra, The New York Times,
6/27/03
“Iraqis are enthusiastically embracing the possibilities
of a free media after years of heavy censorship.
Alongside these do-it-yourself radio and TV stations,
dozens of newspapers representing every kind of
political viewpoint are suddenly available.”
BBC, 6/27/03
“[Sami] Qaftan said he is preparing an Iraqi version of
the 1960 drama ‘The Confused Sultan,’ by Egyptian author
Toufic al-Hakim. The story revolves around a leader who
is given a choice between using the rule of law or the
sword to prevent his people from criticizing him. Qaftan
said the play’s obvious parallels to Saddam Hussein’s
regime made it impossible to stage until now.”
Associated Press, 6/25/03
“It gives me an immense sense of hope. Being here and
seeing so many other people here signifies that, despite
everything, life goes on.”
Shafeeq al-Mahdi, an Iraqi playwright at a performance
at the al-Rashid Theater in Baghdad, Associated Press,
6/25/03
“Liberated from 35 years of stilted official TV
glorifying Saddam Hussein, Iraqis are snatching up
satellite dishes by the thousands. Cartoons, fitness
programs, movies and commercials are flooding into Iraqi
living rooms. These days, in fact, when a favorite show
comes on, Iraqis on rooftops yell to neighbors to alert
them.”
Associated Press, 6/25/03
“We’re like the blind who have been offered the gift of
sight.”
Mahabat Ahmad, an Iraqi who recently acquired satellite
television, Associated Press, 6/25/03
“They’re buying them [satellites] like they buy bread.
They say they’re buying freedom.”
Mohammed al-Mulla, a worker at an Iraqi electronics
store, Associated Press, 6/25/03
“They [the news staff] never had a chance to do their
own stories. There was no room for creativity.” Ahmad
al-Rikaby of the Iraqi Media Network, Associated Press,
6/25/03
“Iraqis are emerging from decades in which all
information was used as a mechanism of control. With
official news sources tightly managed by Hussein's son,
the Mukhabarat, or secret police, monitored and
disseminated jokes and rumors using agents from its
legendary Fifth Squad.”
The Boston Globe, 6/25/03
“I couldn’t show it to people in the past because of the
regime. Now I hang it up to show respect.”
Abbas Fadel, who displays a picture of his brother,
tortured and murdered by Saddam, Knight Ridder, 6/24/03
“Please, find out all of Saddam’s crimes and let the
whole world know about the reality of Saddam. He is the
evilest man that I ever saw.”
Basima Hamid, whose husband was hanged by Saddam for
studying to be a sheik, Knight Ridder, 6/24/03
“The Americans liberated the Iraqi people from a
despotic regime from which they suffered a lot. The
Iraqi people could not change that regime with their own
hands or overthrow it with their available means. The
Americans came and solved this problem quickly and
easily and in a way that gladdened the Iraqis.”
Baghdad Al-Balat, an Iraqi newspaper, 6/18/03
“This is a new sense of freedom for us. We are not in a
very secure society yet, but at least we can say
whatever we like.”
Firas Behnam, in Baghdad, Knight Ridder, 6/23/03
“Saddam Hussein’s regime had banned free e-mail and live
chat. Free e-mail would have dissuaded people from
signing up for subscriptions to Iraqi Internet service
providers. Now Iraqis are free to use the Internet as
they like.”
Knight Ridder, 6/23/03
“As all industries are frozen, the Iraqis are now
importing all kinds of things to make money. We are also
no longer afraid that some official will force us to
become partners and take part of our revenue.”
Muhsin Saadoun, operator of a taxi company and importer
of cars in Baghdad, Agence France Presse, 6/22/03
“It was very expensive for Iraqis to buy cars and so the
country was full of very old cars. The Iraqis now want
to enjoy new cars.”
A salesman in Iraq, Agence France Presse, 6/22/03
“I will run for mayor. Because we have freedom.”
Dhirgham Najem, a 23-year-old busboy in Najaf, The New
York Times, 6/22/03
“Interviews with dozens of Iraqis suggest that there is
one force that unites them: an almost messianic belief
in ‘demokratiya.’”
The New York Times, 6/22/03
“Look at Saddam here, they have painted his eyes. Now he
cannot see anymore. We also tore all his pictures from
our textbooks. I only left one portrait on my math
textbook as a souvenir, but I put mascara on his eyes
and colored his lips in red.”
Salam, a 10-year-old boy pointing to an old mural of
Saddam in Baghdad, Agence France Presse, 6/21/03
“This is the first time we as Shiites can represent
ourselves and talk with a loud voice. They never let us
express our feelings.”
Akil Dair, a part-time student at Baghdad University,
The New York Times, 6/21/03
“Owning or selling such songs was punishable by a
one-and-a-half year prison sentence under Saddam. After
being oppressed for 35 years, we are now scrambling to
grab these songs, to which we listen with impunity.”
Ahmad, whose shop in Baghdad is selling large amounts of
previously banned Shiite music, Agence France Presse,
6/18/03
“This is the freedom exhibition. I’m flying now.”
Mohammed Rasim, a 29-year-old Iraqi artist who was
finally able to show his paintings in an exhibit once
Saddam fell, Associated Press, 6/18/03
“Dr. Mowafak Gorea, director of the newly named Thawra
Hospital in Baghdad (it used to be Saddam Hospital),
believes the radical Shiites may get the attention, but
everyone from Communists to Christians to unemployed
engineers is doing the same thing: venting after decades
of tyranny so suffocating that parents couldn’t speak
freely at home for fear their children might repeat
something damning at school.”
Associated Press, 6/18/03
“We are so glad to be rid of Saddam Hussein.”
Habid Khanger, who waited to marry until Saddam fell and
his policies ended, USA Today, 6/17/03
“Why call us occupied? We are liberated.”
Mohammed Hanash Abbas, co-owner of Iqra’a bookstore in
Baghdad, Associated Press, 6/17/03
“America has shown us compassion we never had from
Saddam or fellow Arabs.”
Attallah Zeidan, co-owner of a small bookstore in
Baghdad, Associated Press, 6/17/03
“Saddam would not allow us here; he would slay whoever
came here. It’s freedom now!”
Salah Maadi Khafaji, an Iraqi swimming in a part of the
Tigris that had been off limits to ordinary Iraqis, Los
Angeles Times, 6/17/03
“I should have freedom to wear or not to wear the veil.
I don’t want to let these people dictate my thoughts. I
am an educated woman. I am a religious woman. I know my
duties to God.”
Kawkab Jalil, a woman in Baghdad who decided to take off
her veil, The Washington Post, 6/17/03
“When I leave my job at night, I am very happy, very
proud about myself. We must help the Americans, and show
them our traditions.”
Suhair Karmasha, the first Iraqi woman to work with the
Americans at Baghdad’s city hall, The Washington Post,
6/17/03
“In a nation where the secret police often used threats
against family members to blackmail citizens, many
people didn’t want to extend their families and give
Saddam’s agents even more leverage over their lives. But
now on Thursday evenings, hotels across Baghdad are
pulsing with the beat of traditional drums and the
shouts and songs of relatives welcoming honeymooning
couples.”
USA Today, 6/17/03
“We are happy about the American occupation because it
got rid of Saddam Hussein. But after all these years,
Iraqi people need to understand democracy, and that it
must come in stages.”
Noor Hadi, and engineering instructor at Baghdad
University, Chicago Tribune, 6/15/03
“It was only an Arabic ten-pin bowling competition, but
last week's tournament in the Gulf emirate of Qatar
marked Iraq's first foray back into the international
sporting arena since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein two
months ago. Mahmood Abbas, the country's leading
taekwondo coach, cannot wait to follow suit. Now, for
the first time for nearly two decades, Iraqi players and
trainers have no need to fear beatings or imprisonment
if they fail to secure a high finish in an international
competition or if one of their team-mates defects on an
overseas trip.”
London Daily Telegraph, 6/15/03
“At least we are free. Iraq is dark, but free. Soon we
will have both freedom and lights. This will be a very
happy day.”
Firas Sulieman, an Iraqi taxi driver, World Magazine,
6/14/03
"We are like newborn children. We are very, very happy."

