Raise You Hand If You Think U.S. Is An Occupier Not A Liberator

Peter Beaumont, foreign affairs editor
Sunday October 26, 2003
The Observer

A US army Black Hawk helicopter was shot down yesterday near Tikrit, the home of former president Saddam Hussein, using a readily available grenade launcher worth less than £40.
The incident comes at a time when attacks against American troops in Iraq are on the rise, averaging more than two dozen every day, and underscores the vulnerability of the American army, despite its technological sophistication and overwhelming power.

According to the US military, five soldiers were injured when the helicopter gunship crashed into a field and burst into flames. It was the second helicopter to be shot down since May.

Roadside bombs killed three civilians and wounded three American soldiers yesterday. The civilians were hit when a bomb struck two civilian vehicles, which then came under fire 50 miles west of Baghdad. The soldiers were hurt while on a dawn patrol in Baghdad.

One of the architects of the war in Iraq, US Deputy Secretary of Defence Paul Wolfowitz, had left Tikrit only hours earlier. Wolfowitz is making a three-day visit to the country as part of a public relations campaign by the White House to highlight improvements in Iraq that US authorities feel have been ignored by the international media.

Iraqis appear to disagree. A poll released this week showed that 67 per cent of Iraqis view the American-led coalition as 'occupying powers', more than 20 per cent higher than a survey conducted shortly after the fall of the former regime. According to the poll, conducted by Iraq's Centre for Research and Strategic Studies, the number of Iraqis who view the coalition as a 'liberating' force has dropped from 43 to 15 per cent, and very few feel safe in the presence of the police or foreign armies controlling the country.

The poll highlights a growing contradiction in Iraq. As security and electricity appear to be improving, the violence directed at the occupiers in certain parts of the country, especially in the so-called Sunni triangle northwest of Baghdad, is growing. These attacks are expected to increase during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan which starts this weekend.

In a second blow to US and British hopes for a Western-modelled democracy in Iraq, the poll also revealed that the vast majority of Iraqis preferred an Islamist government - 33 per cent supporting a theocracy and 23 per cent an Islamic democracy such as that in Iran.

The poll comes hard on the heels of figures in Britain showing growing levels of distrust for Tony Blair and his Government over its handling of the Iraq war.

According to a YouGov poll for ITV's Jonathan Dimbleby programme, more than 40 per cent of voters believe Blair deliberately distorted information about Saddam's weapons of mass destruction. The poll also reveals that fewer than half the population now supports the war in Iraq.

Asked whether the US and UK were right to take military action against Iraq, 46 per cent said they thought it was right, while 41 per cent said it was wrong.

In spite of the continuing violence, the authorities feel confident enough to lift Baghdad's curfew in order to allow the population greater mobility at night. Traditionally, activity increases in the evenings during Ramadan after Muslims break their day-long fast, and shops often stay open until early morning.

Life in Baghdad will also be considerably eased by the opening of a bridge across the Tigris River that has been closed since the invasion, resulting in chaotic traffic jams.