Hidden Article

This posting has been hidden because it breaches the Indymedia UK (IMC UK) Editorial Guidelines.

IMC UK is an interactive site offering inclusive participation. All postings to the open publishing newswire are the responsibility of the individual authors and not of IMC UK. Although IMC UK volunteers attempt to ensure accuracy of the newswire, they take no responsibility legal or otherwise for the contents of the open publishing site. Mention of external web sites or services is for information purposes only and constitutes neither an endorsement nor a recommendation.

Smiles and Flowers for U.S. Marines in Baghdad

Robin | 09.04.2003 12:41

Smiles and Flowers for U.S. Marines in Baghdad
Wed April 9, 2003 07:49 AM ET

By Sean Maguire
BAGHDAD - Hundreds of jubilant Iraqis mobbed a convoy of U.S. Marines on Wednesday, cheering, dancing and waving as American troops swept toward central Baghdad through slums and leafy suburbs from the east.

Crowds threw flowers at the Marines as they drove past the Martyrs' Monument, just two miles east of the central Jumhuriya Bridge over the Tigris river.

Young and middle-aged men, many wearing soccer shirts of leading Western clubs like Manchester United, shouted "Hello, hello" as Marines advanced through the rundown sprawl of Saddam City and then more prosperous suburbs with villas and trim lawns.

"No more Saddam Hussein," chanted one group, waving to troops as they passed. "We love you, we love you."

One young man ran alongside a Marine armored personnel carrier trying to hand over a heavy belt of ammunition.

An older man made a wild kicking gesture with his foot, saying "Goodbye Saddam."

Women waved from balconies, girls threw flower petals at young Marines leaning across gun turrets. One woman held her baby aloft.

Tank crews picked the flowers from the tops of their fighting machines, smelt them and grinned.

One man shouted to a soldier: "Is it over?."

"Almost," came the Marine's reply.

"To be honest, I'm happy it appears they're not going to fight. I was a little nervous when the crowd was so exuberant, we've heard so much about suicide bombings and drive-by shootings," said Captain Dan Rose.

"We are the lead regiment now. We are the furthest forward of anyone," Colonel John Toolan, commander of 1st Marine Regiment, told Reuters.

"I believe we are on the last leg."

Robin

Comments

Hide the following 6 comments

Amazing remark!!!

09.04.2003 13:36

>>>

That is a rather strange one since many, especially the children do not even have a "last leg" to stand on after the "liberating" experience of being bombed.

Wrong Arm of the Raw

maybe

09.04.2003 13:37

Soon the people who praise the liberators will be going to Macdonalds, buying American cars, drinking coca cola, they won't thank the Americans for that. The people of Iraq will not remember what it is like to be Iraqi, and soon they will just be numbers, statistics, voters for some American puppet government, that uses terrorism and buys weapons of mass destruction at discount price.

John Cowley
Homepage: http://homepage.ntlworld.com/stephen.cowley1/

Irony

09.04.2003 14:06

Listen we must all stick together. We must stop all positive views of the West getting out in the media as this portrays them in a good light which is not good as it makes us look like numpteys. It doesn't matter that thousands and thousands of Iraqi's are rejoicing right now, because they are free from Saddam's brutal regime, they are not important. What is important is that the West is portrayed in a bad light..try not to let stories about Iraqi attrocities get posted.. ony Western. We don't want to look like numpties cos lets face it WE know what is best for Iraqi's, they don't know... they wont be able to stand up and be counted when the new interim government comes into force. They wont be able to play a part in any new Iraq despite the Iraq locals in Southern Iraq who for the first time in years can freely work at the port and recieve a wage, despite the fact that locals have already been recruited to form a form of office in Basra. Who cares if they will have a democracy that will probably be free from oppression and torture. This is not the point, despite the fact that the it is acknowedged by some that more civillians might have died under Saddam's rule, civillians have died. Who cares if some Iraqi's have expressed a view that the war is a necessary evil to get rid of Saddam. Like I say WE know better, they DON't kno This is not important, this cannot stop an anti western frenzy. We must not acknowledge the good things the west have done ONLY the bad..

Ynori

ynori

09.04.2003 14:28

chill out...

'try not to let stories about Iraqi attrocities get posted.. ony Western'

err, last nite, on the day that 100's of dead and wounded an hour were cramming into baghdad's hospital and the day that US troops attacked *every* independent media base in Baghdad, what was the ITV main story?....'ba'ath party used to torture people in basra'!! even the Soviet propaganda system wasn't as good as the one we've got here

'Iraq locals in Southern Iraq who for the first time in years can freely work at the port and recieve a wage'

???so people didn't work for a wage before? hmmm

'This is not the point, despite the fact that the it is acknowedged by some that more civillians might have died under Saddam's rule, civillians have died'

so u reckon western crimes are justified by crimes that might have been committed in the future by the ba'ath party...that's the mirror image of what you're condemning us for supposedly saying!!

'Who cares if some Iraqi's have expressed a view that the war is a necessary evil to get rid of Saddam'

have a read of http::/dear_raed.blogspot.com .... instead of telling iraqis want they want (again you're doing exactly what you condemn us for doing) read what one of them living in baghdad actually says

' We must not acknowledge the good things the west have done ONLY the bad.. '

what, the west has started a war, devastated iraq once again & killed thousands of people to get rid of a tyrant who wouldn't be there if it wasn't for the west in the 1st place...yeah, we're heroes

Nimwad

09.04.2003 14:51

Hell I know we're definatly not heroes. Yes people have worked for a wage before and yes some people did want Saddam to stay in power. But my point is YOU DON'T FUCKING KNOW WHAT PEOPLE WANT IN IRAQ, NEITHER DO I! The point is i'm not fucking preaching like I do know what the Iraqi people want. Half the poeple on this site would rather cut off their noses to spite their face. Sometimes it appears that people would rather see Iraq people suffer to ensure that America is still portrayed as the bad guy. You speak about balanced media representing everyone etc yet every major posting is anti war, despite polls proving the majority of people in the UK supporting the war. It's hypocrisy and you just can't see it. The war is a terrible terrible thing, but some good will come of it, if you can't acknowledge that then you simply are in denial and deep down you will know that...

The war is finished hopefully, we must accept that do you think that the Iraqi people would have wanted Saddam to stay or for a "puppet" government put in. I reckon they would want the puppet government. For you to say you KNOW what they want is both FUCKING arrogant and seriously ignorant.

This is not a game about making the West to be the bad guys this is about life and death, sometimes it would be good for some people to remember that..

Irony

Ynori's west

09.04.2003 15:49

There is so much shortsightedness in Ynori's attempt to portray the 'west' as the liberator.

Without heaping the abuse Ynori rightly deserves let me point out the western supremacy that is behind the current shortsighted euphoria in the *west* as mirrored in Ynori's post.

Only an idiot will celebrate unless of course there are other reasons like the worst of the evils has been got rid of *for now*.
Let the Iraqis celebrate if Saddam has been got rid of after 35 years.
But is it time for celebration for us?
Is it time for celebration for our planet that Iraq momentarily is poised to join after such a long break?

Let us remember that this (Ynori's open jubilation) is exactly what Blair blurted out many times in his speech in the house of commons drama 'our way of life'.

This (Ynori's open jubilation) is exactly what Bush blurted out after 9/11
'You are with us or against us'. The 'us' being the west and its sympathisers/collaborator.

The 'west' its people, way of life, values are truly disgusting. This is the main threat to this planet's existence.

ram