Ali Hashem Jasim, in Iraq, Chicago Tribune, 6/13/03
"Bands of impoverished villagers upstream had cut the
levees that Hussein built expressly to destroy Iraq's
sprawling wetlands. Unshackled for the first time in
years, the Tigris and Euphrates rivers were now
refilling thousands of acres of dry marsh."
Chicago Tribune, 6/13/03
"We broke the dams when the Iraqi army left. We want to
teach our children how to fish, how to move on the water
again."
Qasim Shalgan Lafta, a Marsh Arab and former fisherman
who helped restore the water to the Iraqi wetlands that
Saddam had destroyed, Chicago Tribune, 6/13/03
"Before, we saw Saddam on one channel, then we saw
Saddam on another channel. When the signal went off,
we'd hear Saddam. Even in our dreams, we heard his
voice. It’s better than before."
Tahir Sadeq, an Iraqi hotel manager, The Washington
Post, 6/13/03
"Before, we couldn't speak. Before, we couldn't live.
But life has changed from bad to best in Sulaymaniyah. I
hope everyone in Iraq can live like us soon."
Abdul Karim, a 70-year-old Iraqi, The Atlanta
Journal-Constitution, 6/12/03
"The name of Saddam had a value among us, but now, I do
not love Saddam. I feel I have been deceived. I am
shocked to hear about his crimes against our people."
Yaaser Akram, an 11th-grade student in Baghdad,
Associated Press, 6/12/03
"In a country where the slightest criticism of Saddam's
personality cult was treated as treason, and public
adoration led to promotions and other rewards, almost no
one dared to speak the truth him for more than 33 years.
It took the sight of American tanks rolling through
their cities to get many Iraqis talking freely about
Saddam's reign."
Associated Press, 6/12/03
"We're trying to show the world that Iraqis have a great
culture."
Hisham Sharaf, directing the Baghdad Symphony Orchestra
in its first performance since the war, Agence France
Presse, 6/12/03
"People want to see the truth about Saddam. Saddam
always talked about his faith and what he was doing for
the country, but the reality was different."
Ali Zowrayi, former torture victim who now sells copies
of Saddam's home movies, Associated Press, 6/12/03
"I want to know the secrets of Saddam. Before, we
couldn't even say his name, and now we can know the
truth."
Abdul, who bought a copy of one of Saddam's home movies,
Associated Press, 6/12/03
"I am Ahmed Hassan. Five members of my family were
executed. I came here in order to help this
neighborhood."
Ahmed Hassan, giving his candidacy speech for the
district-wide council in Iraq, Los Angeles Times,
6/12/03
"Ibrahim Kadhim. I could not be appointed a teacher
because I was not a member of the Baath Party so I
worked as a merchant. I'd like to work on this committee
to help set aside the past."
Ibrahim Kadhim, giving his candidacy speech for the
district-wide council in Iraq, Los Angeles Times,
6/12/03
"The last few years have been a struggle for Iraq's
leading boy band, the not unmemorably named Unknown To
No One. Forced to rehearse in their car and record
birthday greetings for Saddam Hussein rather than the
love ballads they favor, the band members had difficulty
finding their voice. But after the U.S.-led war that
ousted Saddam, things are looking up."
Associated Press, 6/12/03
“I have no more fear now. From the moment Iraq was
liberated I felt as though my two sons had been brought
back to me.”
A woman whose 17-year-old son, Sardar Osman Faraj, was
executed in Iraq in 1985 and another was killed by
unknown assassins in 1992. Los Angeles Times, 6/8/03
“Every day I buy a different paper. I like them all.”
Ali Jabar, 28, picking up a Kurdish daily newly
available in Iraq, Washington Post, 6/8/03
“It's a big change. We used to get central instructions
from the Ministry of Information. Now we no longer do.
Azzaman is independent. It lets the readers learn and
decide the political currents.”
Abdel-Majid, of the Azzaman newspaper in Iraq,
Washington Post, 6/8/03
“Newspapers are not the only forum being used to express
political views in postwar Iraq. The walls of the
capital – once decorated with portraits of Saddam
Hussein – have become a battleground for competing
ideas. They even show a sense of humor. In Baghdad this
week, the following was neatly written in marker on the
back of a double-decker bus: ‘Very urgent, wanted: New
president for Iraq.’”
Washington Post, 6/8/03
“Things have changed. There’s not the same fear. I
didn’t see my future here before. Now, maybe I do.”
Ardelan Karim, who unsuccessfully attempted to flee Iraq
four times after escaping Saddam’s executioners, The New
York Times, 06/05/03
“This is like a dream for us. The Americans liberated us
and gave us our freedom. We hope they stay to protect
the minorities like us.”
Emir Farooq Saeed Ali Beg, a member of the formerly
persecuted Yazidi tribe, The Times (London), 06/05/03
“We are all very happy and comfortable. This is the
freedom we want.”
Yizmak Askander Abu, a teacher in Rassalin, The Times
(London), 06/05/03
"It is a good beginning. The people will feel better
when their bellies are filled. They will calm down. They
will see what is possible. Thank you, George Bush. Thank
you, America.”
Kissan Bahjet, distributing a new shipment of rations to
his fellow Iraqis, The Washington Post, 06/02/03
“I never allowed myself to live all these years. Every
day I thought, now they’re going to come and take me. I
was always waiting.”
Nasir al-Husseini, 22, who survived a mass execution at
age 10, The New York Times, 06/01/03
“For the first time in Iraq, democratic processes are
put in place to elect government officials. Democratic
elections are a new phenomenon in today’s Iraq. True
democracy appears with the absence of dictatorships and
tyranny.”
The Iraqi newspaper Al Naba, 06/01/03
“…[T]he Iraqi people are too happy that Saddam is gone.
Too happy.”
Salim, a citizen of Baghdad, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel,
06/01/03
“God willing, the guilty will be punished.”
An elderly Iraqi man at the site of a mass grave, The
Daily Telegraph (London), 06/01/03
"We are so happy, not just for the contract, but to work
again in our country with our people and our equipment
to help rebuild our country."
Loay Ibrahim Al-Saied, an Iraqi engineer whose company
received a contract to construct a highway bypass, PR
Newswire European, 5/30/03
“I want to watch all of the world, all channels in the
world. I want to watch freedom.”
Mohammed al-Khayat, an Iraqi who just purchased his
first satellite dish, The Baltimore Sun, 04/26/03
“Freedom means that Saddam is no longer around.”
Firas al-Dujaili, an Iraqi doctor, Associated Press,
5/29/03
“Freedom means to travel, to get the job I want, to
study in the college I want.”
Ahmed al-Samarai, a citizen of Iraq, Associated Press,
5/29/03
“No one knows what freedom means. When [we] were born,
we opened our eyes to Saddam and everything was
forbidden. Our life was all about fear.”
Salima al-Majali, a citizen of Iraq, Associated Press,
5/29/03
“All we have known is war, war and war. Everything was
forbidden.”
Suad al-Saham, a Shiite Muslim in Iraq, Associated
Press, 5/29/03
“I couldn’t teach the students the truth. I was unable
to tell them that we were ruled by a dictator. If I did,
my neck would be on the line.”
Wijda Khalidi, an Iraqi schoolteacher, Associated Press,
5/29/03
“I cannot describe how I am glad. After so many years of
dictatorship, we have chosen our own leader.”
Kemal Kerkuki, after participating in the election of
Kirkuk’s new mayor, The New York Times, 5/29/03
“What Naheda Muhammad Nage did to the textbook she uses
to teach social studies here was just as dramatic as the
toppling of Saddam Hussein statues or the looting of
Saddam Hussein palaces that took place after the
American-led invasion of Iraq. Ms. Nage used a pen to
cross out passages that focused on Mr. Hussein, the
Baath Party he represented and his many supposed
achievements. It was an act that could have led to her
death just a few months ago.”
The New York Times, 05/28/03
“Now that Iraq is free, we are demanding freedom and
equal rights that Iraqi women have always been deprived
of.”
Eman Ahmed, member of the Rising Iraqi Women’s
Organization, Associated Press, 5/21/03
“I can tell you all these things now because we are
free. Before, we lived like exiles in our own country.”
Suhaib Abbas Majeed, an Iraqi medical student, The
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 5/21/03
“Chosen by representatives of the various ethnic groups
in town, the council meets twice a week to discuss
everything from what to do with unexploded ordnance
lying around town to what to do with the remaining
Baathist functionaries. Trade with Syria has been
reopened, schools are functioning, and police are
patrolling together with the Americans.”
Description of the city of Mosul, Christian Science
Monitor, 5/21/03
“This is the first time in our lives we have experienced
democracy. It is a beautiful thing. Everyone is excited.
Everyone is here. …Not complaining. Coming to vote.”
Rabaab Mahmoud Kassar, a female attorney in Najaf who
participated in the election of the town’s new judges,
The Washington Post, 5/21/03
“The Iraqi people tried but failed to remove Saddam
Hussein for 35 years. It was a difficult task, and we
thank the Americans.”
Sayyed Bashir al-Musawi, an Iraqi cleric in northern
Baghdad, The Dallas Morning News, 5/20/03
“Every day in Iraq a few more newspapers start
publishing, taking advantage of the first freedom of
speech most Iraqis have ever known.”
The Times (London), 5/20/03
“Now, for the first time, we can say what we want. We
keep writing about the ex regime.”
Fuaad Ghazy, editor of the new Iraqi newspaper The News,
The Times (London), 5/20/03
“We’ve been living in jail for three decades. Now, we
are free. Help is coming. Day by day, life is for the
better.”
Saddam Agil, grandfather of five and resident of Basra,
USA Today, 5/20/03
"Before we used to commemorate the day hidden at home,
we were afraid of Saddam's agents who were everywhere
and spied on us. Today I feel happy."
Faithela Asam, an Iraqi Shiite, on publicly celebrating
the birthday of Mohamed for the first time in decades,
Agence France Presse, 5/19/03
"There is more freedom and more openness. ...we can
express ourselves freely and without threats."
Ali al-Fatlawi, a former Iraqi government reporter who
now writes for the independent Iraqi newspaper Assaah,
Associated Press, 5/19/03
"We are a free voice that does not belong to any party.
We wanted this channel to be free and speak in the name
of all Iraqi people."
Khalil al-Tayar, director of the new Karbala Television
station, Associated Press, 5/19/03
"Most Iraqis did not know what freedom was, but have
shown they prefer it after finding it now. Most Iraqis
do not know what democracy is, but they will certainly
love it once they taste it."
Amir Taheri, Al-Sharq al-Awsat, 5/19/03
"Good, good, good."
Iraqi children called as they ran up to U.S. troops,
Christian Science Monitor, 5/19/03
"We love you."
An Iraqi citizen in Mosul, speaking to L. Paul Bremer
III, the new U.S. civilian administrator for Iraq, Los
Angeles Times, 5/19/03
"As change settles over Iraqi society, one of the
quieter shifts in the nuts and bolts of life is
happening in school. Across the country, teachers are
discarding portions of history books, abandoning
‘patriotic education’ classes, and in some cases taking
down flags."
The New York Times, 5/19/03
"We can say anything we want in public. Now we’re free."

