By Lee Hockstader
Washington Post Foreign Service
Thursday, February 28, 1991; Page A01

Post time line

BAGHDAD, Iraq, Feb. 27—This story was subject to Iraqi government censorship and was filed prior to President Bush's cease-fire order.

Surveying the wreckage of their shattered capital and the spectacle of their armed forces retreating under fire from allied artillery and aircraft, many Iraqis seemed convinced today that they face a daunting enemy whose main goal is their nation's humiliation, not just the liberation of Kuwait.

Baghdad radio reported for the first time today that coalition paratroops had landed in southern Iraq, blocking the "dignified" pullout that had been sought by Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

With the news that the fighting was now on Iraqi soil, many people reacted with disbelief as the consequences of their government's actions became clear.

"We are obliged to fight, for our nation and honor," said Haider Jabouri, 53, the owner of a clothing store. But had Iraq gained anything from the conflict? He shook his head. "Until now, nothing," he said.

The losses here have been catastrophic. There is no electricity, and water is scarce. Three of the busiest bridges in the heart of Baghdad have been destroyed by allied air raids. Fuel in what was one of the world's biggest oil producers is extremely difficult to find and very expensive.

On the road that leads west from Baghdad to the Jordanian border, the mangled carcasses of destroyed trucks form a grim gallery on the side of the road. In some sections, the road is pockmarked from allied bombing.

Along the road, most communicationslines are still standing, but they apparently have been rendered useless by strikes at transmission centers.

As the danger seems to shift from the reversal of their conquest of Kuwait to the territorial integrity of Iraq, people appear to feel more directly threatened.

"Bush is coming in order to invade Iraq and destroy our country, not to free Kuwait," Suhad Salien, a 22-year-old housewife, said in an interview outside Shorja market, the city's oldest and largest. "We're proud of our history and our heritage, and we'll never let Bush impose his will on the Iraqi people."

Many people questioned in the course of three hours of brief interviews in downtown Baghdad appear to view the war in intensely personal terms, perhaps more than they had in the past, when what was at stake was a small emirate few had ever seen.

"It's true we're only 18 million, but all of us are ready to fight," said Fawzi Hussein, a 45-year-old lawyer. "In the new world order, which Mr. Bush is so concerned with, he is not prepared to respect Iraq's strength and independence." Like many others, Hussein said that Bush, in league with Israel, had used Kuwait as a pretext for destruction of Iraq.

But through the bitterness and recrimination and conspiracy theories involving the supposed American-Zionist alliance, there is also a frank recognition here that Iraq has suffered tremendously from Saddam's decision to invade Kuwait.

In this sprawling capital of 4 million, a visitor can drive through some neighborhoods admiring the beauty of Muslim shrines and the Tigris River, then turn a corner and encounter utter devastation.

Around the corner from Shorja market, which is piled with trash from an interruption in pickups but otherwise undamaged, there is the ruined complex of the Central Bank, its roof collapsed, its pillars buckled inside their masonry lining. Crushed vehicles lie scattered all around.

Next door is the Suk al-Benat, where youngsters used to window-shop for the latest fashions. Now it is a mess of splintered glass and boarded-up windows -- a victim of "collateral damage," in Pentagon terms, from the hit on the Central Bank.

While commercial life has been impaired by the relentless bombing and missile attacks, it has by no means come to a halt. In the Shorja market, a busy retail trade goes on, squeezed but not choked off by shortages and higher prices. Candles, which are in great demand as the main source of light, have quadrupled in price, as have eggs. But candies, nuts and spices, kitchen utensils and shoes are inexpensive and abundant.

"We are living as normal a life as possible and tending our offices despite the lack of petrol," said Soad, a 25-year-old typist in a spared bank building. Was the annexation of Kuwait worth so much suffering? "There were many more important matters," she replied.