Iraq, Up Close: Bodies And Terror

It is so like the Iraq I know from under Saddam, when almost every movement of every citizen was documented. The day after Saddam's statue was torn down with the help of U.S. Marines in Fidros Square, I was able to get inside Saddam's much feared Special Security Organization, which had been taken over by the Marines.

They unlocked a gate and let me go into an underground vault that was as vast as fifteen football fields, every inch of it lined with files and paperwork, containing the tiniest details of the lives of millions of Iraqi citizens. Their names, their photographs, their histories, their crimes - billions and billions of sheets of paper, each revealing the entrenched and systematic terror with which Saddam ruled.

Now the terrorized are ruling with the same precision and meticulous attention to detail.

You don't find many people in Iraq who aren't pleased that Saddam Hussein is gone. But it's even harder to find anyone who doesn't think the current situation is worse for most Iraqis, and about to get even worse than that.

One of my old Iraqi friends told me a story that's typical of life in Baghdad today. Picture a traffic jam at the gas station, one of those endless snaking lines you see all over this city. A young man looking in his rearview mirror sees armed men the people believe are members of Sadr's Mahdi Army going to each car, asking to see official Iraqi identity cards and pulling people aside.

This young man is a Sunni, living in a Shiite neighborhood and he believes the Mahdi Army are taking people aside because they're Sunnis. And he believes they will all be killed by them.

So he doesn't wait for them to get to his window – he runs. Trying to get away, running for his life. But they see him running and he is gunned down. Shot in the back. In broad daylight. Dead. Now the house a few doors down from my friend is locked and empty. The dead man's family has fled the neighborhood in fear of their lives.

Welcome to the Baghdad of today.

Where police checkpoints can mean the end of your life. Where the wrong surname in the wrong neighborhood is a death sentence. Where a life-saving visit to a hospital can bring your life to a bloody, violent end.

When you hear that, you start counting the checkpoints your Sunni colleagues have to get through to get to work every day. You start making plans for an emergency evacuation, and how you're going to cover the civil war.

It's not that Sunnis are the only ones suffering and dying. Iraq's Shiites are brutally murdered every day in bombings, shootings and, in some cases, execution-style killings.

But the bulk of the death squads operating in Baghdad today are believed to be Shiites, and as the clear majority in the country, their control in government and their reach across all layers of society is far greater. That has been exploited by their leaders, some hungry for power, some seeking revenge and others simply powerless to do anything.

In this environment, the failure of the U.S. to bring security to Iraq is stark. Many Iraqis say that's the main reason they face this situation today. And others express disbelief that the most powerful nation on earth has not delivered more - and crushed its enemies.

What is clear, as the U.S. military announces heavy casualties and with roadside bombs at an all-time high, is that American soldiers are bearing the burden of a failed strategy and being forced to fight with one hand tied behind their backs, suddenly caught in the midst of two distinct wars: a counter-insurgency and a rapidly escalating sectarian conflict.

And their partners in the counter-insurgency war are participating in the sectarian conflict they're being asked to stop.

To many here, that's so obviously "mission impossible."

But as one American officer said to me when I asked if he felt like they were fighting a war that cannot be won:

"What else can we do at this point? You do the best with what you have."

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[gslinger3]

We are in Iraq until Iraq has been stabilized. Why does it come as such a huge surprise to so many Liberals that there are difficulties that arise in any war when you are committed to defeating the enemy? You have to remember that there is a formidable enemy who is determined to defeat us. Unexpected problems arise in any war that need to be dealt with. This enemy wants to kill your children and they are fighting hard to see that this happens, remember this people. If we cut and run in Iraq then the enemy has won. I just find it so despicable that Democrats have politicized this war and want very badly to see us lose it, all in the name of politics. This to me is a disgrace, it is unpatriotic and utterly un-American.
I am proud that our president has the will to stay the course and defeat this enemy. Yes, Iraq will one day be a stable and loyal ally to the USA, and the world already is a safer place without the madman Saddam Hussein in power, and we have our servicemen and their great leader George W Bush to thank for it. And the democrats, well they are just doing what Democrats do, complain, blame and point fingers, with no clue how to deal with it themselves other than to just give up the fight. COWARDICE!

[gdmoore2]

Ms. Logan, I thought you would be hard pressed to surpass your story from September 5 in Gaznhi, Afghanistan, on the resurgence of the Taliban. That was a incredible trip and interview.

Your story on the hospitals of Baghdad and the Shiite death squads is equally incredible. Thank you again for bringing difficult and dangerous material to light.

I know this is not a forum for questions, but perhaps you could somehow answer it. For the U.S. citizen working to understand Iraq and Afghanistan, the news is complex. We hear from Rumsfeld et al that the news is slanted toward an emphasis on bad news. The National Intelligence Estimate echoes reports from senior military that the situation is bad and detiorating. Overall, is the U.S. military stalemated in Iraq, losing ground, or making progress?

Thanks to you and your team, again, for courageous reporting.

[iloveusa-2009]

Yes, there is something that Americans can do. You can vote. We will count the votes and try to ensure that democracy proceeds fairly. We count on your support as the new legislature is elected.

[exusmcsgt]

Doen't square well with Bush et.al.'s rosy scenarios we get on a daily basis, does it?