Anger in Baghdad as Americans finish wall

[babylonsister]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/05/02/wiraq202.xml

Anger in Baghdad as Americans finish wall

Last Updated: 2:04am BST 03/05/2007

American forces have completed construction of a concrete wall around the Baghdad district of Adhamiya despite protests from the Iraqi prime minister and local residents who claim that they are now at the mercy of militants.


An artisit paints a wall in Baghdad; Anger in Baghdad as Americans finish wall
Local artists display their skills with murals on the blast barriers and concrete walls that dot Baghdad

The wall was intended to help control the activities of militants in the predominantly Sunni Muslim district. But it remains a bastion of extremist al-Qa'eda linked groups. Parts of the district are so thick with armed militants that they are no-go zones to coalition forces.

Capt Mohammad Jasim, an Iraqi soldier manning a checkpoint on the Adhamiya bridge, said: "The Americans did not listen to us. We think this wall has made the area inside the wall more dangerous for people.

Um Doraid, a middle-aged housewife, said: "We here inside the wall are still as vulnerable as ever."

[Little Wing]

1. There's parts of Baghdad where the mightiest, most expensive military

in this history of the world won't even go?

[Old and In the Way]

2. Democracy inaction.

Like tearing down the Berlin Wall...only in reverse. How nice of us to ghetto-ize Baghdad. Freedom's on the march, blah, blah, blah.

[Botany]

3. So Shi ite military units will guard a Sunni district?

But they put horse pictures up on it so it is O.K..

We are just digging the hole deeper.

[damntexdem]

18. Hey, it's just Dubya's way to get his picture displayed prominently in Baghdad:

at the rear end of every horse. ;-)

[Marrah_G]

4. It's pretty though!@

Kudos to the artists :)

Still it's like putting a band-aid on a broken leg. None of this will be changed by walls or rifles, but ONLY by negotiation and leadership. Unfortunately Iraq has no leaders willing to negotiate, they are instead led by a bunch of greedy, power-hungry clerics who would rather see their people die then to try and reach compromise with the other parties.

WHen is *ush going to realize he has not just broken Iraq, he has pounded it into dust, there is nothing left to fix. We need to leave and let them rebuild and hope that in the end they choose something that will not be a theological dictatorship. I don't have alot of hope in that. In the end it will be one religious leader or another running the place, probably like Iran. A president who answers to a religious leader.

[meldroc]

5. Welcome to the Sunni ghetto.

Just like the Warsaw ghetto: it's not intended to protect the Sunni residents, but to imprison them. Just wait - before long, Sunnis will be grabbed from all over Baghdad and other cities and dumped in Adhamiya by the thousands. They go in, but don't come out. Of course, the fuckers at the gates will be restricting things like food, water and medical care from going in - the Sunnis will have to make do with a 250 calorie diet, just like the Jews in Warsaw.

[TwilightGardener]

6. But why do they need a wall when it's all Al Qaeda? Al Qaeda

won't care about walls. Oh, wait--could there be a sectarian civil war going on over there? Nah...

[Atman]

8. They'll follow us home, 'cross desert & ocean...but won't be able to scale a wall.

:eyes:

.

[subterranean]

15. Not a very high wall from the looks of it...

it even has handles conveniently placed for anyone trying to climb over!

[Cha]

16. Good fucking point! I hope the

observers over at TDS see that and bring it up on their show.

[Atman]

7. At least they have handles and steps built right in.

Jesus, an old lady could jump that thing...but she wouldn't need to because it's got convenient foot steps and handles already. It appears the entire purpose of the thing is just to piss the Iraqis off. What the hell else will this accomplish? I mean, besides adding more to Halliburton's bottom line?

.

[catmandu57]

9. I wonder how long it will last?

Before it's blown to hell, there's supposed to be several more of these around Baghdad, but let's see how long it is before they blow this up or just lob a few mortar rounds into the ghetto.

[TwilightGardener]

10. A tangible reminder of our occupation and control of their society--

winning hearts and minds!

[Danieljay]

11. Oceans no longer protect us. But, 8' walls do. n/t

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

12. Where's the moat and archers? Are the "terrorists" equipped with catapults?

[conspirator]

13. This is so like the gaza strip nt

[Horse with no Name]

14. You are a such a cynic. WE put the wall up so that the happy Iraqis would have a chance

to lay their flowers against it instead of throwing them in the streets silly.

[lumberjack_jeff]

17. Prime minister of Iraq "protests" the construction of a wall in Baghdad.

Explain to me again why he's no puppet/figurehead?