Despite terrorist's death, Iraqis see no end to suffering
Despite terrorist's death, Iraqis see no end to suffering
By Sabrina Tavernise. Copyright by The New York Times
Published: June 8, 2006
BAGHDAD Haifa Hassan stared with blank sadness toward a spot on her living room carpet when asked about Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's death.
The larger-than-life terrorist leader had little to do with the killing of her 12- year-old son, Murthada, whose crumpled body was found beaten, burned and strangled after criminals kidnapped him two weeks ago. The family had raised $10,000 in ransom. It was not enough.
"The terrorists are here now, here among us," said Hassan, with a faraway look. "They did terrible things to my son. They are criminals. This is their work."
Even if Zarqawi is gone, "they still exist," she said of the criminals, her hands in her lap.
As news of Zarqawi's death settled into homes across Iraq, people in the nation's most dangerous areas wondered aloud at lunch tables and in hot afternoon living rooms what, if anything, about their lives would change.
A relentless stream of killings and kidnappings has plunged portions of the country into chaos, and the death of Zarqawi, while welcome, seems unlikely to improve the situation.
The painful, familiar beat resumed just two hours after the announcement of Zarqawi's death when five young women waiting outside a university were gunned down in a drive-by shooting, a witness said.
Four bombs killed as many as 30 people in largely Shiite areas of Baghdad, The Associated Press reported.
The skepticism springs from how Iraqis see the basic trends of violence here. Much of the killing, they say, is driven by a poisonous mix of economics and lawlessness. Criminal gangs kill for money with impunity, as the state looks helplessly on. Al Qaeda takes advantage of those conditions, Iraqis said, but does not create them.
"Zarqawi is part of a story and this story will not end when he is finished," said Dhia Majid, a professor at a university in Baghdad, whose brother, a pediatrician, and his wife, a pharmacist, were shot and killed in western Baghdad last summer. "It's not Iraq, it's a slaughterhouse."
The day Murthada was taken, May 15, his bus never came and he had to walk to school. His parents immediately began getting calls from a man with a hard voice. He said their son would be killed if they did not pay $50,000, a sum far greater than the two teachers could afford. The boy's father, Hassan Sahar, bargained them down to $10,000.
They borrowed from friends and even distant acquaintances. Hassan Sahar sold his car.
Finally, he placed the sum in an empty basket outside a house in their neighborhood. A group of teenage boys, apparently working for the kidnappers, scurried away with it.
The autopsy later told a crushing tale: His son was killed the day he was taken.
"They are criminals; we know by their voice," the boy's mother said. "He laughed at us in a cruel way. They had already killed the boy and they were laughing."
In the Sunni Arab neighborhood of Adhamiya, streets were quiet around noon. Sawsen Khalaf, a 46-year-old homemaker in a pink hijab was washing dishes when the news of Zarqawi's death flickered across her television screen. She looked up and felt a moment of happiness. Then she went back to washing.
"We don't know if it is good news or not," she said. "We still have doubts."
Varied reactions on the Web
Zarqawi's death brought an array of reactions on Internet sites across the Arab world on Thursday, with Islamic militants saying that he died a hero's death and other Arabs characterizing him as a brutal killer who had devastated many families.
"Don't be happy Bush and small Abdullah," wrote Abu-Hajar on an Islamist Web site, addressing the American president and King Abdullah II of Jordan. "The slaughterers are coming."
In the chat room of Al Arabiya television station, many contributors hoped that Zarqawi would somehow pay for his kidnappings and murders.
"Oh Allah, punish him for the blood he has shed aggressively and unjustly," said someone using the name Nasser.
"How many heads have you chopped off? How many children have you orphaned? How many women have you made cry! You have ruined the homes of Muslims," wrote Majed Abul-Majd.
Many people in the region use Internet chat rooms heavily because they have few other outlets to express themselves candidly. Many post their contributions under fake names for fear of retribution either from governments or from Internet users with different views.
On Thursday, militants predicted Zarqawi's killing would spark revenge attacks.
"Zarqawi's martyrdom is not going to weaken the jihad in Iraq," said Khalid Khawaja, a former Pakistani intelligence officer who aided militants like Osama bin Laden during their fight against the Soviets in Afghanistan. "Rather, you will soon see more retaliatory attacks by his successors."
Hours after Zarqawi's death was made public, his supporters posted his pictures alongside poems that eulogized him and messages in flowery language that claimed he had earned a place next to Prophet Muhammad.
"Oh Allah, reunite us with Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in the great paradise alongside Prophet Muhammad," wrote Umm Ma'athe on one Web site.
Some contributors predicted that Zarqawi's death would be a good omen for Iraq.
"I hope this is the beginning of the end for terrorism in our beloved Iraq," said Muhammad Omar al-Dulaimi on Al Arabiya's site.
