] The people I spoke with at Umm Qasr said they were happy ] about the removal of Saddam, as he had held them in ] terror for years. They took me to see the local Baath ] Party headquarters. They told me that many bad things ] happened there and that most of those picked up in the ] middle of the night and taken to that building were never ] seen again. ] ] I entered the building and walked around. I couldn't ] help noticing the excitement in the people's voices ] as they pointed out the bullet holes and the charred ] remains of where the building burned. ] ] That was when I first got the sense that these people ] were really eager to see Saddam and Baath gone. ] ] I asked several what they thought of the US/UK plan to ] remove Saddam. They told me: "Now that they have ] started to remove him, they cannot stop. If they do, then ] we are all as good as dead. He still has informants in ] Umm Qasr and he knows who is against him and who ] isn't." ArabNews: Exclusive: 'If They Stop Now We're As Good As Dead' |