Iraqi liberation

The Associated Press reports on the greeting received by coalition forces in the town of Safwan:

A man identifying himself only as Abdullah welcomed the arrival of the U.S. troops: “Saddam Hussein is no good. Saddam Hussein a butcher.”

An old woman shrouded in black — one of the very few women outside — knelt toward the feet of Americans, embracing an American woman. A younger man with her pulled her away, giving her a warning sign by sliding his finger across his throat.

In 1991, hundreds of thousands of Iraqis died after prematurely celebrating what they believed was their liberation from Saddam after the Gulf War. Some even pulled down a few pictures of Saddam then — only to be killed by Iraqi forces.

Gurfein playfully traded pats with a disabled man and turned down a dinner invitation from townspeople.

“Friend, friend,” he told them in Arabic learned in the first Gulf War.

“We stopped in Kuwait that time,” he said. “We were all ready to come up there then, and we never did.”

The townspeople seemed grateful this time.
“No Saddam Hussein!” one young man in headscarf told Gurfein. “Bush!”

This comes pretty damn close to the “dancing in the streets” some of us predicted, and it’s happening all over Iraq. There’s more violence going on in San Francisco right now than in most of Iraq, actually, and that’s our “peace protesters” at work:

San Francisco — Sirens wailed through downtown San Francisco and helicopters whirred above it all day Thursday as anti-war protesters poured into the city by the thousands and seized streets, blocked buildings and left beleaguered police and commuters fuming.

Authorities described the day’s demonstrations, which began peacefully before dawn and grew increasingly antagonistic and occasionally violent as the day wore on, as the largest seen in years.

Up to 1,400 had been arrested before the protests finally began to wind down after 11 p.m., and about 1,000 remained in custody. Most face citations for blocking traffic and failing to follow police orders, but at least 18 face felony charges.

Strange war, this.

Vietnam was the first televised war, and this is the first fully-blogged war, since Iraqi citizens, coalition soldiers, in-country journalists (and) and the Usual Suspects (and and and) are blogging it, many in real time. Fortunately, there’s not that much to report when you net it all out – Saddam’s in hiding, possibly injured, coalition forces are racing to Baghdad with no opposition, the Iraqi army is in disarray, the people are celebrating, and Chirac’s still up to his old tricks.

Strange war, this.

UPDATE: The Washington Post’s war site is kick-ass, with video, and Rantburg is doing some fine stuff.