Safaz al Hellou, an Iraqi teenager, The Philadelphia
Inquirer, 5/19/03
"Some people say we issued declarations against the
Americans. But they are lying. We want to thank the
coalition troops. We want them to demonstrate the
rebuilding. We will give them a chance to do that."
Ali Rubaii, a representative for one of the four most
powerful clerics in Iraq, Washington Post, 5/15/03
"This is the first attempt for us to run our town by
ourselves. We are ready to rebuild our town, and we are
ready to rebuild our country."
Najim Abed Mahdi, a chairman of the Umm Qasr interim
town council, The Guardian (London), 5/15/03
"The Iraqi teams used to produce the champions of Asia
in many sports. They have declined since the arrival of
Uday. Now we want to rebuild them with the help of the
international community."
Sharar Haydar, president of the newly formed Free Iraq
Olympic Group and one of Uday Hussein's former torture
victims, The Guardian (London), 5/15/03
"For the residents of Baghdad, choosing what to read,
watch or listen to is no longer such a simple affair.
Following the collapse of the old regime, and a
temporary media void, there are now dozens of newspapers
on offer around the capital and in other major cities
across the country." BBC, 5/14/03
"It was not the usual start to a new school term. ‘Open
your books and turn to page four,’ the teacher
instructed the pupils sitting in the gloom of an unlit
classroom. Obediently they flicked through the pages
until they reached the familiar photograph of a smiling
Saddam Hussein standing in front of an Iraqi flag. ‘Now
rip it out,’ the teacher said, to the astonishment of
her pupils."
The Times (London), 5/14/03
"They couldn't leave one job for another without having
both a letter from their old employer releasing them
from their job and another letter from their new
employer accepting them. It blows their minds when we
tell them they should just do what they want, they don't
need our permission or anybody else's to change jobs."
Sgt. Mark Hadsell, describing some Iraqis’ difficulties
with freedom after living in a under Saddam Hussein,
Scripps Howard News Service, 5/14/03
"Trained under the old government that put Uday Hussein,
one of Saddam’s sons, in charge of the Union of
Journalists, the reporters and editors of Al Azzaman are
used to being forbidden to use certain words, like
‘democracy,’ or to examine certain issues, like the oil
industry. Almost every day, someone asks Mr. (Saad)
Bazzaz if it is all right to criticize some public
figure or another."
New York Times, 5/13/03
"The Americans did not come just to help the Kurds.
(Still) it's great to be free."
Ryzgar Azhi , in an Erbil tea house, New York Times,
5/13/03
"This is the happiest moment we all felt. It’s a
primordial feeling -- this tyrant coming down."
Yussra Hussen, San Francisco Chronicle, 5/12/03
"I am happy that Saddam is gone. The teachers told me to
love Saddam. My parents told me he was a bad man."
Dina, 7, U.S. News & World Report, 5/12/03
"We are not fighting anybody. We will not raise our
weapons because freedom is within our sight. We want an
Iraqi government that represents all Iraqis. Sunni and
Shia Muslims, Kurds, Turcomans and religious minorities
-- they will have their rights in this land."
Returned Iraqi exile Ayatollah Hakim, speech to Iraqis
in Najaf, London Daily Telegraph, 5/12/03
"It is best the USA removed this criminal man (Saddam)."

Sheik Al-Bo Aiesa Muzahin Ali Kareem, a clan leader who
turned over weapons in a gesture of good will,
Associated Press, 5/12/03
"(April 9th was) a good day for all Iraqis. The people
of Iraq want democracy. They lived without it for 35
years. It was like Russians under Stalin."
Ministry Engineer Ghassan Yassin, 53, Victoria
Times-Colonist (Canada), 5/11/03
"Beautiful, beautiful. Not Iraqi TV. Not Saddam Hussein
TV. Beautiful."
Akhbal Ibrahim Rashid watching her satellite
dish-equipped television, Los Angeles Times, 5/9/03
"We want to know everything, not just about Iraq but
about the whole world. Sales are very good. What was
prohibited is wanted."
Amir abu Abdullah, an overnight dish salesman whose shop
is his battered 1982 Chevrolet Celebrity, Los Angeles
Times, 5/9/03
"The first time in my whole life I've seen such things.
I feel free."
Yasir Abdul Razaq, 20, said while watching British news,
Israeli news and a program from Abu Dhabi about lions,
Los Angeles Times, 5/9/03
"In Iraq’s heady new atmosphere of freedom, political
parties have launched newspapers, radio stations and
small private armies. They are scrambling to woo voters
with promises of democracy, prosperity and free phone
calls to relatives abroad. After three decades of
official repression, a cacophonous jumble of
long-dormant ideologies has come tumbling out into the
daylight of the country’s unshackled political
marketplace."
Chicago Tribune, 5/9/03
"All my life I have been escaping. So I have dreamed of
freedom, of traveling abroad, of feeling life the way
all young people do. Maybe now I will."
Mohammed Khadum, 28, in Baghdad, Washington Post, 5/8/03

