| Page 3 of 3 < |
Elation Gives Way to Dread of Daily Life
After hearing news about Hussein's hanging, Iraqis carrying his effigy drive through the streets of Sadr City, a mostly Shiite slum in Baghdad.
(By Wathiq Khuzaie -- Getty Images)
TOOLBOX
   Resize
COMMENT
 Discussion Policy
 CLOSE
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Who's Blogging  |
In the Hurriyah neighborhood of Baghdad, two car bombs exploded within moments of each other, one near a market, the other near the bus terminal. They killed 11 people and wounded six, said an Interior Ministry official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
There's one thing Iraqis agree on, whatever their sect: Their day-to-day problems will probably not get better anytime soon.
"I believe that a return of peace and security is not feasible, and the Americans and the Iraqi government must try hard to find solutions for the catastrophic situation," said Sherzad Omar Fekky, an instructor at the University of Kirkuk.
Zahara Jasim, 24, sat inside a women's clothing store in Karrada rubbing her hands together by a space heater to stay warm. She said she was happy to see Hussein die. She blames him for the death of her father, who fought in the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s.
But she doesn't blame him for her current problems. That, she said, is the Americans' fault.
"They haven't done anything," she said. "There's no oil. There's no kerosene. There's no electricity. If they really wanted to make things work, they would."
Adnan Mizher, 34, a former army officer from Diyala province, northeast of Baghdad, said his brother was executed by Hussein's government. Still, he said, life was better under Hussein. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, he said, has done nothing for Iraqis.
"Today, there are killings, murder, kidnappings and displacement of people on sectarian grounds," he said. "Life under Saddam was much better than now. The hell of Saddam is better than the paradise that Maliki promised us."
Special correspondent Saad Sarhan and other Washington Post staff in Iraq contributed to this report.
