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Got this in today's WJS 4/22/2003.
There is a Ms. Sadeq mentioned in the article. We need more of her in this country.
Enjoy!
IRAQ IN TRANSITION
Residents of Baghdad Bear Arms
In Larger Numbers Amid Looting
By YAROSLAV TROFIMOV
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- After the home of Ibrahim Ali's neighbors was looted last week, the 25-year-old taxi driver decided he needed some protection. So he drove to a bustling market square in the middle-class New Baghdad neighborhood, where merchants hawk pickled mangos, tomatoes, whiskey -- and guns.
"It is very dangerous here, so I need something against the looters," said Mr. Ali as he checked out a Hungarian version of the Russian-designed Kalashnikov assault rifle, a weapon of choice in Iraq. The vendor demanded 100,000 Iraqi dinars -- a bagload of bills equivalent to about $35. He was also frank about the gun's origin: "We looted it."
And so the looted and the looters come together at this marketplace, one of hundreds of flourishing gun fairs that have sprung up around Iraq since the crumbling of Saddam Hussein's regime. While gun ownership was always widespread here, until two weeks ago Iraqis needed to go through strict background checks by the secret police before they could obtain a gun license. Now, freedom from Mr. Hussein in an increasingly lawless society means for many the freedom to acquire maximum firepower.
Electricity and telephone service have yet to return in most of Baghdad, and pitch-dark streets provide ideal surroundings for robbers and bandits who terrorize the city at night. U.S. soldiers and the Iraqi police, nominally responsible for law and order here, steer well clear of many troubled parts of the city.
[[Image]]
An Iraqi sells a gun at a recently opened weapons market in Baghdad Monday.
"Every child as young as 10 has a weapon in my neighborhood, so I'm really scared," said Silwa Jumaa, as she purchased a soccer ball for her son and then came to look for a suitable weapon at the New Baghdad marketplace. "We don't want guns, we want peace -- but we have no choice," she said.
As potential buyers test-fired their assault rifles into the air or into the ground nearby, Ali Abdulhussein showed off his ware in a big black garbage bag: a 25mm Russian-made machine gun with a melon-size round clip. It is a weapon that is usually mounted on a rooftop to mow down crowds. Since last week, Mr. Abdulhussein has set himself up as a regular arms dealer here. He is buying the machine guns from a bulk supplier at 150,000 dinars each and resells them in New Baghdad at 200,000 dinars. He sold three such guns in the past three days. "Business is good. People will do anything these days to protect their families."
U.S. troops in Baghdad usually confiscate the weapons they find, occasionally running roadblocks and checking people's cars for guns and ammunition. And a U.S. patrol drives by the New Baghdad market square at least three times a day. That doesn't quite deter people like Mr. Abdulhussein. "When they come, everyone hides the weapons behind their backs and looks at the Americans with a smile," he said. "They never seize any guns down here."
Even a mention of American soldiers angers people at the market, located in a predominantly Shiite part of Baghdad. "You know why we are buying these weapons?" asked Alaa Habib, an oil-company worker. "So that we could kill American soldiers if they don't leave our country."
Abbas Ali, a now-unemployed government worker and another potential gun buyer, interrupted Mr. Habib. "The American army is very, very bad. All they do here is kill children and women," he said. Mr. Ali insisted that he had personally witnessed U.S. Marines shooting up a car with women and children that failed to stop quickly enough at a Baghdad checkpoint last week -- the sort of tragedy that has occurred a number of times since U.S. forces entered the city two weeks ago.
IRAQ IN TRANSITION
? Receive daily roundups1 on the latest developments in Iraq.
? For continuing coverage, see Iraq in Transition.2
The American presence in Baghdad also means skewed pricing for guns. The big assault rifles, subject to confiscation by U.S. soldiers, cost less at this market than the pistols that can be easily hidden in hand bags. Large weapons, such as mortars and hand grenades, are nearly free because so many of them lie abandoned all over the city.
Baan Jaffar Sadeq, who is Iraq's former sharp-shooting champion, comes to the New Baghdad marketplace almost every day, looking for a high-quality, 5mm pistol that she could hide in her purse. "I want a clean one, in a good shape -- but that's hard to find," she said.
Back in her well-appointed home across the city, Ms. Sadeq already owns a veritable arsenal. She fetched a loaded Kalashnikov AK-47, a sports air gun and a shiny 9mm handgun. Another AK-47 has been loaned to a neighbor. "Careful -- it's loaded, and it hurts," she warned a visitor as she handed over the pistol. "I know how to fire them all," boasted Ms. Sadeq's six-year-old son, Zeyad, as he looked up from a Lego game.
"I liked the weapons before because I liked the sports," Ms. Sadeq said. "Now, we need them for survival."