"Ihssan Wafiq Samarrai's greatest hopes now, he said,
are to publish and to travel. Iraq's downtrodden writers
and poets, who have endured a quarter-century of
censorship and surveillance, could board ‘a big ship,
like Noah's Ark,’ he suggested, for a six-month trip
around the globe. Even another desert, he said, would be
a welcome change."
Washington Post, 5/8/03
"I have to be back in the country. It is an exciting
time."
Widely read Iraqi poet Saadi Youssef, who has been
exiled in London, USA Today, 5/8/03
"We cover local religious activities in the city and
nearby provinces as far as we can. But we hope to
improve and widen our coverage to include all such
activities across Iraq. We need such productions. The
Iraqis have been deprived over 35 years from watching
religious programs."
Hassan Aday, Karbala TV channel’s religious program
producer, Abu Dhabi TV, 5/7/03
"Watching the armed men stride past her bread stall,
60-year-old Lulwa Alwan gave a toothless smile. ‘They
are welcome,’ she said as she flattened balls of dough
with both palms. A 30-year resident of the area, Alwan
said during Saddam's regime, police would stay on the
periphery of the (Hayyaniyah) housing area and avoid
walking through a crime-ridden neighborhood altogether.
‘They were afraid,’ she said, sniffing dismissively. ‘We
hope these soldiers will stay here for a long time.’"
Associated Press, 5/7/03
"It wasn’t the fall of Baghdad. It was the rise of
Baghdad."
Hasem Ali, 52, an Iraqi in London, Los Angeles Times,
5/7/03
"The exiles remember their tears and laughter, the
festive phone calls and frantic channel-surfing to
confirm their dream come true. And many recall the
thought that raced through their minds with the strange
speed of that statue tumbling down: Time to go home."
Los Angeles Times, 5/7/03
"[Schools] will have to change all the subjects. They
were about only Saddam."
Abdul Kareem, a professor in Iraq, Chicago Tribune,
5/6/03
"We are happy, so happy. For us, this is the real
meaning of freedom."
Basim Hajar, coauthor and director of a play criticizing
Saddam Hussein’s regime performed in a building where --
before the war -- only works sanctioned by the
government were allowed. Los Angeles Times, 5/5/03
"You cannot imagine what it means for us to be here on
this national stage, where everything we stand for was
forbidden. Now it is ours."
Oday Rashid, an Iraqi musician and documentary
filmmaker, Los Angeles Times, 5/5/03
"Officials with the Iraqi National Team said they hoped
to begin training soon for the Olympic qualification
games to be held next month in Damascus, Syria. About
200 athletes and other sports officials planned a
demonstration (May 5) in Baghdad to drum up support for
an Iraqi sports federation to replace the one headed by
Saddam Hussein's son, Uday. Uday is said to have
tortured and killed athletes who failed to win or
performed worse than expected."
New York Times, 5/5/03
"This is the first step on the road to democracy. I
promise I will be a faithful soldier."
Ghanam al-Basso, newly elected as Mosul’s mayor in
Iraq’s first vote since Saddam Hussein was ousted, New
York Times, 5/5/03
"This is something I just can’t forego. I’ve been
waiting for this moment for at least 30 years."
Fawaz Saraf, an Iraqi in Virginia who is headed to his
homeland to help rebuild, Washington Post, 5/4/03
"I think they suffered a lot, and they lost a lot when
Saddam came to power. They lost their country. They lost
their comforts. They felt so powerless, and they saw
such intense suffering by the people who couldn’t leave
the country. It’s so important for him to rebuild it."
Magda Cabrero, Saraf’s wife, 5/4/03
"I saw the world for the first time. I saw where we
were. I saw presidents and cities and people from
everywhere! The whole world!"
School Principal Bushra Cesar, after buying a satellite
TV dish, New York Times, 5/4/03
"Before, so many books were forbidden -- anything that
didn’t agree with the regime. Which means practically
everything that was ever printed!"
Imad Saad, a teacher selling books at a Baghdad street
market, Los Angeles Times, 5/3/03
"Now, everyone is talking and talking and talking,
without worrying, and without stopping. About absolutely
everything."
Mohammed Hishali, Café proprietor in Baghdad, Los
Angeles Times, 5/3/03
"We will keep on somehow. Now we have the most important
thing that we need. There is no one to stop us from
saying anything we want onstage."
Basim Hajar, coauthor and director of a play criticizing
Saddam Hussein’s regime performed in a building where --
before the war -- only works sanctioned by the
government were allowed. Los Angeles Times, 5/5/03
"Before, if I had sold this, they would have cut my head
from my body."
Imad Saad, selling a copy of an opposition-run paper,
Los Angeles, 5/3/03
"You tell Mr. Bush I think he must be a Muslim for what
he did for us.... This is God's land. Everyone deserves
it. Every Christian, every Jew and every Muslim needs to
live in peace -- and eat from God's gifts -- not from
Saddam Hussein's hands." Abdul Razak al Naami, a
sergeant in the Iraqi army until the Americans arrived,
Knight Ridder, 4-29-03 "Saddam and his birthday were a
black cloud over Iraq. We all want peace and freedom. He
deprived us of these things."
Moayed al-Duleimi, Associated Press, 4-29-03
"Today is a day of happiness for me, because we got rid
of him. He destroyed us. We ask God that he never
returns, because we are happy and -- God willing --
things will be better."
Munhal Taleb, Associated Press, 4-29-03
"After the war, we will see our country change for the
better, with freedom."
Jamila Jorj, a teacher in Baghdad,Washington Post,
4-29-03
"The resumption of school in Baghdad is the clearest
sign of hope for the future that many Iraqis have had in
years."
Washington Post, 4-29-03
"We had an open process of discussion among Iraqis that
has made me really optimistic about the future. We heard
a wide spectrum of views. This (political meeting) is
something Iraqis have not been able to do in 45 years."
Feisal Istrabadi, Washington Post, 4-29-03
"Until this year, the birthday of Saddam required
joyous, staged public festivals for the leader of the
35-year, iron-fisted regime. We would pretend we were
happy, but on the inside we were sad."
Abdul Razak al Naami, Knight Ridder, 4-29-03
"Iraqi people have a double personality. One is me when
I am in front of people related to the Baath Party, the
secret services, the family of Saddam; I support them.
Otherwise they would definitely put me in the jail or
execute me. Among friends, people I know I can trust, I
tell them what I really feel. Most Iraqis have that
double personality."
Shafiq Qadoura, Newsday, 4-29-03
"The soldiers of the 4th Infantry Division received a
much-needed and entirely unexpected treat when, after
months of waiting, their convoy finally reached Baghdad:
the sight of a Toyota filled with eight gleeful Iraqis,
all waving and cheering. Then came thousands of other
Iraqis, in cars and alongside the road, who hailed the
U.S. Army troops as the Humvees passed through the city.
The soldiers had missed most of the war after Turkey
denied their division passage into northern Iraq from
Turkish soil."
Los Angeles Times, 4-29-03
"America is like a new friend. I just met him. I must
give him a chance."
Haidar Ali al-Assadi, New York Times, 4-28-03
"Freedom has been inside us all along. But until now we
haven't practiced it."
Hamed Hussein, Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale), 4-28-03
"We are here hopefully to put down the structure or
agree on the skeleton of a government. We are here to
represent Iraqi women, who have in the past played very
little role in Iraqi politics."
Delegate Zainab al-Suwaij at a political meeting in
Baghdad, 4-28-03
"The people today after they were liberated from Saddam
want security and stability. People want real
participation. I am participating in this conference
because those who are concerned with Iraqi issues must
hear the voice of the people."
Delegate Hussein Sadr at a political meeting in Baghdad,
4-28-03
"Coming home after years abroad, Iraqis hugged and
kissed as the gathering began. ‘In Baghdad?’ one
delegate asked another in disbelief. ‘Yes, in Baghdad,’
the other replied."
Associated Press, report of political meeting in
Baghdad, 4-28-03
"Whenever we had those elections for president, everyone
voted for him 100 percent. And today nothing will
happen, and this will prove that none of us liked him,
not a one."
Hussein al-Khafaji, an Iraqi air force colonel,
Associated Press, 4-28-03
"Saddam was a criminal, a dictator, and fascist. I thank
the Americans a lot -- we praise them for ending Saddam,
with God’s help."
Khalid Rahim Hussein, Christian Science Monitor, 4-28-03

