Hatred, fear reign after 'liberation' Violence, anarchy cutting too close

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for Some

At a stall in the Bab al Sharji "thieves market" -- a sprawling bazaar in the old section of Baghdad now filled with pickpockets, car thieves and prostitutes -- 13-year-old Allawi Ali Haydar does a brisk business selling videos of insurgents fighting U.S. forces and Iraqi national guards. Bloody scenes flickering on a monitor show the Mahdi Army militia of firebrand cleric Muqtada al-Sadr firing on U.S. soldiers from alleyways.

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A little way down the pockmarked Sadr City road, past a blue and-white Mercedes bus riddled with bullet holes, a smiling Mahdi Army fighter is giving orders. He has an infectious laugh and flashes perfect teeth, giving his name as Ali "Abu Hossein." At 24, he leads a group of pumped-up followers -- some as young as 12 -- for a night of what passes for fun in Sadr City: resetting remote control bombs that failed to detonate during the previous night's battles with U.S. soldiers.

A group of Iraqi police stands 20 feet away. "The police are with us," says Ali. "Or they are afraid," says one of his followers.


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The dwindling cadre of U.S. officials in Baghdad continues to express unbridled optimism for the future of Iraq and America's aims. But Thursday's bomb attacks in the Green Zone proved even that fortress, home to U.S. and Iraqi officials, is no longer safe. At least six people, including four Americans, were killed when suicide bombers slipped into the zone and set off coordinated blasts at a popular cafe.

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