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On a Baghdad Street, Palpable Despair
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Iraq's leaders, Mahmoud said, had spent too many years in exile before the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 allowed them to return and take power. They are out of touch with the people, he said.
"They came for revenge, not to help the people," he added.
Mahmoud, who has a round, wrinkled face and a gray-speckled beard, remarked how quickly their lives had reversed in a week. "Suddenly a guerrilla war erupted," he said. "It's not easy to control street fighting."
"The situation is like Lebanon in the 1970s," said Hadhi, referring to the civil war there. "It took years to stabilize."
But Mahmoud noted that the conflict erupting across Iraq today is very different from the violence between Sunnis and Shiites in 2006.
"Now, people are hating each other more," he said. "It's not sectarian. It's within sects."
Both men said they felt safe in Karrada because the Badr Brigade, the armed wing of the Supreme Council, had secured the area.
"There would be a problem if Badr was not here," Mahmoud said. "The Sadrists would march into Karrada."
In a pet store down the street, Abu Zainab, a 47-year-old blacksmith, wondered aloud why he had voted for the ruling Shiite coalition led by Maliki.
"I blame the government. Why did they go to Basra?" he said. "The security situation is worse in Diyala province and in Mosul. They should send soldiers there."
Abu Zainab said he believed Maliki was responding to U.S. pressure to go after Sadr. "This government is taking orders from the Americans," he said, shaking his head in disgust.
"It's been five days. They are still fighting the militias. What if they have to fight a country? The very next day the foreign troops will enter our houses," he said.
As he spoke, mortar shells crashed down on Karrada.
Although Abu Zainab is a Shiite, he reminisced almost wistfully about life under Saddam Hussein, who favored the Sunnis. Back then, there was electricity for 22 hours a day. Abu Zainab said he hasn't had any electricity in eight days.
Farther along the street, though, shopkeeper Hadhi Fadhil had it worse. He does not live in Karrada and has slept on the floor of his store since Thursday because of the curfew. "Life was getting better gradually," Fadhil said. "Then things changed overnight. Now I am stuck here.
"The next time, I am not going to vote for anybody. I don't like anyone anymore."