"On one patrol this week, a boy tending his father's
small grocery grabbed Air Force Technical Sgt. Keith
Westheimer's notebook and wrote a message in broken
English, hoping someone with clout would see it: ‘People
Iraqi in Mosul need king leader of Mosul. People Iraqi
very happy because Americans are here. Thank you. Karim
Salah, 17 years old.’"
Newsday, 4-27-03
"It is a happy day for us because we can pray freely. It
has been a long time."
Mohamed Ghalib, Associated Press, 4/25/03
"A 30-year-old secretary in Baghdad named Lina Daoud
ponders what lies ahead. Her words come out as pastel
bubbles: ‘We want a happy future, we want technology, we
want freedom, we want everything.'"
Washington Post, 4/25/03
"It’s a sight one old leatherneck said he ‘will never,
ever, ever forget’: a man bent and wizened by age,
pushing a wheelchair through the streets of a small town
in Iraq. In the wheelchair was ‘an extremely bent, aged
old woman,’ barely able to keep her balance in the
rickety contraption. As Marine Lt. Gen. Earl B.
Hailston, commander of U.S. Marine Corps Forces for U.
S. Central Command, passed by in his Humvee, the Iraqi
couple caught his eye. ‘Both gave a thumbs up, and the
old woman started blowing kisses. It’s something that
will never leave my mind.'"
Stars and Stripes, 4/25/03
“We are free to do things that were forbidden before.”
Ahmed Rubai, who sells previously banned satellite
dishes, Wall Street Journal, 4-24-03
“The long-oppressed Saudi Shiites would have been
heartened by their Iraqi counterparts' new-found freedom
to practice their religious rituals. This will encourage
them to press for their own rights.”
Saudi Arabian human rights activist Abdul Aziz
al-Khamis, Agence France Presse, 4-24-03
“It was like a dream. We heard the bombs falling and I
thought: 'We will die here.' But God gave me a new
life.”
Annis Mohammed Saboowalla, Associated Press, 4-24-03
“’We couldn't talk about all this under Saddam, we
couldn't look for our relatives who had disappeared or
we would disappear too,’ says one man, sliding his thumb
across his throat. “Being a relative of a prisoner meant
your women could be raped, your houses destroyed and all
your belongings confiscated, so most people kept
quiet.’”
An Iraqi man, Financial Times (London), 4-24-03
“With the end of Saddam Hussein's rule, hundreds of
thousands of Shi'ites from across Iraq were free to take
part in this year's pilgrimage unhindered by the
security forces who once outnumbered and arrested them.
As they entered the shrine to pray, women kissed its
marble walls and great wooden doors. As they exited, men
bowed deeply towards the shrine before turning their
backs. Shi'ites estimate that hundreds of thousands,
some say several million, have reached Karbala.”
The Australian, 4-24-03
“We used to be executed or thrown in jail forever for
doing this when Saddam Hussein was in power.”
Alaa al-Sarraf, in a procession, Reuters, 4-23-03
“This week marked the first time in nearly 30 years that
Iraq's majority Shi'a Muslims could pray without fear of
reprisal or execution by the government, and more than 1
million people flooded the holy city of Karbala to pay
homage at the shrines of Hussein and Abbas, two of the
most holy places for Shi'ites.”
The Boston Globe, 4-23-03
“This is the first time here for me. It is as if I am
waking from a nightmare.”
Mohammed Jabal, in a procession, Reuters, 4-23-03
“We're still awaiting our freedom, but this is the first
taste of it.”
Adnan Abdel-Mohsin, Washington Post, 4-23-03
“…crowds seemed to explode with fervor over their
newfound freedoms. Long processions from Baghdad and
cities in southern Iraq – Samawah, Nasiriyah, Najaf and
Basra – paraded through the streets, waving green, black
and red banners. Many stopped every few minutes to break
into chants, beating their chests or foreheads in a
ritual known as lutm.”
Washington Post, 4-23-03
“As in many lower-class parts of Iraq, some residents
said U.S. President George W. Bush had the right idea in
wanting to rid Iraq of Saddam. For two decades, the
lower classes have been impoverished to the point where
they felt they had nothing to lose.”
Victoria Times-Colonist (Canada), 4-23-03
“Bush gives us freedom. He is giving us a future.”
Abbas Ibrahim, Victoria Times-Colonist (Canada), 4-23-03

“For decades, we were used to watching ourselves. Now
you can think with words. But to talk loudly and to
think loudly takes time. Freedom needs practice, and it
takes practice to be free.”
Poet Mohammed Thamer, Washington Post, 4-22-03
“For two-and-a-half decades, the religious spectacle
unfolding in Iraq was unknown. The country's Shiite
majority, brutally repressed by Saddam's Sunni-dominated
cabal, was nominally permitted to make the pilgrimage,
but given little freedom to do so in practice…. If
pilgrims managed to make the journey at all, they did so
under a cloud of secrecy and fear. And yet, this amazing
story of religious freedom reborn has largely been
ignored. Instead, the front pages of newspapers have
been dominated by transient stories of looting and
unrest.”
The National Post (Canada), 4/22/03
“I cannot believe I am here today openly celebrating.
The government used to shoot us when we tried in the
past.”
Hamid Muhammad, New York Times, 4/22/03
“I walked all the way from Al Hendia to Karbala. I am so
excited I am able to visit Hussein (revered son-in-law
of Muhammad) now without fear.”
Mona Ibrahim, New York Times, 4/22/03
“We were prohibited from visiting these shrines for a
long time by the Baath Party and their agents. This year
we thank God for ridding us of the dictator Saddam
Hussein and for letting us visit these shrines.”
Abed Ali Ghilan, Associated Press Television News,
4/22/03
“To the south of Baghdad, thousands of Shiite Muslims
converged on two of Iraq's holy cities, exercising
religious freedom long denied them under Saddam.”
Associated Press, 4/22/03
“We are happy because we can follow our religion and
Saddam Hussein is gone.”
Ziat Haddi, The Gazette (Montreal, Quebec), 4/22/03
“Chanting and singing, hundreds of thousands of Shiite
Muslims from across Iraq walked toward the holy city of
Karbala on Monday, freely making a pilgrimage that had
been banned by Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.”
Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service, 4/22/03
“I say thank you (U.S. President George W.) Bush and
thank you (British Prime Minister Tony) Blair. Whatever
the reason, if it wasn’t for them, Saddam and his sons
would be still around for another hundred years.”
Mohsen Abdul Ali Zubei, Agence France Presse, 4/22/03
“More than 1 million Shiites have been marching to
Karbala, eager to reach the shrine in time for today's
mass rites. They have marched, as tradition prescribes,
because their annual season of mourning has come to an
end. And this year, they have marched because they
could. This is the first time in decades that Iraq's
Shiites have been free to commemorate the death of Imam
Hussein, grandson of the prophet Muhammad.”
Orlando Sentinel 4/22/03
"We need a natural life, a democratic life, like in any
other country…when I came into Baghdad, I saw the ruins,
but I also saw something else: freedom. We can be free."

Asad Quasi, a militia member, Washington Post, 17 April
2003
"Iraq has just emerged from a nightmare that lasted 35
years. The problems that Iraq has suffered under the
rule of Saddam's regime cannot be eliminated in one or
two days. Iraqis must hold several meetings until they
agree on what they deem appropriate for the
establishment of an interim government representing all
Iraqi factions and capable of preparing a permanent
constitution top be submitted to the people through a
public referendum before the nature of [the next]
government could be agreed. This requires a long time."
Muhammad Bahr-al-Ulum, Egyptian Radio, 16 April 2003
"I am ready to help. Thank you for liberating Iraq and
making it stable, I hope we have a very good friendship
with the United States."
Iraqi General Mohammed Jarawi to US Colonel Curtis Potts
after signing the surrender in western Iraq, Gold Coast
Bulletin (Australia), 16 April 2003
"A good leader can bring many things to Iraq. I can see
democracy happening in Iraq because they are good
people. They may take some time getting used to it, but
I can see it happening."
Tahani Hanna, 18 year old Iraqi expatirate, The Standard
(St. Catharines) 16 April 2003
"The people of Iraq do not want Islamic rule. For 35
years we have lived with no freedom, and these religious
leaders are not offering us freedom."
Taleb, Theater Director in Nasiriyah, London Daily
Telegraph, 4-16-03
“It was a great day…I never thought I would have this
freedom.”
Lt Sadeq Abdul Mohsen, deserted from Iraqi 63rd Infantry
Brigade, Newsweek, 4-21-03
“I can't express my feelings. All I feel is joy. This is
the first time I've seen this (Shiite celebrations) for
30 years. Saddam forbade everything. He forced us
underground.”
Sami Abbas, a Shia at the holy shrine of Kadhimiy,
Washington Post, 4-16-03
"I was afraid when I saw my city again, I would die of
happiness…this is the first day of my life."
Ahmed Yassin Hamakarim upon return to Kirkuk, which his
family had fled 15-years ago, U.S. News and World
Report, 4-21-03
"'Under Saddam, we were not allowed to have beards,' as
he fondly rubs a week's growth of stubble on his chin.
'This was just one more rule against the Shiite.'"
Feraz Hasan, Iraqi merchant, Toronto Star, 4-16-03
“As I drove into Basra, an ebullient crowd on a truck
was dragging a statue of Saddam Hussein through the
streets. When people saw me pull out my camera, they
began cheering and whacking Saddam's face. ‘Thank you,
Mr. Bush,’ one called out in English, and it was
delicious to watch this celebration of newfound
freedom."
The Gazette (Montreal, Canada), 4-14-03
“Storming the Al-Salam Presidential Palace, the looters
marveled bitterly at Saddam's life of luxury as they
passed shards of crystal from chandeliers and shattered
mirrors. ‘That's how our pharaoh lived,’ said one man,
who would not give his name. ‘Look how he lived when we
couldn't even get bread,’ said another."
Washington Post, 4-14-03
“British soldiers relaxed with citizens at a nearby
Iraqi home. Sitting Indian-style on Oriental rugs, they
ate with local men and women and passed around
wallet-sized photos of their English children.”
Scripps Howard News Service, 4-14-03
“Now people throw flowers at the few Warrior armored
vehicles still patrolling the streets and men, women and
children gathered along roadsides make peace signs and
thumbs-up signals at passing soldiers, shouting ‘Hello’
and ‘Thank you’ in English."
Birmingham Post, 4-14-03
“It's all very interesting. The images of the statue are
amazing. It's a new era in the Arab world, and we're
happy to see that. We hope there will be new democracy
in the Arab world… yes, the war was worth it.”
Ahmad, 40, watching events unfold in Kuwait, Agence
France Presse, 4-14-03
“(Selma Dakhel) wants her 10-year-old girl, Nadine, to
learn something other than to chant ‘I love Saddam’ at
school, she said. We ‘want freedom and a government
chosen by the people. We will have democracy in our new
time.’”
Chicago Tribune, 4-14-03
“A lot of people from here have been taken away and
tortured. We are very happy that Saddam is gone. We will
cooperate with the British and the Americans.”
Najim Abdullah Ahmed, near Tikrit, The Guardian, 4-14-03

