] Veteran war correspondent Peter Arnett, the last Western
] television reporter to cover the gulf war from Baghdad,
] is back in the Iraqi capital on assignment for National
] Geographic EXPLORER television (more details). Arnett
] recently spoke with National Geographic News about life
] in a nation solidly focused in crosshairs of
] international attention.
]
] Do the Iraqi people see war as a foregone conclusion? Or
] are they hopeful of some other outcome?
]
] The people of Iraq base their views of the current
] situation largely on Iraqi government media programs and
] commentary. Government officials are very critical of the
] U.S. and U.K. war plans, and declare that the defensive
] forces are ready to resist. On the other hand, government
] media emphasizes that Iraq has nothing to hide from the
] world and believes "sensible" decisions by the UN will
] prevent attack. Certainly Saddam Hussein is counting on
] his European "allies" of France and Germany to delay or
] eventually avoid war.