Kidnappings Shake Iraqi Confidence

(CBS)  In the battle for Iraq at least 53 people were killed across the country Saturday as the hunt continued for the American military contractors kidnapped Thursday. CBS News correspondent Elizabeth Palmer reports that these recent kidnappings are further undermining public confidence in the embattled Iraqi government.

For kidnappers who know Iraq, there are thousands of places to hide their victims — whether they're the five contractors abducted Thursday in the south of Iraq or the 150 Iraqis snatched in broad daylight two days earlier in Baghdad.

It's widely believed that militiamen loyal to the anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al Sadr, were responsible for the audacious mass kidnapping.

All of this has reinforced the conviction among ordinary Iraqis that Prime Minister Nuri al Maliki and his Shiite-dominated government is weak — and growing weaker.

"The entire government is doing nothing," said one Iraqi man. "We need a tough non-sectarian leader to disband the militias."

Iraqis everywhere are starting to say that former prime minister, Iyad Allawi, must come back.

"We need a strong forceful leader to end our troubles," said one Iraqi woman. "We need a strong leader like Allawi who loves Iraq."

Allawi told CBS News the police force is so corrupted that ambushes and kidnappings are sure to increase.

"We need to bring back law and order. And law and order needs to be brought back by using force," he said.

On the streets of Iraq the sight of a uniformed policeman, who might actually be an insurgent, has spread fear.

"We have no respect for uniforms," says an Iraqi. "No trust, how can we believe in them, perhaps the uniform is a fake."

Allawi insists that means starting all over again — dismantling the police, arresting senior officers, and re-screening recruits. And soon, because the rot has already begun to spread.

"The army is passing through the same phase as the police did a while ago," says Allawi.

If the army goes the way of the police, Iraq will surely descend into the violent, ungovernable chaos, that everyone has been dreading.

[feelfree1]

j-whitman,

Re: "(Iran) Intelligence Hyped"

Nice find. Thanks for posting.

[feelfree1]

Below should have read:

NOT being (able) to sleep on the roof during nights of sweltering heat

vv vv

[feelfree1]

mygramma,

Re: "poor Riverbend has to sleep on the roof to keep cool in the summer, just like all her ancestors have been doing for thousands of years"

This seems to demonstrate that you are completely misinformed about the writings of this courageous woman. In fact, her writings have been about NOT being to sleep on the roof during nights of sweltering heat (despite routinely having no electricity or running water), because it has become too dangerous, since the beginning of the brutal and illegal U.S. invasion of Iraq.

[feelfree1]

mygramma,

I have found the writings of Riverbend to be amazingly graceful, wise, brave and sincere.

I have been able to verify much of what she has written, using independant sources, and I have found her to be very reliable. Much of what she writes is about her own daily experiences, and about her own opinions.

Just as you are entitled to your opinion, she is entitled to hers. If you can provide even a single example of "misinformation" that she has written, and debunk it with some verifiable references, I would love to see it.

Otherwise, my recommendation stands.

http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com/

For exceptional, and truly independant journalism on the Iraq debacle, also see:

dahrjamailiraq.com/index.php

[grumpas]

But it's gotten better than it was in August! How dumb does he think we are!

[mygramma]

FeelFree1, are you out of your farging mind? You describe Riverbend as "a very brave and wise Iraqi young woman living in Baghdad to be very informative."

She is nothing of the kind. She is Iraq's version of Al Jazeera on the blog, a mouthpiece for anti-american extremism, like Raed and Khalid Jaraar (interestingly, Raed now lives in the US).

Riverbend has an excellent command of the English language, like many Iraqis, and is a very good writer. But wise and brave?? She has been sending out misinformation and messages of hate ever since she got her Sadaam sponsored *** fired from her job. I could give you a litany of her favorite gripes she blames on Americans but which were part of Iraqi life long before American soldiers set foot in the country, electricity being one of them (poor Riverbend has to sleep on the roof to keep cool in the summer, just like all her ancestors have been doing for thousands of years).

Wise and brave? Get over your stupid parts. You want wise and brave? Visit Najma, a brilliant Iraqi girl who sometimes agreed with Riverbend. Or Sunshine, a remarkable little girl who is truly wise and brave.

http://astarfrommosul.blogspot.com/

http://www.livesstrong.blogspot.com/

[ketch65]

******Allawi was a good leader for Iraq during his time in office and Iraqis today remember they were a hell of alot better off back then.
Posted by jmc247 at 01:55 AM : Nov 19, 2006*****

Woe, that's a pretty big boast you got going on there!

The Iraqi's won't be able to have peace until they have as many leaders as they do ----ethnic-tribal pseudo quasi religious divisions...---

And then it won't be a lasting peace!

Why?

There can't be peace in a harsh place where the clerics sit vehemioutly hating each other, planning endless attacks on this community and that community where death is the **ultimate** goal if need be!

Whatever leader leads in Iraq he's going to need the support of Western Allies to give him the needed weapons to support any and all campaigns against the leadership.

This will result in heavy **endless** civilian casualties. The western leaders will support this butchering until they need to go against the new leaders to dipose of them again and reroute the oil//fuel depos.

This is not likely to work now because no leader trusts the United States and Britain and the whole of the G7-G8 because no one wants to end up like Saddam and all the other leaders the US and its allies decide to team up upon when they need to **recalculate** their trade agreements to the neglect of any Arab partner!!!!!

[ketch65]

Part 4************

No future king will know who is for him or against him, and all the lions will become restless across the entire desert, and they will devour everything when they all get together.

But such is the way of the Nomad, and one is coming!

He's going to rule with an iron fist, he's going to unleash his own culture upon the lions, and as it were in the days of Rome and the Kings of Greece, and all the great Pantheon Babylon, that Mysterious Lady who is the Queen of the kingdoms of earth, will be taken out of the way, and the king will surround all of Israel and then he will enter into her bowels.

Then the end will come.

[ketch65]

Part 3**************

Wisdom cries out from the streets, folly joins in, and a chorus springs forth, **for a Kingdom to be built, find your next king, before you behead the present one!**

Saddam, was a king in his own right. But then he cut off his allies, and didn't realize it were as it were in the days of Rome, and the Kings of Greece, and all the great pantheon.

The chorus of singing continues, the elements clash with symbols;;;;

**but it's not for chained kings to lament of such things, it's for those who haven%u2019t found their next subject, especially when this thing that's been done has unleashed the young lions of the fields.....%u2026**

**No time to tarry, the fools eyeing the throne, LOUDER NOW;;;;;;**

**if one is not found, the surrounding kings will also look and say, Look what these men have tried to build, they started it and didn't even finish halfway, we should be careful now, we can't respect them any longer?**

[ketch65]

Part 2***********


Things are worse than ever, you yourself have never known such eternal torment of soul!

People hide in their homes, and it's up to the next regime to take the place of the once feared and eternally hated brutal nomadic tribal leader.

What we might call,

A dictator.

A dictator is one who rules with absolute and total power through the ruthless subjection of a culture.

It is enforced upon them,

as-has-been,

since they first adapted to their lonely eternal desert.

All of them, from the least to the greatest, were reared under and respect only this culture when confronted with its dominant features.

He did his job, and loved it, and now it might take too long to find such another useful subject in such places.