“Oh my God, I feel free to live. I have hoped for this
day for so long.”
Hussain Thain, in Canada for two years, The Guardian
(Charlottetown), 4-14-03
“I'm happy, Iraq is free and Saddam is gone.”
Ali Al-Hajavi, 17, The Canadian Press, 4-13-03
“Smiling citizens crowded every street around the
American positions. There was a constant stream of
people willing to give information and loudly condemn
Saddam. American soldiers who a day before had been in
close combat were now basking in the cheers and
applause, their arms tired from returning friendly
waves.”
Time, 4-14-03
“There were women and children in the crowds, but only
the men did any talking. They would say the word Saddam
and spit. Or run up to U.S. soldiers and shout 'George
Bush good.'”
Time, 4-14-03
“The American people, particularly the movie stars
against us being here, need to see this. These people
need us. Look how happy they are.”
Sergeant Reuben Rivera in Iraq, Time, 4-14-03
“The downfall of Saddam Hussein's regime, metaphorically
incarnate in the toppling of his statue in Firdos Square
in Baghdad, filled me with hope. If the regime were
still in power, I would not have had the courage to
contribute even these few lines under my name to The New
York Times. Although I am a self-exiled Iraqi who has
lived in Beirut for the past two decades, I have family
and friends in Iraq – and I had every Iraqi's dread that
Saddam Hussein's security apparatus could sweep down on
them at any moment.”
Hussain Abdul-Hussain, New York Times, 4-11-03
“I now feel very free; I know that I'll be able to sleep
now. Saddam Hussein assassinated my brother in 1977 – he
was hanged in prison for insulting the president. It was
August 5, 1977, and since then my family has been
punished by the security services. Saddam's Iraq was a
dictatorship of torture, war and terror. So today is the
first day I can speak.”
Salim Jaffar, Sydney Morning Herald, 4-11-03
"Over the years, the Baath Party has urged family
members to write pro-Saddam slogans such as ‘Yes, Yes,
to the leader Saddam Hussein!’ on the walls of their
house. The family balked, prompting the local Baath
Party officials to paint the slogans themselves. This
week, one of the first steps the family took was to
scrape the slogans off.”
Los Angeles Times, 4-11-03
“There was no justice under Saddam. He could do with us
what he liked. The regime robbed the people."
Akkbal Abdulwahab, a teacher, Financial Times, 4-11-03
“We are still scared but we are happy. Thank God this
has happened and the Americans have come. Saddam gave us
nothing.
Maysoun Raheem, The Advertiser, 4-11-03
“As long as (Saddam) is gone, who cares if he is dead or
in Paris?”
An elderly man in Iraq, The Advertiser, 4-11-03
“Iraqis watched with an amazement they dared not express
before Wednesday's tumultuous collapse, as the
dictator's aura of power faded to something akin to that
of a petty thief on the run. It was as though they had
awakened from a long, troubling sleep.”
The Age (Melbourne), 4-11-03
“We don't consider the presence of American soldiers as
an occupation. They came to free us from injustice,
tyranny and slavery. Under Saddam Hussein, our lives had
no value, no sense.”
Diya Abdul Hussein, Agence France Presse, 4-11-03
“If the Americans are restoring our liberty they are
welcome, and if they respect our dignity they can stay
as long as they choose.”
Agence France Presse, 4-11-03
“We are one again. Finally, we are one. I am 50 years
old, but my life just started today.”
Kareem Mohammad Kareem, Associated Press, 4-11-03
“We've been up all night watching TV, but we're not
tired. We're too excited to sleep. I wanted them (his
daughters) to see this historic day. This is the day of
our freedom.”
Ali Il-Sayad of Dearborn, Mich., The Australian, 4-11-03

“This is a moment I was looking for all these years;
it's like a dream coming true.”
Ridha Jawad Taki, Orlando Sentinel, 4-10-03
“I'm from Halabja," said Kafya Aziz, watching as a crowd
swelled in Governor's Square. “I escaped the chemicals,
but my son and husband did not. I'd like to cut Saddam
to pieces for all he's taken. I'm happy today. I'm too
old, or I'd be dancing.”
Los Angeles Times, 4-10-03
“Firecrackers popped. Women wearing bright dresses and
new lipstick walked arm in arm on the sidewalks as
children, some sitting in the laps of their
cigar-smoking fathers, smiled amid a joy they were too
young to comprehend.”
Los Angeles Times, 4-10-03
“I'm so glad for victory. We've suffered much. As you
see, I am not normal. I was in Saddam's prison, and then
they forced me to fight on the front lines of the
Iran-Iraq war. I was shot in the spine and cannot walk.
This is the first day of my happiness.”
Taha Hamma Mamrashid, Los Angeles Times, 4-10-03
“We have just been saved. You know what this day means
to me? It means never having to be afraid of another
chemical attack. It means never having to fear my
children's future.”
Halala Osman, Wall Street Journal, 4-10-03
“Now my son can have a chance in life.”
Bushra Abed, Washington Times, 4-10-03
“I saw it with my own eyes. People in Baghdad were
dancing in the streets and burning Saddam's pictures and
no one was firing at them. That was proof to me that
Saddam is over.”
Taher Hassan, Sulaimaniyeh shopkeeper, Wall Street
Journal, 4-10-03
“Today is a clear lesson for dictatorships in the Arab
world. I think they should start looking for ways to
change their people's lives.”
Mohammed al-Jassim, editor of Kuwaiti newspaper
al-Watan, Washington Times, 4-10-03
“We discovered that all what the information minister
was saying was all lies. Now no one believes Al Jazeera
anymore.
Ali Hassan, Associated Press, 4-10-03
“Today, though, Adnan was a happy man, so happy that he
could barely restrain his excitement. He was finally
freed from a prison in downtown Basra, after British
troops entered the city and drove the remaining
defenders away. And as he took a small group of American
journalists on a tour of the hospital, he
enthusiastically led a crowd of fellow ex-prisoners,
their families, friends and passersby in the first
rendition of a pro-American chant that any of us have so
far heard: ‘Nam nam Bush , Sad-Dam No’ (‘Yes, yes, Bush,
Saddam No’). They chanted and danced, filling one of
their former cells in a spontaneous celebration.”
Newsweek, 4-10-03
“It's like a birthday. We're ready to make a new Iraq.”
Ibrahim Al-Mansori, a 31-year-old butcher from Basra,
New York Times, 4-10-03
“We have waited many years for this. Saddam is evil and
he has gone. He killed Muslims, his own people and stole
our money to buy palaces and cars and guns. He must pay
the full price.”
Abal Malam Al Fussah, a student in Basra, The Sun,
4-10-03
“Man, I am very excited, every Iraqi person is very
happy. We feel like we are reborn again. No more Saddam
regime, no more of the Ba'ath Party. We are very happy,
now we have got earth to go back to. We love America and
we love Iraq too. This is like heaven for me right now.”

