Devildogg4ever
07-08-03, 03:35 AM
Attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq come as goodwill toward Americans eroding
(07-07) 23:14 PDT BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) --
There was hardly any sorrow, and certainly no tears, from the students of Baghdad University over the fatal shooting of a U.S. soldier as he stood alone under a tree drinking one of two sodas he had just bought from the students' cafeteria.
The soldier, killed Sunday by a single shot, was one of three American troops who lost their lives over a 24-hour period in Baghdad, a city where ambushes, sniping and roadside bombings targeting U.S. occupation forces have become a daily occurrence.
"Why should I be sorry?" political science student Omar Abdel-Sattar said of the soldier's death. "He was no cousin or friend of mine. He was an occupation soldier."
Whatever goodwill that has been built between ordinary Iraqis and American troops since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in April appears to be fast eroding.
For the soldiers, the attacks are a major disappointment given the role played by the United States to free Iraqis from the long rule of a ruthless dictator. The attacks also come at a time when their morale is already low, with homesickness, tough living conditions and Iraq's brutal summer heat taking a heavy toll.
Many Iraqis view the attacks, which have claimed the lives of nearly 30 Americans since May 1, as a response to the perceived failure of the country's U.S. administrators to fully restore services, maintain law and order, create jobs and establish a government.
With attacks on the rise, U.S. troops have become much more aware of their vulnerability and are now keeping ordinary Iraqis at arm's length. In the days and weeks after the capture of Baghdad on April 9, many U.S. soldiers seemed confident in the role of liberators, showing warmth and spontaneity in casual encounters with Iraqis.
Things have changed since.
The sight of U.S. soldiers in Baghdad chatting amicably on the street with ordinary Iraqis is no longer common. The troops are now rarely seen buying ice cream or sodas from stores in busy shopping streets to help them cool off.
There is no sign of American soldiers at gas stations, where for weeks they had ably organized lines of vehicles stretching for blocks waiting to fill up. U.S. soldiers have stopped assisting Iraqi traffic police struggling to regain the unchallenged authority they once had over the capital's unruly motorists.
On Monday, hardly any U.S. foot patrols were seen in many parts of the capital. Those who dismounted from their vehicles remained close to their Humvees, armored personnel carriers or tanks. Most looked glum or tense.
"You need to go NOW," screamed a soldier at a crowd of Iraqis outside a U.S. military base in the northern Baghdad district of Kazimiyah. When the small crowd, young males seeking jobs as security guards, ignored his command, the soldier took out his pistol, loaded it and placed it back in the belt strapped around his upper thigh.
They started walking.
Outside a nearby mosque dedicated to a much revered Shiite Muslim saint, there has been no sign of the men from the 82nd Airborne Division for nearly a week. Before their disappearance, and to the delight of store owners and residents, the soldiers cleared sidewalks of hawkers, banned double parking and detained troublemakers.
"They just said they were needed somewhere else and left," said police Lt. Sattar Jeneibi as he directed traffic on the busy thoroughfare opposite the shrine. "But I think they left because they felt too exposed doing what they were doing."
While there are no statistics to prove it, the reluctance of U.S. soldiers to help patrol streets appears to have contributed to a perception among Iraqis that street crime is getting worse.
U.S. commanders say their troops' long stay away from home -- some units have been in the region since January -- is negatively influencing the way they treat Iraqis and that the attacks are making them see a potential enemy in many of them.
American soldiers, said Sgt. Gary Lippman of the Fourth Infantry Division, are increasingly dismayed by the unfriendly reception they receive from Iraqis.
"We don't really care what happens to Iraqis, friendly or enemy. We want to do the right thing, we want to be helpful. But I don't think they're ready for what we want to give them," said Lippman, a native of Spokane, Wash.
At Baghdad University on Monday, U.S. soldiers were nowhere in sight on the campus that they once patrolled, restricting their presence to the institution's two gates where they checked IDs and searched cars going in.
Students said their interaction with the soldiers on campus had been restricted to exchanging greetings, but acknowledged that a small number of students conversed with them.