By Sabrina Tavernise. Copyright by The New York Times
Published: June 8, 2006
BAGHDAD Haifa Hassan stared with blank sadness toward a spot on her living room carpet when asked about Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's death.
The larger-than-life terrorist leader had little to do with the killing of her 12- year-old son, Murthada, whose crumpled body was found beaten, burned and strangled after criminals kidnapped him two weeks ago. The family had raised $10,000 in ransom. It was not enough.
"The terrorists are here now, here among us," said Hassan, with a faraway look. "They did terrible things to my son. They are criminals. This is their work."
Even if Zarqawi is gone, "they still exist," she said of the criminals, her hands in her lap.
As news of Zarqawi's death settled into homes across Iraq, people in the nation's most dangerous areas wondered aloud at lunch tables and in hot afternoon living rooms what, if anything, about their lives would change.
A relentless stream of killings and kidnappings has plunged portions of the country into chaos, and the death of Zarqawi, while welcome, seems unlikely to improve the situation.
The painful, familiar beat resumed just two hours after the announcement of Zarqawi's death when five young women waiting outside a university were gunned down in a drive-by shooting, a witness said.
Four bombs killed as many as 30 people in largely Shiite areas of Baghdad, The Associated Press reported.
The skepticism springs from how Iraqis see the basic trends of violence here. Much of the killing, they say, is driven by a poisonous mix of economics and lawlessness. Criminal gangs kill for money with impunity, as the state looks helplessly on. Al Qaeda takes advantage of those conditions, Iraqis said, but does not create them.
"Zarqawi is part of a story and this story will not end when he is finished," said Dhia Majid, a professor at a university in Baghdad, whose brother, a pediatrician, and his wife, a pharmacist, were shot and killed in western Baghdad last summer. "It's not Iraq, it's a slaughterhouse."
The day Murthada was taken, May 15, his bus never came and he had to walk to school. His parents immediately began getting calls from a man with a hard voice. He said their son would be killed if they did not pay $50,000, a sum far greater than the two teachers could afford. The boy's father, Hassan Sahar, bargained them down to $10,000.
They borrowed from friends and even distant acquaintances. Hassan Sahar sold his car.
Finally, he placed the sum in an empty basket outside a house in their neighborhood. A group of teenage boys, apparently working for the kidnappers, scurried away with it.
The autopsy later told a crushing tale: His son was killed the day he was taken.
"They are criminals; we know by their voice," the boy's mother said. "He laughed at us in a cruel way. They had already killed the boy and they were laughing."
In the Sunni Arab neighborhood of Adhamiya, streets were quiet around noon. Sawsen Khalaf, a 46-year-old homemaker in a pink hijab was washing dishes when the news of Zarqawi's death flickered across her television screen. She looked up and felt a moment of happiness. Then she went back to washing.
"We don't know if it is good news or not," she said. "We still have doubts."
Varied reactions on the Web
Zarqawi's death brought an array of reactions on Internet sites across the Arab world on Thursday, with Islamic militants saying that he died a hero's death and other Arabs characterizing him as a brutal killer who had devastated many families.
"Don't be happy Bush and small Abdullah," wrote Abu-Hajar on an Islamist Web site, addressing the American president and King Abdullah II of Jordan. "The slaughterers are coming."
In the chat room of Al Arabiya television station, many contributors hoped that Zarqawi would somehow pay for his kidnappings and murders.
"Oh Allah, punish him for the blood he has shed aggressively and unjustly," said someone using the name Nasser.
"How many heads have you chopped off? How many children have you orphaned? How many women have you made cry! You have ruined the homes of Muslims," wrote Majed Abul-Majd.
Many people in the region use Internet chat rooms heavily because they have few other outlets to express themselves candidly. Many post their contributions under fake names for fear of retribution either from governments or from Internet users with different views.
On Thursday, militants predicted Zarqawi's killing would spark revenge attacks.
"Zarqawi's martyrdom is not going to weaken the jihad in Iraq," said Khalid Khawaja, a former Pakistani intelligence officer who aided militants like Osama bin Laden during their fight against the Soviets in Afghanistan. "Rather, you will soon see more retaliatory attacks by his successors."
Hours after Zarqawi's death was made public, his supporters posted his pictures alongside poems that eulogized him and messages in flowery language that claimed he had earned a place next to Prophet Muhammad.
"Oh Allah, reunite us with Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in the great paradise alongside Prophet Muhammad," wrote Umm Ma'athe on one Web site.
Some contributors predicted that Zarqawi's death would be a good omen for Iraq.
"I hope this is the beginning of the end for terrorism in our beloved Iraq," said Muhammad Omar al-Dulaimi on Al Arabiya's site.
posted by Carlos T Mock at 7:23 AM
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