There is a Ms. Sadeq mentioned in the article. We need more of her in this country.
Enjoy!
IRAQ IN TRANSITION
Residents of Baghdad Bear Arms
In Larger Numbers Amid Looting
By YAROSLAV TROFIMOV
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- After the home of Ibrahim Ali's neighbors was looted last week, the 25-year-old taxi driver decided he needed some protection. So he drove to a bustling market square in the middle-class New Baghdad neighborhood, where merchants hawk pickled mangos, tomatoes, whiskey -- and guns.
"It is very dangerous here, so I need something against the looters," said Mr. Ali as he checked out a Hungarian version of the Russian-designed Kalashnikov assault rifle, a weapon of choice in Iraq. The vendor demanded 100,000 Iraqi dinars -- a bagload of bills equivalent to about $35. He was also frank about the gun's origin: "We looted it."
And so the looted and the looters come together at this marketplace, one of hundreds of flourishing gun fairs that have sprung up around Iraq since the crumbling of Saddam Hussein's regime. While gun ownership was always widespread here, until two weeks ago Iraqis needed to go through strict background checks by the secret police before they could obtain a gun license. Now, freedom from Mr. Hussein in an increasingly lawless society means for many the freedom to acquire maximum firepower.
Electricity and telephone service have yet to return in most of Baghdad, and pitch-dark streets provide ideal surroundings for robbers and bandits who terrorize the city at night. U.S. soldiers and the Iraqi police, nominally responsible for law and order here, steer well clear of many troubled parts of the city.
[[Image]]
An Iraqi sells a gun at a recently opened weapons market in Baghdad Monday.
"Every child as young as 10 has a weapon in my neighborhood, so I'm really scared," said Silwa Jumaa, as she purchased a soccer ball for her son and then came to look for a suitable weapon at the New Baghdad marketplace. "We don't want guns, we want peace -- but we have no choice," she said.
As potential buyers test-fired their assault rifles into the air or into the ground nearby, Ali Abdulhussein showed off his ware in a big black garbage bag: a 25mm Russian-made machine gun with a melon-size round clip. It is a weapon that is usually mounted on a rooftop to mow down crowds. Since last week, Mr. Abdulhussein has set himself up as a regular arms dealer here. He is buying the machine guns from a bulk supplier at 150,000 dinars each and resells them in New Baghdad at 200,000 dinars. He sold three such guns in the past three days. "Business is good. People will do anything these days to protect their families."
U.S. troops in Baghdad usually confiscate the weapons they find, occasionally running roadblocks and checking people's cars for guns and ammunition. And a U.S. patrol drives by the New Baghdad market square at least three times a day. That doesn't quite deter people like Mr. Abdulhussein. "When they come, everyone hides the weapons behind their backs and looks at the Americans with a smile," he said. "They never seize any guns down here."
Even a mention of American soldiers angers people at the market, located in a predominantly Shiite part of Baghdad. "You know why we are buying these weapons?" asked Alaa Habib, an oil-company worker. "So that we could kill American soldiers if they don't leave our country."
Abbas Ali, a now-unemployed government worker and another potential gun buyer, interrupted Mr. Habib. "The American army is very, very bad. All they do here is kill children and women," he said. Mr. Ali insisted that he had personally witnessed U.S. Marines shooting up a car with women and children that failed to stop quickly enough at a Baghdad checkpoint last week -- the sort of tragedy that has occurred a number of times since U.S. forces entered the city two weeks ago.
IRAQ IN TRANSITION
? Receive daily roundups1 on the latest developments in Iraq.
? For continuing coverage, see Iraq in Transition.2
The American presence in Baghdad also means skewed pricing for guns. The big assault rifles, subject to confiscation by U.S. soldiers, cost less at this market than the pistols that can be easily hidden in hand bags. Large weapons, such as mortars and hand grenades, are nearly free because so many of them lie abandoned all over the city.
Baan Jaffar Sadeq, who is Iraq's former sharp-shooting champion, comes to the New Baghdad marketplace almost every day, looking for a high-quality, 5mm pistol that she could hide in her purse. "I want a clean one, in a good shape -- but that's hard to find," she said.
Back in her well-appointed home across the city, Ms. Sadeq already owns a veritable arsenal. She fetched a loaded Kalashnikov AK-47, a sports air gun and a shiny 9mm handgun. Another AK-47 has been loaned to a neighbor. "Careful -- it's loaded, and it hurts," she warned a visitor as she handed over the pistol. "I know how to fire them all," boasted Ms. Sadeq's six-year-old son, Zeyad, as he looked up from a Lego game.
"I liked the weapons before because I liked the sports," Ms. Sadeq said. "Now, we need them for survival."
