Interview with anti-U.S. Iraqi cell

[Khephra]

Interview with anti-U.S. Iraqi cell
By P. MITCHELL PROTHERO
Published 12/3/2003 12:05 PM
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(Editor's Note: This is the first of a two-part series on meetings United Press International's Baghdad correspondent P. Mitchell Prothero had with a top member of an anti-U.S. Iraqi guerrilla group)


"Wait fifteen minutes," Abu Mujhid says after looking at his watch. Sipping a 7-UP soda after having broken his Ramadan fast just after nightfall in mid-November, Abu Mujhid -- not his real name -- has just been challenged by a reporter to prove he commands a resistance cell that performs violent attacks on American troops occupying his home town of Baghdad.

It's a critical question for men claiming to be part of anti-U.S. forces. Most demand money for exclusive interviews and eventually approach journalists working in Iraq. These interviews usually end with some unknown man wearing a kaffiya -- or Arabic headscarf -- around his face, holding an AK-47 and talking about some unverifiable incident in which he personally killed scores of American troops.

But Abu Mujhid has never asked a reporter for money. And he sits at a table in Western dress for this meeting -- one of four he and his men conducted with United Press International -- his round face clearly identifiable in a public place.

http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20031203-115217-9537r

[mmm]

1. Great read

[leftchick]

2. this is just one "cell" in Iraq.....

After reading this I imagine there may be thousands of cells by now, considering how the people are being treated. Just proves the whole "hearts and minds" concept was a bunch of BULL....

<snip>
While he says many American soldiers have offended him and his men, Abu Mujhid acknowledges some have been polite. Behavior, he says, has saved some of their lives.

"There have been some that say 'hello' or 'peace be unto you' in Arabic to me," he says. "They give our children sweets and do their jobs with respect. One of these men I even see as my friend. So we were conducting an operation, about to shoot at a Humvee one night when I realized it was the nice soldier. I told my man not to shoot him.

"But others treat us like dogs. I saw one put his boot on the head of an old man lying on the ground (during a raid.) Even Saddam would not have done such a thing."

Another incident soured Abu Mujhid on the occupation, he says. When a Humvee passed him and his friends one night while they were standing around drinking tea, the soldiers got out and accused them of having yelled obscenities at the troops.

"They cuffed our hands and one soldier kicked me," he says. "Then they released us because we had done nothing. It was that night I went and got my gun. The next night I shot the soldier that kicked me. But his (body armor) protected him. I don't think he died."

[Eloriel]

4. Who knew treating someone with respect can save your

life?

That's an absolutely stunning excerpt. Off to read the whole thing.

Eloriel

[Mokito]

3. This is what America is fighting...

not terrorists, but genuine Iraqi resistance. Angry civillians who made up their mind to take up arms.