Eyewitness Iraq

Today was the first day since the events of 22 Feb., that my father took the car, and went to the gas line at the gas station on the borders of our district in Baghdad. While being there, he saw a couple of things, of which he told me later.

First, there was a car still smoking on the edge of the street, apparently it was a car bomb that hit, tried to hit, or detonated by, the armed forces.

Then there was this huge explosion, which turned out as bomb trying to hit a military convoy on the highway going to Abu Ghraib (the region, not the prison).

Then, two guys were in a car, and it seems that they had guns in the car, so they may have been, or one of them at least, have been with the police, army, or some party or militia; so as one of them went down to buy something from a nearby shop, while they are on the gas line, a car stopped by and shot the guy who was still in the car, hitting him really badly, he was later taken away, but he was probably dead on arrival. This was all like 20-30 meters (yards) away from where my father was.

The "better" story, if the word "better" is ever applicable, came from a friend, who was driving in a street surronded by vineyards and palmtrees in the northern tips of Baghdad, when two cars came by, one was a black BMW, the other was a black Daewoo Prince, cut the road trapping 5 cars, of which is the friend's, shooting in the air, then going to a minibus, out of which they took three men, tied their hands with ropes, stuffed them in the BMW back trunk, and drove away. He says that they were so organized, knew what to do, and even used military terms like "task".

When the friend and the other people witnessing the incident reached the borders of the city, they went to an Iraqi Army point, an told them the whole story. The Iraqi Army soldiers said that this is the 3rd case in as much hours; first, the BMW and Deawoo took two men, and killed them by the river; then a lady teacher was abducted; then this attack. Since the morning, as per the Iraqi Army soldiers, they have been asking for back up to storm the area, or at least to secure the street, and the answer from the fat cat sitting at the other end of the telecom device was, "we have no troops to send you". Both the people and the Army soldiers joined forces in calling the "higher officials" names... What kind of names? This is for us to know, and for you to figure out!

Boy! I think Jennifer Lopez says it all, and says it well: "I feel happy just to be alive!". That, itself, is a big blessing in Iraq!