Go home Yankees! [Archives:2003/635/Letters to the Editor]

Ali Alward
Sanaa
No sooner had Iraqis finished their celebrations than they were outraged to watch American soldiers settling in at their city intersections, looking unconcernedly at the looters while they were rampaging through the city.
Now, Iraqis began to grope their way along the streets of Baghdad to make out the intentions of the American soldiers for which war on their country was launched. “Neither liberation nor weapons of mass destruction was the reason of war but oil and the security of Israel,'' said some Iraqis.
The echo of tempting and sweet words, which were beamed throughout Iraq from a US-aircraft and ground- based transmitting facilities, is now on its way to disappearing. For many Iraqis, this day is really sweet but terribly bitter, and there will be a day on which Iraqis might miss Saddam's regime not because he was kind or just but the alternative regime that replaced him would be worse.
That feeling was notable during the first days of invading, where there were few outbursts of joy for the American ''guests'', but that joy quickly turned into contempt and disdain. In other words, we heard Iraqis saying thanks for toppling Saddam but go home Yankees!
One would wonder why Iraqis did show such sarcastic attitude towards American soldiers, despite the fact that they came to get them free from Saddam's quelling regime as they claimed. In fact, Saddam will not be more tyrannical than American administration, if only we were to compare them.
No question that Saddam is a criminal and murder but let us not be misled, Saddam is first of all American -made. He acted out his leading part by getting involved in war with Iran, then invading Kuwait in 1991, which led eventually to the third gulf war , the war that seemed to be planned by American hands before Saddam took power.
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