Saddam's old soldiers find life hard under American paymasters

[UpInArms]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/11/06/wirq06.xml&sSheet=/news/2003/11/06/ixworld.html

Iraq's standby government has put Saddam Hussein's former legions to work in an attempt to solve the growing security crisis, but all was not going to plan yesterday.

At a roadblock on the outskirts of Baghdad manned by hardened veterans of 25 years of war, former soldiers were less than appreciative of their new American paymasters.

"I'm not here to serve the Americans," insisted Lt Ali Abbas, a former non-commissioned officer in the Iraqi army, but now an officer in the Iraqi Civil Defence Force.

"I'm serving my country, and the sooner the Americans get out of it the better. They are the ones causing most of the violence by being here."

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