An Iraqi American, Channel NewsAsia, 4-10-03
“People, if you only knew what this man did to Iraq. He
killed our youth. He killed millions.”
An elderly man in Baghdad beating Saddam’s portrait with
his shoe, Los Angeles Times, 4-10-03
“As night fell, residents throughout Baghdad exuberantly
embraced a new sense of freedom after decades lived in
fear of an oppressive regime. While U.S. troops and
tanks moved throughout the city, the citizens of Baghdad
danced in the streets, waving rifles, palm fronds and
flags. Shouts of traitor, torturer and dictator rang out
in reference to the Iraqi president.”
USA Today, 4-10-03
“It was dangerous, it was impossible, to say, ‘Down with
Saddam.’ But we have lived 35 years with the Baath
Party. Today I am very free and I can talk. And I say,
Thank you, Mr. Bush.”
Los Angeles Times, April 10, 2003
“I haven't seen such exhilarating scenes since the
implosion of the Soviet empire in the late 1980s. What
we have witnessed is something that the Iraqi people
wanted the world to know, and that is they are glad to
be rid of the loathsome dictator, Saddam Hussein.”
Australian Prime Minister John Howard, Agence France
Presse, 4-10-03
"Now my son can have a chance in life."
Bushra Abed, Washington Times, 4-10-03
"I saw it with my own eyes. People in Baghdad were
dancing in the streets and burning Saddam's pictures and
no one was firing at them. That was proof to me that
Saddam is over."
Taher Hassan, Sulaimaniyeh shopkeeper, Wall Street
Journal, 4-10-03
"In the most visible sign of Saddam's evaporating power,
the 40-foot statue of the Iraqi president was brought
down in the middle of Firdos Square. Cheering Iraqis,
some waving the national flag, scaled the statue and
danced upon the downed icon, now lying face down. As it
fell, some threw shoes and slippers at the
statue....'I'm 49, but I never lived a single day,' said
Yusuf Abed Kazim, a Baghdad imam who pounded the
statue's pedestal with a sledgehammer. 'Only now will I
start living. That Saddam Hussein is a murderer and a
criminal.'"
Washington Post online, 4-9-03
“It confirms why we're here. This regime, all it does is
honor itself. They build these huge lavish living
quarters for the select few, but the rest of the country
lives dirt-poor.”
Lt. Col. Rock Marcone, USA Today, 4-8-03
“The unit's interpreter, Khuder al-Emiri, is a local
hero, a guerrilla leader who was forced to flee… in
April 1991 after leading a failed uprising against
Saddam Hussein. Word of Mr. Emiri's arrival spread
through town by way of children's feet. Their hero was
with the Americans and the crowd believed the marines'
intentions were good. They began to chant in English.
'Stay! Stay! U.S.A.!'”
New York Times, 4-8-03
“The euphoria nearly spilled over into a riot. Children
pulled at the marines, jumped on their trucks, wanting
to shake their hands, touch their cheeks. A single
chicken hung in the butcher's window and still the
residents wanted to give the Americans something,
anything. Cigarette? Money?”
New York Times, 4-8-03
“You are owed a favor from the Iraqis. We dedicate our
loyalty to the Americans and the British. We are
friends."
Iraqi Ibrahim Shouqyk to Marines, New York Times, 4-8-03

“For years we have lived oppressed lives here. Sunday
was a day we had prayed for and now we are free of
Saddam’s rule.”
Qusay Rawah, a student in Basra, Daily Mirror, 4-8-03
“The whole Iraq will be happy if the news about Saddam’s
death is confirmed.”
Hussein Al-Rekabi, Iraqi exile of 30 years now in
Kuwait, Arab News, 4-8-03
“For some, it was a day to hand flowers to British
soldiers stationed in armored vehicles at a traffic
circle or to gawk at British troops patrolling the city
on foot beside their armored vehicles. For others, it
was a day to vent rage at icons of the former
authority.”
Washington Post, 4-8-03
"The reception that we received by the Iraqis have been
mainly positive. Many children have come up to me
wanting to hold my hand. Many of the British troops have
been kissed by the children as they’ve gone by. Now, a
few people have motioned to go back or to leave but
they’re certainly in the minority."
Travis Fox, washingtonpost.com, 4-7-03
“The Marines here are still concerned some Iraqi
fighters remain. ‘Keep away from the area,’ scream the
loud speakers in Arabic. ‘It is for your security. The
coalition forces will not hesitate to shoot you.’ But
hundreds ignored that, surging forward to greet the
Marines with an emotional celebration in this
predominantly Shia Muslim town.”
CNN Correspondent Bob Franken, 4-7-03
"The closer the marines got to Baghdad, the warmer their
reception. Troops soon encountered cheering crowds, with
some people giving the thumbs-up sign. ‘You go to
Baghdad, and then I am free,’ an Iraqi man told one
soldier."
U.S. News and World Report, 4-14-03
"We shall never forget what the coalition has done for
our people. A free Iraq shall be a living monument to
our people's friendship with its liberators."
Hojat al-Islam Abdel Majid al-Khoi, Wall Street Journal,
4-7-03
"’Ameericaah?’ a little girl asked a Marine who had
entered her village and taken a defensive position as
others began to search homes. The streets were deserted.
People peered around their gates. The Marine smiled,
wiggled his fingers in the girl's direction and her fear
– and that of the rest of the townspeople – melted.
Within minutes people had left their houses and began to
shake hands with the Marines. Liberation from the
strictures of the regime of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein
had come for a nameless village just a few miles from
downtown Baghdad.”
United Press International, 4-7-03
“When some (Iraqi paramilitaries) fled, civilians from
the nearby Shia Flats slum poured onto the streets in
support of the British attack. Some shouted and cheered,
greeting the British soldiers with waves, thumbs up and
smiles. Other surrounded and attacked the fleeing
Fedayeen Saddam forces.”
Washington Times, 4-7-03
“Believers (should) not to hinder the forces of
liberation, and help bring this war against the tyrant
to a successful end for the Iraqi people…. Our people
need freedom more than air (to breathe). Iraq has
suffered, and it deserves better government."
Ayatollah Ali Mohammed Sistani, Wall Street Journal,
4-7-03
“The cool, cement walls were welcome relief from the
blistering afternoon heat. The colonel walked across a
worn rug and sat at the far end of the room, next to the
community patriarch, an old man who stayed mostly
silent. The patriarch's eldest son, 63-year-old Said
Brahim, served as ambassador. ‘We are so happy to see
the Americans forces,’ Mr. Brahim told a Marine
translator.”
Detroit News, 4-7-03
“Hundreds of people poured out to welcome and shake
hands with the soldiers. Women in chadors hovered in the
background, as soldiers talked and joked with civilians
and let some boys look through their gunsights. A
jubilant crowd of about 100 Iraqis surrounded two
British tanks near a Saddam mural and cheered the
soldiers inside, giving one soldier a small bunch of
yellow flowers.”
Associated Press, 4-7-03
"Ayatollah Ali Mohammed Sistani is...the undisputed
A'alam al-ulema (the most learned of the learned) of the
mullahs who minister to the religious needs of Shiites,
60 percent of Iraq's population. This week he will
resume lectures, banned by the Saddam regime for seven
years, at the oldest Shiite seminary.
"....[T]he ayatollah said he had advised 'believers not
to hinder the forces of liberation, and help bring this
war against the tyrant to a successful end for the Iraqi
people....Our people need freedom more than air [to
breath]. Iraq has suffered, and it deserves better
government.'"
Op-Ed by Amir Taheri, Wall Street Journal, 4-7-03
"As dusk fell yesterday evening, only a small girl
dressed in rags could be seen on the streets of Jazirah
al-Hari. She approached a [British] tank standing guard
at one end of the village, and said: 'My parents will
not come, but we need water.' The tank driver leant down
and gave her a bottle of water. 'This is why we've come,
isn't it?' he said."
The Daily Telegraph (UK), 4-1-03
"U.S. troops [are] getting a very warm welcome from the
local Shia population. Now naturally, the Shiites...have
no love lost for the Iraqi leader President Saddam
Hussein. They have been very repressed by him in the
past. And obviously...what they believe to be a
continuous presence that they can count on, interest
from the U.S. troops is something that they are quite
happy to see."
Ryan Chilcote, CNN correspondent, 4-2-03
"Hundreds of Iraqis shouting 'Welcome to Iraq' greeted
U.S. Marines who entered the town of Shatra....'There's
no problem here. We are happy to see Americans,' one
young man shouted. The welcome was a tonic for soldiers
who have not always received a warm reception despite
the confidence of U.S. and British leaders that the
Iraqi people were waiting to be freed from Saddam
Hussein's repression. 'It's not every day you get to
liberate people,' said one delighted Marine."
The Independent (UK), 4-1-03
"'Saddam has given us nothing, only suffering,' said
Khalid Juwad, with his cousin, Raad, nodding in assent.
Mr. Juwad said he had four uncles who were in Hussein's
jails, and he said he had deserted from the Iraqi Army
three times in recent years. 'If the Americans want to
get rid of Saddam, that's O.K. with me,' he said. 'The
only thing that would bother me is if they don't finish
the job. Then Saddam will come back, like he did in
1991.'"
New York Times, 3-31-03
"We've been waiting for you for 10 years. What took you
so long?’ said an Iraqi man who, along with more than
500 others, surrendered near the Rumaila oil fields.
Many had written such phrases as ‘U.S.A. O.K.’ on their
arms or hands. Some even tried to kiss the hands of the
nervous young Marines guarding them.”
Newsday, 3-24-03
“Ajami Saadoun Khlis, whose son and brother were
executed under the Saddam regime, sobbed like a child on
the shoulder of the Guardian’s Egyptian translator. He
mopped the tears but they kept coming. ‘You just
arrived,’ he said. ‘You're late. What took you so long?
God help you become victorious. I want to say hello to
Bush, to shake his hand. We came out of the grave.’”
The Guardian, 3-22-03
“As Iraqi Americans reach out to their relatives in
Baghdad and Basra, in Kirkuk and Irbil, some are hearing
words they never thought possible: Iraqis are speaking
ill of Saddam Hussein. They're criticizing him out loud,
on the telephone, seemingly undeterred by fear of the
Iraqi intelligence service and its tactics of torture
for those disloyal to the Baath Party regime. ‘I was
shocked,’ said Zainab Al-Suwaij, executive director of
the American Islamic Congress, a nonprofit group in
Cambridge, Mass., that promotes interfaith and
interethnic understanding. ‘It's very dangerous. All the
phones are tapped. But they are so excited.’”
Los Angeles Times, 3-24-03
“’Me and my husband, an old man, have to stay at home
because we are afraid. We want the American government
to remove Saddam Hussein from power and kick these
soldiers out of these hills.’”
Fatma Omar, San Francisco Chronicle, 3-24-03
“‘We're very happy. Saddam Hussein is no good. Saddam
Hussein a butcher.’”
Abdullah (only identification available), as he welcomed
U.S. troops in Iraq
Associated Press, 3-21-03
“I have been waiting for this for 13 years. I hate him
more than American government because I told you the
Iraq government killed many people from Iraq. They just
put (my brother) in jail for a year. After this, they
killed him because he don't want to go to the army
because his brother is American citizen, and his brother
lives in United State.”
Ayid Alsultani, WFIE-14 television station in
Evansville, Indiana, 3-24-03
“‘(The trip) had shocked me back to reality.’ (Some
Iraqis) told me they would commit suicide if American
bombing didn't start. They were willing to see their
homes demolished to gain their freedom from Saddam's
bloody tyranny. They convinced me that Saddam was a
monster the likes of which the world had not seen since
Stalin and Hitler. He and his sons are sick sadists.
Their tales of slow torture and killing made me ill,
such as people put in a huge shredder for plastic
products, feet first so they could hear their screams as
bodies got chewed up from foot to head.”
Kenneth Joseph, anti-war demonstrator who traveled to
Iraq with Japanese human shield volunteers, UPI, 3-21-03