"Students, females and males, who speak to the soldiers deserve contempt," said chemistry student Heba al-Askari, 23.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2003/07/07/international0214EDT0431.DTL
(07-07) 23:14 PDT BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) --
There was hardly any sorrow, and certainly no tears, from the students of Baghdad University over the fatal shooting of a U.S. soldier as he stood alone under a tree drinking one of two sodas he had just bought from the students' cafeteria.
The soldier, killed Sunday by a single shot, was one of three American troops who lost their lives over a 24-hour period in Baghdad, a city where ambushes, sniping and roadside bombings targeting U.S. occupation forces have become a daily occurrence.
"Why should I be sorry?" political science student Omar Abdel-Sattar said of the soldier's death. "He was no cousin or friend of mine. He was an occupation soldier."
Whatever goodwill that has been built between ordinary Iraqis and American troops since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in April appears to be fast eroding.
For the soldiers, the attacks are a major disappointment given the role played by the United States to free Iraqis from the long rule of a ruthless dictator. The attacks also come at a time when their morale is already low, with homesickness, tough living conditions and Iraq's brutal summer heat taking a heavy toll.
Many Iraqis view the attacks, which have claimed the lives of nearly 30 Americans since May 1, as a response to the perceived failure of the country's U.S. administrators to fully restore services, maintain law and order, create jobs and establish a government.
With attacks on the rise, U.S. troops have become much more aware of their vulnerability and are now keeping ordinary Iraqis at arm's length. In the days and weeks after the capture of Baghdad on April 9, many U.S. soldiers seemed confident in the role of liberators, showing warmth and spontaneity in casual encounters with Iraqis.
Things have changed since.
The sight of U.S. soldiers in Baghdad chatting amicably on the street with ordinary Iraqis is no longer common. The troops are now rarely seen buying ice cream or sodas from stores in busy shopping streets to help them cool off.
There is no sign of American soldiers at gas stations, where for weeks they had ably organized lines of vehicles stretching for blocks waiting to fill up. U.S. soldiers have stopped assisting Iraqi traffic police struggling to regain the unchallenged authority they once had over the capital's unruly motorists.
On Monday, hardly any U.S. foot patrols were seen in many parts of the capital. Those who dismounted from their vehicles remained close to their Humvees, armored personnel carriers or tanks. Most looked glum or tense.
"You need to go NOW," screamed a soldier at a crowd of Iraqis outside a U.S. military base in the northern Baghdad district of Kazimiyah. When the small crowd, young males seeking jobs as security guards, ignored his command, the soldier took out his pistol, loaded it and placed it back in the belt strapped around his upper thigh.
They started walking.
Outside a nearby mosque dedicated to a much revered Shiite Muslim saint, there has been no sign of the men from the 82nd Airborne Division for nearly a week. Before their disappearance, and to the delight of store owners and residents, the soldiers cleared sidewalks of hawkers, banned double parking and detained troublemakers.
"They just said they were needed somewhere else and left," said police Lt. Sattar Jeneibi as he directed traffic on the busy thoroughfare opposite the shrine. "But I think they left because they felt too exposed doing what they were doing."
While there are no statistics to prove it, the reluctance of U.S. soldiers to help patrol streets appears to have contributed to a perception among Iraqis that street crime is getting worse.
U.S. commanders say their troops' long stay away from home -- some units have been in the region since January -- is negatively influencing the way they treat Iraqis and that the attacks are making them see a potential enemy in many of them.
American soldiers, said Sgt. Gary Lippman of the Fourth Infantry Division, are increasingly dismayed by the unfriendly reception they receive from Iraqis.
"We don't really care what happens to Iraqis, friendly or enemy. We want to do the right thing, we want to be helpful. But I don't think they're ready for what we want to give them," said Lippman, a native of Spokane, Wash.
At Baghdad University on Monday, U.S. soldiers were nowhere in sight on the campus that they once patrolled, restricting their presence to the institution's two gates where they checked IDs and searched cars going in.
Students said their interaction with the soldiers on campus had been restricted to exchanging greetings, but acknowledged that a small number of students conversed with them.
"Students, females and males, who speak to the soldiers deserve contempt," said chemistry student Heba al-Askari, 23.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2003/07/07/international0214EDT0431.DTL