born 1976, political Scientist and freelance journalist
[24/02/2010]
The 14 bodyguards of Quassem Atta, General of the Iraqi Army and spokesmen of the government's security plan for Baghdad, are exhausted. While some of them smoke, the others, without bulletproof vests or helmets, sleep in chairs. The most disciplined watch their boss's live interview on television. The most talkative among them are having an absurd debate comparing the relationship between (Iraqi) Kurdistan and Baghdad with Catalonia and Madrid. The interview is finished. And so are the jokes. The waiting room of the Al Salam television in Khadamiye starts moving, tense and silent. With their arms ready, and their helmets and vests on, the soldiers go back to work.
The General has just announced, live, without his bodyguards knowing beforehand, that he is going to cross Al Khadamiye on foot, to demonstrate his trust in his men and in the security plan designed to protect the Ashura celebrations. He also wants to show his solidarity with the district's inhabitants. Or enjoy the adulation of the crowd. Just yesterday, the security operation stopped two terrorists ready to bomb themselves into martyrdom among the crowds. Even though it is believed that they were not the only ones, it is possible that their arrest stopped a massacre.
A security cordon is formed around the General. Heavily armed men with their hands on their triggers. The cleverest of them all, the only one capable of maintaining a fluent conversation in English, his secretary, does not miss the occasion of showing off to the foreigner. Do you want to come along with us? It is the only way of crossing the checkpoints closing the ancient part of Khadamiye. The journalist has no doubts as he walks along with them. The camera, which has so often been a drawback, is now the entry key to celebrations that are vetoed to the press for security measures. No journalist is allowed to film within the precinct. Two days of vain attempts have just been overturned by a combination of chance and persistence.
The people make way for the group. The General salutes with his right hand up high, with a slow, artificial and rhythmic movement. It takes us back to the old Francoist black and white newsreels. The General approaches the old men who offer him tea, the General stirs the soup, the General tussles the air of some little boy with a frightened look on his face. His mustache, his uniform and his beret could all be images from the former regime. Of any military regime, in fact. Without time to remove the television make-up, his expression, already hard, becomes that of an impasible and distant wax figure. It is not safe walking along with him, surrounded by his bodyguards, we could be victims of the attack everyone is fearing. A short interview is improvised with the aim of separating him from the crowds as soon as possible. "We trust the security plan. The system deployed, of three-ring of progressive strictness surrounding the mosque, should work out, even if we are aware that they will try to wreck it, as proven by the detention of two suicide bombers. But I am not a politician, only a fighter, so I have no time for words. I give example with my acts. With my presence in this place I am sending out a message to those who destabilize the country: we are all implicated in guaranteeing the security of the citizens of Baghdad".
His men look around in every direction, trying to keep the crowds at a safe distance. It is a question of minutes before they are overwhelmed. Dozens of people photograph the General with their mobile phones. The also applaud him. It is difficult to doubt his personal bravery. "I know that these 14 soldiers cannot protect me. If we have committed any mistake in security, I can pay for it with my life, like any of those present here. It is not my men who protect me, it is the hundreds of thousands of citizens who come to show their sorrow for Hussein's sacrifice in the Ashura festivity who are next to me. I fight, 24 hours a day, for the security of the citizens of Baghdad, to recover our security and to move on. Without fear. The terrorists have lost the battle. It would be shameful if I did not leave my armored car and I did not walk around the streets".
Good Night and Good Luck, my General. Ali, who has lit the scene with the little torch of his mobile phone, laughs ironically while he quotes a local saying: "the words spoken at night are like butter over bread: when the sun comes out, they will melt".
While the group continues deeper into the crowd and we can look at things with a little more tranquility, an informal debate opens. According to Zaid Al Wardi, "We all know that even if the security plan has reduced the attacks, it cannot stop them completely. It is impossible to completely secure Al Khadamiye. It is simply too large. The terrorists that they arrested yesterday where already inside the district, past the checkpoints. It will be a long time before these attacks are not a part of our daily life". Ali Kareem considers that the solution is not sending 3000 policemen and soldiers into the district every week. It only takes one terrorist to ruin the celebrations. The organizations behind these attacks have to dismantled. It has been many months before any American soldier has ventured into the area. Nobody has the slightest justification to keep on murdering Iraqis. Adhamiye is only a few hundreds of meters away, at the other side of the river. About a year ago, mortar bombs were exchanged between the two riversides. They do not said it out lour, but it is understood that they think that the problem has its origins there. If you look at things from Khadamiye. If you cross the river, the reasoning goes the other way.
A posteriori note: During the celebration of the Arbain, the feast that, 40 days after the start of the Ashura, celebrates its ending, three suicide attacks caused 120 victims among the pilgrims attending it. The security plan designed by the Iraqi army has its obvious flaws, and these flaws cost dozens of lives.