“I was shocked when I first met a pro-war Iraqi in
Baghdad - a taxi driver taking me back to my hotel late
at night. ‘Don't you listen to Powell on Voice of
America radio?’ he said. ‘Of course the Americans don't
want to bomb civilians. They want to bomb government and
Saddam's palaces. We want America to bomb Saddam.’ … The
driver's most emphatic statement was: ‘All Iraqi people
want this war.’… Perhaps the most crushing thing we
learned was that most ordinary Iraqis thought Saddam
Hussein had paid us to come to protest in Iraq. Although
we explained that this was categorically not the case, I
don't think he believed us. Later he asked me: ‘Really,
how much did Saddam pay you to come?’” Daniel Pepper in
an article “I was a naive fool to be a human shield for
Saddam,”
Sunday Telegraph, 3-23-2003
“As US forces push deep into Iraq, farmers and remote
villagers are greeting them with white flags and waves.
But the ground forces, backed by massive artillery and
air support, are encountering pockets of resistance from
Iraq's military. One man, about 30, yesterday ran from a
field towards a US convoy shouting insults about Iraqi
leader Saddam Hussein. Other men and boys stood in
fields waving white flags. In keeping with the local
Muslim custom, no girls or women appeared from their
houses.”
Lindsay Murdoch in southern Iraq, The Sun-Herald,
3-23-2003
“….The return of the Americans to Safwan was also an
occasion for hope, even if mixed with wariness. ‘Saddam
finished!’ shouted another young [Iraqi] man, who gave
his name as Fares. ‘Americans are here now.’ His friend,
Shebah, added, in broken English, ‘Saddam killed
people.’”
Washington Post, 3-23-03
“Coming into Basra as part of a massive military convoy,
I encountered a stream of young men, dressed in what
appeared to be Iraqi army uniforms, applauding the US
marines as they swept past in tanks.”
BBC reporter, 3-22-03
"Ajami Saadoun Khlis, whose son and brother were
executed under the Saddam regime, sobbed like a child on
the shoulder of the Guardian's Egyptian translator. He
mopped the tears but they kept coming. 'You just
arrived,' he said. 'You're late. What took you so long?
God help you become victorious. I want to say hello to
Bush, to shake his hand. We came out of the grave.'"
The Guadian, 3-22-03
“As hundreds of coalition troops swept in just after
dawn, the heartache of a town that felt the hardest
edges of Saddam Hussein's rule seemed to burst forth,
with villagers running into the streets to celebrate in
a kind of grim ecstasy, laughing and weeping in long
guttural cries.
“‘Oooooo, peace be upon you, peace be upon you, peace
you, oooooo,’ Zahra Khafi, a 68-year-old mother of five,
cried to a group of American and British visitors who
came to the town shortly after Mr. Hussein's army
appeared to melt away. ‘I'm not afraid of Saddam
anymore.’”
New York Times, 3-22-03
"We've been driving since dawn today in southern Iraq,
and so far we've come across scores of Bedouin herdsmen.
We've been greeted by friendly greetings of ‘inshallah’
and ‘salaam aleikum’…we've seen both women and men
waving greetings and shouting greeting to the U.S.
troops.”
Radio Free Europe correspondent Ron Synovitz, 3-21-03
"They told me that Saddam Hussein is not allowing anyone
to leave Baghdad. I don't fear the Americans. I was in
Baghdad in the war in 1991 and I saw how surgical an
operation it was. Saddam Hussein has persecuted everyone
except his own family. Kurds, Arab Shiites, Turkoman -
everybody has suffered. But our country was a rich
country and we can be rich again.'”
Financial Times Information, 3-21-03
"These are US Marines being greeted if not with
garlands, with hand shakes by residents of the town in
the deep-south corner of Iraq.”
CBS News, 3-21-03
"One little boy, who had chocolate melted all over his
face after a soldier gave him some treats from his
ration kit, kept pointing at the sky, saying 'Ameriki,
Ameriki.'"
Associated Press, 3-21-03
"Milling crowds of men and boys watched as the Marines
attached ropes on the front of their Jeeps to one
portrait and then backed up, peeling the Iraqi leader's
black-and-white metal image off a frame. Some locals
briefly joined Maj. David 'Bull' Gurfein in a new cheer.
'Iraqis! Iraqis! Iraqis!' Gurfein yelled, pumping his
fist in the air...
"....A few men and boys ventured out, putting makeshift
white flags on their pickup trucks or waving white
T-shirts out truck windows....'Americans very good,' Ali
Khemy said. 'Iraq wants to be free. Some chanted,
'Ameriki! Ameriki!'
"Gurfein playfully traded pats with a disabled man and
turned down a dinner invitation from townspeople.
'Friend, friend,' he told them in Arabic learned in the
first Gulf War.
"'No Saddam Hussein!' one young man in headscarf told
Gurfein. 'Bush!'"
Associated Press, 3-21-03
"Iraqi citizens were shown 'tearing down a poster of
Saddam Hussein' and Dexter Filkins of The New York Times
was interviewed, saying that Iraqis he had seen were
'hugging and kissing every American they could find.'"
NBC Nightly News, 3-21-03
"Here was a chance to stop and I clambered down, eager
to get a first word from an Iraqi of what he thought of
this whole affair. 'As salaam alekum,' I said in the
traditional greeting, then ran out of Arabic and quickly
added, 'Do you speak English?' No go. But with a fumbled
exchange of gestures we slowly managed to communicate.
Thumbs up for the American tanks, thumbs down for Saddam
Hussein. Then he pointed north into the distance and
said 'Baghdad.'"
Reuters, 3-21-03
"A line of dancing Kurdish men, staring directly into
the mouth of the Iraqi guns less than a mile away,
defiantly burned tires, sang traditional new years songs
and chanted, 'Topple Saddam.'
"March 21 is the Kurdish New Year....And bonfires have
long been a symbol of liberation in this part of the
world. 'We're celebrating [Nawroz] a national holiday,'
said Samad Abdulla Rahim, 22. 'But today we also
celebrate the attack on Saddam.'
"Many expressed hope that deadly fire would light the
night sky over Baghdad in the days ahead, bringing an
end to the Kurd's epic 30-year struggle against Hussein
and his Baath Party. 'I can't wait for the U.S. planes
to come and liberate Kirkuk,' said Shahab Ahmed Sherif,
a 33-year-old Kurd who had fled the oil-rich city four
days earlier."
Copley News Service, 3-21-03
Unidentified Iraqi man: "Help us live better than this
life. Let us have freedom."
ABC World News Tonight, 3-21-03

God Bless America, Mr. George
Georgemvw69@hotmail.com
http://groups.msn.com/NeoCons
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/neocons/
http://www.blogger.com/blog.pyra?blogid=5364250

Neo Conservatives

Thursday, July 31, 2003

The Saudis are OUTRAGED!

Monday, July 28, 2003

Update from Iraq

Blog Archive

Followers